Grade The Signing: Jauan Jennings gives the Minnesota Vikings an added offensive element at a great price
The Jauan Jennings signing for the Minnesota Vikings was a great move for Kevin O’Connell’s offense, and it came at a great price.
The Minnesota Vikings desperately needed to address the wide receiver position before the start of training camp. On Thursday night, they did just that by signing former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings to a one-year contract.
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Jennings’s contract has a base of $8 million, with a maximum value of $13 million. The extra $5 million will be with incentives that we currently don’t know how they will be activated. That will be announced in time, but the talent Jennings has is the key here.
Jauan Jennings is a perfect fit for Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings needed another body in the wide receiver room who could be a WR3, but they got more than that with Jennings. He gives them something they don’t have: size and physicality.
Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are tremendous wide receivers, but they don’t have a physicality aspect to their game. As route-running savants, their game is more technical and twitchy than it is physical. It’s been a big problem against some defenses over the years. With Jennings’ physicality at the route stem, he thrives in creating separation in multiple ways. That’s arguably the biggest factor here, especially in the red zone.
The other key aspect of his play is the run blocking. He is a punishing, physical blocker that you can utilize in multiple ways. You can line him up at H-back, X, inline, and in the slot. The way head coach Kevin O’Connell likes to vary up his approach with condensed sets will be fascinating, especially with Frank Smith being added to the mix. The Dolphins loved to have fast tight ends like Mike Gesicki on the field. Jennings is arguably a better version of Gesicki.
After the on-field elements of Jennings’ game, his contract is a big portion of the grade. $8 million feels like a significant amount of money for a WR3, but it’s palatable considering Addison is on the final year of his rookie deal. Even if it’s at the max of $13 million, it’s not a lot of money when you look at it in relation to the percentage of the salary cap.
Overall, this is a massive win for the Vikings. They needed a player like Jennings badly, and they got him at a reasonable salary. It’ll be hard to find any angle where this isn’t a really good move.
Grade: A+