Jalen Nailor Is Ready To Seize His Opportunity
Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Over the past decade, there has always been one constant talking point amongst Minnesota Vikings fans that never seems to go away: Who will solidify themselves as the Vikings third wide reciever? The Vikings have cycled through many names, such as the kombucha tea drinkin’ Michael Floyd, Jordan “Sunshine” Taylor, all the way to the most recent player, K.J. Osborn, who, might we remind you, once rescued a man from a burning car. Each had their good and bad moments, but all ultimately failed to replicate Jake Reed’s success as the third option in Minnesota’s illustrious “Three Deep” trio from the late nineties.
This offseason is no different. Throughout OTAs and minicamp, Brandon Powell got some run with the first-team offense, but he didn’t solidify himself as the clear-cut favorite to replace Osborn as their slot receiver. At the time, a good portion of the fanbase wanted the Vikings to sign an established veteran receiver like Hunter Renfrow or Michael Thomas. Even to this day, the debate is still ongoing, as I found out in a conversation with “VikesNow’s”Dustin Baker, who is all in favor of the Vikings trading for Adam Thielen, should the Carolina Panthers make him available.
Despite all the rumors about the Vikings potentially adding another receiver, one player is starting to emerge as the clear-cut favorite. Here comes Jalen Nailor, who has been balling out in the early stages of training camp. Athleticism has never been an issue for Nailor. He’s a former state champion sprinter who was aptly given the nickname “Speedy” before committing to Michigan State to play football.
The issue for Nailor hasn’t been ability, it’s been availability. Throughout his time with the Spartans, Nailor missed extensive periods of time in 2018, 2019, and 2020 due to lingering injuries. An anonymous scout for an NFC team once noted: “If [Jalen] could stay healthy you would have something with him, but he’s just not very durable.” When the Vikings drafted Nailor in the sixth round of the 2022 Draft, they were likely hoping the injury bug that plagued him at Michigan State would be less persistent in Minnesota.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case for Nailor in his professional career thus far. After showing some flashes in OTAs ahead of the 2023 season, Nailor missed a good chunk of training camp with a lower leg injury. He was fully cleared to return by Week 1 of the regular season, but he didn’t play a single snap and got buried on the depth chart behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Osborn. Two weeks later, Nailor suffered another setback ahead of the Vikings matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers and was subsequently placed on injured reserve.
Even this offseason, Nailor missed mandatory minicamp after catching the flu, which the fanbase overreacted to, as if catching the flu was going to somehow negatively impact Nailor’s chances of making the roster. Nonetheless, Nailor has taken a different approach towards his conditioning this offseason by taking up pilates and yoga, heeding the advice given to him by safety Josh Metellus. “I had to take a whole different approach, just trying to have more flexibility to limit the injuries.” Nailor said. “I’m seeing what [Josh] is doing off the field and trying to implement that into my game, just trying to make sure I can be available.”
Nailor’s new routine is already paying dividends as he is establishing himself as Minnesota’s clear-cut third option at wide receiver. He put on quite the show for fans during Back Together Saturday, reeling in three touchdown passes. One of the touchdown passes was an absolute dime thrown by Sam Darnold. Nick Mullens threw a bit behind Nailor on a crossing route, but he managed to make a one-handed catch as he waltzed in for another touchdown. However, Nailor’s most impressive touchdown reception was when J.J. McCarthy found Nailor for a leaping grab in the corner of the end zone.
That @b1gfootball connection. @jjmccarthy09 @jalennailor pic.twitter.com/qsK0G3a5KA
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 28, 2024
Nailor always had enough talent to succeed at the professional level. In his scouting report, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein described him as “Sudden but smooth with his route release.” He couldn’t talk enough about Nailor’s speed, saying “His gliding gait tends to mask his acceleration, allowing him to climb quickly past the coverage.” Zierlein also knew Nailor was more than just a go-route specialist stating that: “While he can work deep, he has the agility and body control to become a more effective route specialist on all three levels.”
In previous years, Nailor was stuck behind Osborn on the depth chart and he seldom got many opportunities to show what he’s capable of. When the opportunity did present itself, Nailor wasted no time in showing everyone how he got the nickname Speedy. In Week 17 of the 2022 season at Lambeau Field, Nailor blazed down the field, catching his first touchdown pass on a 47-yard bomb from Kirk Cousins.
Now, it isn’t just the third receiver spot that’s potentially wide open. There’s still a pending NFL investigation that may suspend Jordan Addison for an arrest on suspicion of drunk driving. We’re not certain how long a suspension might be, or if one is coming at all, but any time Addison is on the shelf is time for Nailor to gain chemistry in a temporary No. 2 role with Darnold or McCarthy.
Rookie receiver @jalennailor grabbed his first career TD on Sunday night. Congrats Jalen 👊 pic.twitter.com/A4pa2xomAF
— Minnesota Vikings UK (@UKVikings) January 3, 2023
With Osborn now on the New England Patriots, the Vikings are once again looking for a viable third option at wide receiver. There have been far too many wideouts from years past who were unable to do the bare minimum on offense and ultimately failed to meet expectations. It’s understandable why some fans are skeptical about Nailor given that history, as well as his own extensive injury history. That being said, Nailor has been incredible so far at training camp, and he’s showing he can lock down that starting spot at wide receiver this season.
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