Jauan Jennings catches one pass again

Jennings hasn’t been part of the Minnesota passing attack through three weeks. Against the Bucs Jennings ran the second most pass routes on the Vikings, behind only Jordan Addison. The low-volume Vikings passing offense likely can’t support more than one fantasy viable pass catcher per week. Jennings should remain on waivers for now.

Jennings was targeted just once in Week 1. It could be argued that we’re not sure what his target count would look like in a normal Vikings game given how quickly Kyler Murray got hurt, but there’s never been a normal Vikings game anyway. Jennings is best monitored from the waiver wire.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell ruled out veteran receiver Jauan Jennings, citing a death of a close family member. Jennings will step away from the team to mourn the passing, leaving Tai Felton as the player most likely to step into his vacated role when the Vikings take on the Bears. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison should take on all the volume they can handle with the team also without Jordan Mason. Jefferson is a locked-in WR1 while Addison offers an intriguing upside-WR2 profile after putting up a dud in Week 1.

Things went off the rails in the first quarter when Kyler Murray left with a concussion, but one target is a bad omen no matter who is under center. Jennings was also a distant third on the team in routes behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. He is not on the fantasy radar headed into Week 2.

Pelissero affirmed Addison’s role as a guest on the Rich Eisen Show. He prefaced the remarks by saying that WR Jauan Jennings’ signing “immediately raises questions” about whether the Vikings planned to move on from Addison before saying that they, in fact, do not. Jennings was brought in on a “cut-rate,” one-year deal to play the No. 3 wide receiver role.

We assumed this was the case, though Jennings’ size allows one to wonder if he might be valuable in heavy personnel packages. Nailor departed for the Raiders earlier this offseason. Vikings No. 2 WR Jordan Addison was suspended for Weeks 1-3 last season. From Week 4 on, Addison out-snapped Nailor 714-to-507. Expecting a similar split from Addison and Jennings this season is reasonable.

The deal includes an $8 million base salary. Jennings can make an extra $5 million via incentives. This will be Jennings’ first time playing for a team other than the 49ers, who drafted him in the 2020 NFL Draft’s seventh round. Jennings, 28, caught 55 passes for 643 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns last year. He should start in three-wide receiver sets alongside Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Jefferson will rarely leave the field, but one wonders if Jennings (6'3/212) might be able to steal snaps from Addison (5'11/175) in two-wide receiver sets, in part due to Jennings’ run-blocking ability. Addison, 24, is the more talented receiver, so we expect him to remain the No. 2 target earner, but this dynamic is worth keeping an eye on in training camp. For now, Jennings can be viewed as a WR4/FLEX, while Jefferson sits in the WR1 tier and Addison in the WR2/3 range.

His market is starting to pick up steam now that we’re close to clearing the compensation pick portion of proceedings. The Dolphins, per Barry Jackson, also reportedly have interest in Jennings. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him signed before the week is out after his initial market went cold.

“I wouldn’t say the room is complete,” he added. The Athletic’s Daniel Popper also mentioned Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and Tyreek Hill as “unsigned veteran receivers with scheme familiarity” for new OC Mike McDaniel. Fantasy managers reliant on Ladd McConkey will want the Chargers to avoid a reunion with Allen, as they both tend to win in the same areas of the field. McConkey, of course, watched his fantasy stock suffer last year with Allen in the fold.

We assumed as much, but it’s good to have it on the record. Jennings is probably one of the 10 best free agents still standing ahead of the draft. Perhaps he’ll sign a little ahead of the actual draft if a team decides it can’t swing the wideout pick they really want early, or, barring that, after a team unexpectedly does not wind up with the receiver they want on Day 1 or 2.