Minnesota Vikings: The Value of Greg Jennings
Nov 30, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver
Greg Jennings(15) catches a pass against the Carolina Panthers for a 17 yard touchdown catch in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Greg Jennings signed a five-year, $45 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings in March of 2013. In the two seasons since, he has averaged 63.5 receptions, 773 yards and 5 touchdowns per season. For an average of $9 million a year, there are Vikings fans who were expecting more production than that.
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I come not to bury Jennings but to argue that the Vikings need him, at least for one more year. Despite not putting up big yardage, Jennings had three or more receptions in each of the last six games of 2014 as well as four touchdowns in that span. Again, nothing mind-blowing but something the team could count on week-to-week.
One of the keys to the development of a young quarterback is the knowledge that his receivers will be in the right place at the right time. One of the theories on the difficulty to form a connection on the field between Teddy Bridgewater and Cordarrelle Patterson is Patterson‘s lack of precision route running. Hitting a moving target with a bunch of 300 pound guys bearing down on you is hard enough; It can be almost impossible if you don’t know exactly where that moving target is going to end up. With Jennings, Teddy can trust that he will be in the right place at the right time.
Bridgewater is not the only young player on the squad who needs help. As we looked into previously, Patterson can use Jennings’ insight into the game to improve but he is not the only one. Charles Johnson, Jarius Wright and either Duron Carter or whichever other young receivers the Vikings decide to bring aboard could all benefit from Jennings’ tutelage.
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Mostly though, the Vikings should keep Jennings to make plays. He still gets open and has good hands. I’m a firm believer that the offense will take a big step forward next season, particularly if Adrian Peterson is back in the fold. They will benefit from having Jennings around to be a part of it.
As far as the restructuring discussion goes, I do not think this is the year to do it with Jennings. Restructuring is certainly a tool every team should use, but if potential free agents get the impression that all players over 30 years old will be forced to rip up their current contracts and start over on the Vikings, recruiting players in will be more of a chore.
That’s enough of me. What do you think the Vikings should do about Greg Jennings?