Vikings WR Coach Keenan McCardell Got a Close Look at the Draft's Top Receivers

The Vikings hold the 23rd pick in this year's first round. Most mock draft prognosticators think they'll take a cornerback with that pick, but receiver isn't far behind as the second most-popular choice. Three years after striking gold with Jefferson at No. 22 overall, will the Vikings' new regime add another top WR in the same late-first-round range? As is the case seemingly every year, there are more than a handful of intriguing options with sky-high potential.

The list of first-round receiver prospects in this draft includes Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba, USC's Jordan Addison, Boston College's Zay Flowers, TCU's Quentin Johnston, and Tennessee's Jalin Hyatt (the Biletnikoff Award winner last season). All five are potential options for the Vikings at No. 23 overall. (UNC's Josh Downs is a dark horse to enter the first-round mix).

Smith-Njigba put on a route-running show at the combine, with ESPN's Jordan Reid saying he "just looked different than his counterparts." He had an unbelievable 95-1,606-9 season in 2021, including 347 yards and 3 TDs in the Rose Bowl, but a hamstring injury ruined his 2022 campaign. Smith-Njigba looked perfectly healthy at the combine, posting elite times in the short shuttle and three-cone drills. He didn't run the 40, but he's expected to do so later this month at OSU's pro day. Like Jefferson coming out of LSU, the big question about Smith-Njigba seems to be whether or not he can thrive outside of the slot.

Addison is a slender-framed receiver who had a massive 2021 season at Pitt before transferring to USC last season. He ran a decent 4.49 40 and offers great change-of-direction abilities and body control. Johnston is a big, explosive option at 6'3", 208 pounds with a 40.5-inch vertical. Hyatt, who caught five touchdown passes against Alabama last October, is perhaps the premiere deep threat in this class.

Then there's Flowers, a 5'9" playmaker with an impressive all-around game. O'Connell happened to be doing an interview with the NFL Network crew during Flowers' 40, and he gave a strong review of the Vikings' formal meeting with the BC product.

"Zay was phenomenal," O'Connell said. "He was great, very confident."

Flowers has been compared to Tyler Lockett, which O'Connell agreed with.

"There's your comp right there," he said. "And when you turn on the tape, you see basically that regardless of where they are, what you're doing with them, whether you're handing the ball off to them, throwing the ball, you feel that explosiveness on the field any time they touch it. And then the ability to just — whether it's in the move area, vertical, slot game, outside, those are valuable guys that you can do a lot of things with as a play-caller."

If the Vikings go in a different direction in the first round, they could take a receiver later on. Last year, this regime picked Jalen Nailor in the sixth round.

The Vikings don't have a second-round pick, but some players who could be taken with their third-rounder (No. 87 overall) include Cincinnati's Tyler Scott, LSU's Kayshon Boutte, Oklahoma's Marvin Mims Jr., and West Virginia's Bryce Ford-Wheaton. Ford-Wheaton is a ridiculous athlete, running a 4.38 40 with a 41-inch vertical at 6'4", 220 pounds.

Possible Day 3 picks include Virginia's Dontayvion Wicks, Iowa State's Xavier Hutchinson, and Houston's Tank Dell, among many others.

As always, there are all kinds of flavors of wide receiver in this year's draft. After seeing them up close at the combine, who will McCardell pound the table for in the draft room? 

Perhaps we'll find out next month.