Vikings Linked to Prominent Receiver

The Minnesota Vikings will look a lot differently on offense in the upcoming season after another quarterback change. In back-to-back offseasons, the top passer departed for another team. Whether presumed starter J.J. McCarthy or a mystery man (Aaron Rodgers) is taking the first snap in 2025, the passing game will change.

Vikings Linked to Prominent Receiver

The Vikings still employ head coach Kevin O’Connell, who has shown that he can elevate his signal-callers to new heights. In addition to that, being the QB1 in Minnesota brings one massive advantage: The weapons in the passing game are elite.

Justin Jefferson is the best receiver in the business. Every year, there’s a new challenger. This time, it’s Ja’Marr Chase, who, after winning the Triple Crown, has a better case than some other guys had in the past. Jefferson’s wingman is Jordan Addison, a fantastic complementary piece added in the 2023 draft.

The third man on the depth chart is Jalen Nailor. He’s entering the final year of his rookie deal after a breakout 2024 season with 414 yards and six touchdowns. The thing about receivers is that no team can ever have too many of them, so why not try to upgrade the WR3 spot or at least give Nailor some competition?

That could be Tyler Lockett, a career Seahawk who recently became available after his tenth NFL season. He might spend year 11 in Minnesota, thinks KSTP’s Darren Wolfson. He said on SKOR North’s Mackey & Judd Show that the Vikings have “some interest in Lockett.”

Lockett, a 2015 third-rounder, has a long track record of being a pretty good receiver for the Seahawks. He has never been a superstar, but he has always been reliable. In his ten seasons, he tabulated 161 games. The wideout missed one game each in 2016, 2021, and 2022. That’s it. That’s the entire list of games he has missed in his career.

In those contests, Lockett has registered 661 catches for 8,594 yards and 61 touchdowns as a pass-catcher and another 265 yards and one score as a rusher. He’s also an experienced kick and punt returner, but those days are likely gone at the age of 32.

Last year, he had his statistically worst season since 2016, with only 600 yards and two touchdowns as Seattle’s WR3. It should be noted, though, that DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba aren’t a bad one-two punch, and Geno Smith’s passing attack struggled to find the endzone.

Lockett wouldn’t be a game-changing addition for the Vikings. It’s not 2018 anymore. But he could be a reliable pass-catcher in the middle of the field and give O’Connell another weapon in addition to Jefferson, Addison, tight end T.J. Hockenson, and Nailor.

Another aspect is that Addison’s legal problems haven’t been resolved. If found guilty, he would likely be suspended for a few games, and having another established player next to Jefferson makes sense.

Wolfson, however, added that the Raiders will be in the race for the veteran, too.

“I remember in the moment, somebody said, ‘Hey, the Vikings like him but Pete (Carroll) loves him that much more. So, it always seemed like he was going to Vegas bound,” Wolfson noted.

The Raiders employ his long-time head coach, Pete Carroll, who once was on Bud Grant’s Vikings staff. Las Vegas doesn’t have the strongest crew of pass-catchers besides tight end Brock Bowers, so he would fit right in.

If Lockett won’t end up in Minnesota, the franchise could still add another veteran. Perhaps a fun (but unlikely) one could be a reunion with Stefon Diggs.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt