Key WR Issues Could Take Bloom Off Vikings As 2025 Season Starts

Head coach Kevin O’Connell and J.J. McCarthy strategize in the preseason for the Vikings. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

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The Minnesota Vikings want quarterback J.J. McCarthy to go into the start of the season against the Chicago Bears with a full complement of talent on the offensive side of the ball. McCarthy will start his NFL career in the first Monday night football game of the season. A national television audience will get to observe his skills, flaws, talent and creativity.

That’s a lot of pressure, perhaps quite a bit more than if he would have opened the season in a Sunday game at noon Central Time as one of eight or nine games in the same time slot. The Vikings were a very accomplished 14-3 team last year and that means the league believes the team should be in a number of glamour time slots throughout the 2025 season.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell is not worried about the added pressure of a prime time game serving as McCarthy’s entry into NFL football. However, he has to be worried about the crew of wide receivers McCarthy will have at his disposal at the start of the season.

Justin Jefferson is the Vikings’ leader at the position and may be the No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL. If he is not, he is no worse than No. 3 behind Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals and CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys. The problem is that Jefferson has been battling a hamstring strain throughout training camp. The injury has been described as mild, but it has kept Jefferson from getting on the field in the preseason and working with McCarthy in any of the team’s preseason games.

Will he be at full speed and on the same page with McCarthy against the Bears in Week 1 or the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2? The answer better be yes, because Jefferson is coming off a season that saw him catch 103 passes for 1,533 yards with 10 touchdowns. Throughout his career, he is averaging 109 catches for 1,641 yards and 9 TDs for every full 17-game season he plays.

The Vikings won’t have his primary partner on the field in any of their opening three games. No. 2 wideout Jordan Addison has accepted a three-game suspension by the NFL after he pleaded guilty to a “wet reckless” charge following his DUI arrest in 2024. Addison appears to have a great rapport with McCarthy and he will be missed badly as the Vikings start the season.

He is coming off a 63-875-9 season last year, and big things are expected from him once he gets back in the lineup.

Lack of depth at wideout could hamper offense

Since Addison will be out of the lineup, the Vikings need No. 3 wideout Jalen Nailor to come through with a significant contribution through the first three games. However, the 5-11, 190-pound fourth-year wideout from Michigan State is not at his best.

He jammed his hand during the team’s combined practice sessions earlier this month with the New England Patriots. Will he be ready to build off the 28-414-6 season he had a year ago? That has not been determined.

The Vikings are looking at Lucky Jackson, Tai Felton and Myles Price as those that will try to get McCarthy’s career off to a memorable start. If Jefferson is limited in any way, the wide receiver cupboard is not exactly stocked with brilliant talent. A trade for another wideout or a key pickup after teams cut their rosters down to the 53-man limit by August 26 are legitimate possibilities.

The situation is not as desperate as it seems, because tight end T.J. Hockenson and running back Aaron Jones are both solid pass catchers. Hockenson is capable of dominating when the team gets in the red zone and Jones can beat most linebackers when he runs circle routes.

Jones and backup running Jordan Mason may be the key to the Vikings offense during the first month of the season. Even under the best of circumstances, O’Connell knows that McCarthy’s adjustment to the NFL will be a challenge and a top-notch running game will help him quite a bit.

Both Jones and Mason have the track record to give the Vikings the production on the ground to turn that strategy into one that will help this team get off to the winning start it must have if the 2025 season is going to be successful.