PurplePTSD: Unsung Vikings WR Tapped As Potential Candidate To Make Team

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

August 4, 2021

The Minnesota Vikings employ 11 wide receivers on the training camp roster. That might sound like a vast array of names, but the amount is pretty standard for NFL teams in the pre-preseason.

These are the pass-catchers in alphabetical order:

Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson are locks-of-the-century to make the 53-man roster. Dede Westbrook, recently acquired from free agency, should be relatively safe, too.

For the rest, nothing is guaranteed. Smith-Marsette is a rookie with a high upside, and he’s demonstrating that at training camp. He won’t be cut outright, owning a practice-squad worst-case scenario. The rest of the men to fill out the WR roster are mysterious. Chisena is a special teams savant, so that might give him an advantage. The coaching staff has an affinity for Beebe. And Bisi Johnson is lost for the 2021 season with an ACL tear.

It’s like a lottery in determining the Vikings wide receivers after Thielen, Jefferson, and Westbrook.

In 2020, the Vikings rostered seven wide receivers to commence the 2020 season. Anywhere from five to seven will probably be on the menu this year.

Left up to Bleacher Report, Blake Proehl has a reasonable shot to make the team.

Alex Kay of Bleacher Report detailed one undrafted free agent to make each team in an analysis on Tuesday – and it was Proehl for the Vikings. Kay wrote:

“Blake Proehl’s name may sound familiar to NFL fans, as he’s the son of Super Bowl-winning receiver Ricky Proehl, who played 17 seasons in the league before retiring in 2006. Blake will be looking to forge his own legacy, beginning his journey this offseason at the Minnesota Vikings training camp. Proehl is the highest paid of any of the UDFAs signed by the Vikings this offseason. That won’t have too much of an impact on whether he makes the roster or not, but it does show how interested the team was in having him around. With fellow Minnesota wideout Bisi Johnson going down for the year with a torn ACL on Friday, Proehl has one less receiver to compete against for a job. There’s still a logjam of talent behind Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, including Chad Beebe, Dede Westbrook and fifth-round rookie Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Regardless, Proehl is reportedly doing well in camp—notably torching veteran defensive back Xavier Woods in one highlight—and could end up contributing for this squad during the regular season.”

The pizazz of Proehl perhaps making the Vikings 53-man roster – at least for someone not intently following the team – is the name recognition that Kay mentioned. Minnesota loves “bloodline” players like Beebe and Proehl, so Ricky’s boy finding his way into this projection is unsurprising.

Proehl averaged 54.3 receiving yards per game in college at East Carolina while scoring a touchdown about every three games. Those numbers are not glorious, but they’re not measly.

The current disadvantage facing Proehl’s prospect of making the 2021 roster has a name: K.J. Osborn.

With some special teams blunders, Osborn had a rough rookie campaign – and he didn’t really get any attention in the offense. The tide seems to be turning on that tendency as Osborn has been showcased as a true wide receiver at camp this summer. His stock is currently higher than Proehl’s, at least for the moment. And Proehl would likely have to nudge Osborn to make the 53-man roster.

Next step for Proehl possibly making the team? He’ll have to show out in the Vikings three preseason games.

Minnesota hosts Denver at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 14th.

This press release was produced by the PurplePTSD. The views expressed here are the author’s own.