Jordan Addison, who showed during his rookie season last year that he is more than capable of developing into a formidable receiver in his own right, is the player on the other side of Jefferson. If the Vikings can resolve their quarterback situation, Jefferson and Addison’s duo can be a formidable force in the NFL.

It’s unclear if that entails selecting a player in the NFL draft, signing a free agent, or selecting Kirk Cousins.

Things start to become interesting further down the depth chart. They have had K.J. Osborn for the past four years, who has been a reliable passing option and has shown hints of being able to contribute more than what has been asked of him.

With the WRs above him and tight end T.J. Hockenson, he’s practically an afterthought in the Vikings offense. As a WR4, Brandon Powell completes the group and contributes some strong play.

Powell and Osborn are both expected to become available in free agency. Should the Vikings sign one or both of them, or should they try to upgrade with a player that is already available? Let’s examine six wide receiver candidates the Vikings may consider.

Let’s begin with the house option, K.J. Osborn, just as we did with the quarterbacks. Since Minnesota selected Osborn in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Miami, he has been a member of the Vikings.

From seeing the field primarily on special teams as a rookie to playing 78% of the snaps and earning 12 starts in the previous season, Osborn has seen his playing time rise each of those four seasons. It’s obvious that the Vikings are pleased with the way the young receiver is progressing.

However, despite seeing an increase in playing time each season in the NFL, Osborn has seen his production decline each of the past three seasons in the Viking offense.

His best season, 2021, Osborn saw 82 targets and caught 50 of them for 655 yards and 7 touchdowns. The next season Osborn saw his targets and receptions increase to 90 and 60 respectively, but his yardage dipped to 650 and he only had 5 touchdowns.