Green Bay Packers: NFC North WR grades and rankings
2. Minnesota Vikings
Adam Thielen, a local product from Detroit Lakes, made his hometown supporters proud by emerging as the team’s top receiver, who caught just about everything thrown in his direction.
Thielen ranked fifth overall among NFL receivers with a 75-percent catch rate, but had a better yards-per-reception average than his fellow receivers ahead of him, including Eddie Royal, Michael Thomas, Cole Beasley and Doug Baldwin.
The 26-year-old has done nothing but improve since entering the league as a lowly undrafted free agent four seasons ago.
One of the areas where he has truly distinguished himself is in his ability to beat defensive backs with double moves, which have led to big plays.
Packers fans witnessed one of these in Week 16 with Thielen badly fooling Quentin Rollins on a stop-and-go pattern, which froze the beleaguered corner and paved the way for a 71-yard touchdown.
The multi-sport athlete, who was also a proficient high school basketball player and golfer, enters the year as Minnesota’s number-one weapon that’s versatile enough to be featured both in the slot and outside the numbers.
The dynamic Stefon Diggs will be working in tandem with Thielen in two-receiver base sets and has the physical skills that could put him on the precipice of stardom once he learns how to prepare like a true pro.
To date, the Maryland native has only exhibited drips and drabs of his immense potential with five 100-yard-plus efforts in his first two years, including 164-yard and 182-yard performances.
After a rip-roaring first two weeks of the season in 2016, Diggs hit a bit of a midseason lull, which he attributed to a lack of conditioning on his part.
At his best, the 23-year-old is a precision route runner that can bait corners into overcommitting to the wrong side of the play. Diggs can do this at full speed, which makes him a very smooth operator.
No. 14 is particularly lethal on out patterns due to how quickly he gets in and out of cuts. He should have multiple 1,000-yard campaigns in his future provided he gets physically stronger and finds ways to be a more consistent performer.
The problem with the Vikings is that they haven’t been able to get the same type of production out of their first-round picks. That list includes current Raider Corrdarelle Patterson, who is a top-notch athlete, but couldn’t run a route to save his life while donning the purple and gold.
Last year’s first-round prize, Laquon Treadwell, didn’t earn much playing time as a rookie since coach Mike Zimmer wasn’t satisfied with what he saw from the former SEC standout in practice.
Specifically, Treadwell wasn’t separating from coverage and that was precisely the knock against him coming out of Ole Miss.
While the second-year man will probably never be the type to blow by people, he has the length and strength to win contested battles and can perhaps develop into a Dwayne Bowe type down the road. Stay tuned.
GM Rick Spielman has enlisted the services of former Cardinals and Patriots veteran Michael Floyd in case Treadwell fails to take that next step this summer.
Floyd is a former first-round pick and Saint Paul native that came into the league as a 6-foot-2, 220-pound physical specimen with 4.4 speed.
The fifth-year pro has never reached his potential due to both his penchant for allowing catchable balls to slip through his hands and his addiction to alcohol, which actually goes back to his collegiate days at Notre Dame.
The team has only $1.5-million invested in Floyd and won’t think twice about the cutting the cord with him if his off-field struggles with the bottle reemerge.
Jarius Wright is still with the Vikings, but probably not for long. He only played in 11-percent of snaps last season and is a low upside slot receiver that can make tough catches, but is too injury-prone to warrant a prominent role.
Last year’s draft-day feel-good story Moritz Boehringer is a work in progress and may not ever get an opportunity to be a featured component of the passing attack.
The 6-foot-4 neophyte is a soft-handed longstrider that can accelerate down the field, but is still learning how to execute his releases and knowledge of NFL route running.
It’s been suggested that a move to tight end may eventually be in the offing for the young German.
The 2017 draft has yielded two speed merchants in the form of Rodney Adams and Stacey Coley in the fifth and seventh rounds. Both can make an immediate impact in the return game.
Isaac Fruechte is another Minnesota-born member of the receiving corps that has undergone plenty of seasoning on the practice squad and may be ready to make the final 53 as a sixth receiver that can chip in on special teams. The coaches like his smarts and ability to get downfield.
At the very end of the depth chart is Cayleb Jones, also known as the older brother of Buffalo Bill and former East Carolina Pirate Zay Jones.
Unlike his younger sibling, Jones isn’t very explosive and is a bit stiff on his releases. The 6-foot-3 target does use his long arms to reel in high passes and fades.
Grade: B