The Minnesota Vikings have one of the NFL's best receiving duos in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but things start to get a bit shaky as one descends the depth chart.

Right now, veteran Brandon Powell is the likely guy to win the WR3 job and while he deserves all the respect in the world for making it in the NFL – he's not really the guy you want getting the bulk of snaps at that particular position.

The Vikings used 11 personnel on 65% of offensive plays last season, so there's a lot of pressure on Powell as the third receiver. Powell has always been more of a special teams star. In five NFL seasons, he has only one year with more than 160 receiving yards (last season, with 324 yards). He ranked 92nd among receivers and tight ends in ESPN's receiver tracking metrics in 2023. – Aaron Schatz, ESPN

The same goes for the rest of the guys in the receiver room, again, with all due respect. Sure, there are talented guys like Jalen Nailor, but none are proven. And, all it takes is for Addison or Jefferson to go down for an extended period of time for things to get really serious.

That's why it's a good idea for the Vikings to sign former NFL Offensive Player of the Year and four-time Pro Bowler, Michael Thomas. When healthy, he can easily provide quality snaps as the team's WR3 and he'll be cheap, as he's trying to prove he can at least return to some kind of the form we last saw in 2019.

The biggest question surrounding Thomas is his health. The Saints said he failed his physical back in March, but obviously, that was back in March. There haven't been many updates regarding that specific topic since, but it's logical to assume things are in a much better place, now. Whether or not that means Thomas can participate in practice remains to be seen, but I'm sure we'll hear something, eventually, as training camp approaches.

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Thomas' fit in the Vikings offense

With T.J. Hockenson expected to miss the first month, give or take a couple weeks, of the season, Thomas would provide a solid over-the-middle target for whomever is playing quarterback.  And, as Schatz pointed out above, he'd be on the field quite a bit, so he'd still get opportunities once Hockenson returns. 

Jefferson would command the typical top corner/double team, Addison would stretch the field with his speed, and then Thomas would simply do what he's always done best: eat over the middle.

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There's one red flag, however

And that's Thomas, himself.

The guy likes to do things his own way, case in point being his decision to hold off on ankle surgery when the team wanted it done, earlier, and led to a quarrel with the Saints and even Sean Payton.

That decision led to a public feud with Saints officials, including Payton, who said he wanted the surgery done earlier. The Saints were also upset at Thomas' lack of communication about his rehab throughout the offseason. – Katherine Terrell, ESPN

He also likes to chirp on social media and the Saints grew wary of that, as well.

Privately, the Saints' staff had grown tired of Thomas' outbursts on social media. Still, Thomas appeared to take issue with a report last week on X, accusing the Saints of leaking information to ruin players' values. – Terrell

So, the decision simply comes down to risk vs. reward. Health must be included in the conversation, as well, not only because of the history, but the fact Thomas is 31-years-old. He's not a spring chicken, anymore.

When weighing health, production, and potential for a headache, the biggest selling point is the price point. If the Vikings can get Thomas in on a veteran minimum salary, which would be $1.255 million (they can always add incentive bonuses for production or even health), then yes, Thomas would be worth bringing in.

Anything outside of that needs to end in a firm "no".

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