Jauan Jennings Solves One Vikings Problem, but Others Remain

Coming out of free agency and the draft, I thought the Vikings roster was in a good place except for three positions—third wide receiver, center, and safety. I think the team made an excellent signing in adding ex-49er Jauan Jennings to replace the departed Jalen Nailor as WR3. The 28-year-old Jennings has been very productive over the past two years in San Francisco, with 55 catches for 643 yards and nine touchdowns for a playoff team in 2025, and 77 catches for 975 yards and six TDs in 2024.

Minnesota’s Offseason Puzzle Isn’t 100% Solved Yet Jennings is one of the best blocking wide receivers in the league, and while he doesn’t have Nailor’s speed, he was the best free-agent WR available after the draft and should be part of one of the NFL’s best WR trios, along with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. It also gives the Vikings another year to see if 2025 third-rounder Tai Felton can make a significant leap this season, so he can take over the third spot in 2027 at a much lower cost (on his rookie deal) than the $8 million (that can increase to $13 million with incentives) Jennings will be making this season. Nov 16, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images End result — Jennings for Nailor appears to be a wash and a good result after the Vikings lost Nailor to the Raiders and didn’t draft a wide receiver. I’m not feeling as positive about the center and safety positions at this juncture. I think the Vikings made a mistake by not signing a quality center in free agency, then surprisingly passing on several good prospects at the position in the draft before finally picking Gavin Gerhardt in the seventh round.

It’s hard to expect a seventh-round rookie to become an immediate starter, and he’s more likely to compete with 2024 seventh-rounder Michael Jurgens (who has shown limitations in his limited play time) to be the backup center to Blake Brandel. Brandel wound up starting nine games last season after Ryan Kelly’s concussion issues, and he played okay at center but still seems better suited to guard or tackle. We’ll see if he steps up his game with a full offseason and training camp at center, but it appears to be a potential trouble spot on an otherwise solid offensive line if the other starters stay healthy.