The Minnesota Vikings have the potential to address one of their biggest needs ahead of training camp by signing recently released Denver Broncos wide receiver Phillip Dorsett.
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Released on May 12, Dorsett was the No. 29 overall pick in 2015 and could emerge as the ideal No. 3 wide receiver to replace K.J. Osborn, who signed with the New England Patriots this offseason.
A collegiate track star, Dorsett, at 5-foot-10, 192 pounds, posted a 4.33 seconds and could serve as a deep threat and explosive slot receiver.
“He can challenge teams vertically inside or outside and he has home-run potential after the catch as a slot receiver,” Dorsett’s pre-draft scouting profile reads.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz identified slot wide receiver as the Vikings’ biggest need entering training camp.
“Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are an awesome team on the outside, but the Vikings’ receiving corps really falls off after those two. Brandon Powell is likely the starting slot receiver. He did manage an average DVOA on 44 targets in 2023, but his 324 receiving yards represented a career high after six years in the league. Trent Sherfield caught just 11 passes in Buffalo last season. Jalen Nailor has just 12 catches in two years for Minnesota,” Schatz wrote. “There are a lot of unknown names on this depth chart, and the Vikings would be the perfect team to give a call to an unsigned free agent.”
While Dorsett, 31, did not register a catch in the 2023 season, he could come into camp on a veteran minimum contract and prove his worth.
Vikings Could Benefit From Phillip Dorsett’s Experience
Since moving on from the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, Dorsett has been a journeyman in the league looking for his next opportunity.
He’s made stops with Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders and Broncos — largely as a player on the practice squad bubble.
However, he has tallied 151 receptions for 2,001 yards and 12 touchdowns across 94 career games and 20 starts. He also won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2018, catching touchdowns in two of the Patriots’ playoff wins.
Dorsett has never emerged as a high-volume producer in the NFL, but he does have six playoff games under his belt and has shown an ability to make plays under pressure.
The Vikings also do not need a ton of production from their third wide receiver who would effectively be the fourth option in the passing game given T.J. Hockenson‘s role.
At the very least, Dorsett is worth a look this summer.
Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Impressed by 2nd-Year WRs Thayer Thomas, Malik Knowles
The Vikings started rookie minicamps last Friday, and while it is just rookie minicamps, there are several young players head coach Kevin O’Connell was impressed by.
Second-year receivers Thayer Thomas and Malik Knowles were two of five players who were not rookies practicing last week and earned high praise for how far they’ve come since being 2023 undrafted rookie free agents.
“I was joking with [Thomas] out there because we really, we’re one year to the day of the first time we got on the grass with him – just the growth and the development and the mindset that he has now and really being a calming presence out there,” O’Connell said on May 10, per Vikings.com. “Malik Knowles is a guy we were really excited about and really knew kind of what we were looking at from the standpoint of a medical redshirt-type year coming off of that Bowl game injury he had – and he gets, whatever it’s gonna be, 15, 20, 25 extra reps before we get out there with the main group in a few days, and I think that’s exciting.”
The Vikings currently have 13 wide receivers rostered entering mid-May. Last year, six receivers made the final 53-man roster, making for plenty of competition for those final roster spots come summer.
