Bisi Johnson – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Report: Vikings WR Bisi Johnson is clear No. 2 option right now, ahead of Justin Jefferson

Do you think Bisi Johnson will beat out Justin Jefferson for the Vikings second wide receiver spot?

Vikings wide receiver Chad Beebe went down with an injury in 2019, then Bisi Johnson stepped up.

Johnson finished the season as the definitive No. 3 wide receiver, going for 294 yards and three touchdowns. He also started six games.

Now, with training camp underway, Johnson is currently the clear No. 2 option, despite the Vikings first-round draft pick Justin Jefferson practicing, per The Athletic’s Chad Graff. Jefferson has been taking reps with the second team.

Here’s what Graff wrote about the situation:

“Meanwhile, while Jefferson is capable of spectacular plays, he hasn’t shined against the second-team defense quite as much as you’d expect. His future is still plenty bright. But it’s not a given that he’s the No. 2 wide receiver Week 1.”

Graff added that the expectation still may be that Jefferson is the No. 2 wide receiver come the opener against Green Bay. We’ll see if that happens. The rookie will likely have to find a way to start earning first-team reps if he wants to be wide receiver two.

The three most enticing Vikings training camp battles

Minnesota will have new faces vying for key positions on the team. Which training camp battle are you most looking forward to?

Yes, yes, there are training camp battles every year across the NFL. But for the Vikings, this year is different.

This is a new-look Vikings team after a mass exodus in free agency, and a big haul of rookie talent.

Younger players from previous seasons will have to step up, and first-year players could become starters in what’s gearing up to be an incredibly unconventional NFL season.

The Vikings will have at least two new starters on offense after the team traded Stefon Diggs and terminated the contract of Josh Kline.

On defense, Minnesota will have at least four new starters after Everson Griffen, Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph all left the team. It should be said that Griffen has yet to sign with a different NFL team.

As training camp starts up for the whole roster on July 28, there are plenty of positions up for grabs.

Here are the most enticing battles for spots next season:

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Three Vikings who are dark horse starter candidates

Here are three players on the Vikings who could surprise some people and crack the starting lineup in 2020.

This will be a much different Minnesota team than it was last season.

The Vikings will probably have at least two new starters on offense and will probably have at least four on defense.

This has led plenty of people to try and guess which Minnesota players will break through and crack the starting lineup this season.

Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, cornerback Mike Hughes and wideout Justin Jefferson are some obvious candidates who could win starting spots.

But what about some people who are less obvious? What about those who may be good enough to move up the depth chart, but aren’t garnering the hype that the aforementioned three have been getting this offseason?

Well, here’s a list of just some of those players who might surprise fans and become starters in 2020:

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Vikings News: Tajae Sharpe vs. Bisi Johnson listed as a training camp battle to watch

Who do you think will be the Vikings’ third wide receiver next season?

One of the more interesting battles for positions on the Vikings isn’t for a starting spot.

It comes at the wide receiver three position, one where the player probably won’t start 16 games but still get plenty of reps throughout.

That battle comes down to a few candidates: Bisi Johnson, Tajae Sharpe and Chad Beebe, most notably.

Pro Football Focus thinks the competition between Tajae Sharpe and Bisi Johnson is a training camp battle to watch. Here’s what the outlet said about Johnson:

“Johnson, a seventh-round rookie, saw the field a whole lot more than the Vikings would have hoped for in 2019 because of the injuries to Adam Thielen. Now, it is Stefon Diggs who is out of the picture, and Johnson will once again have a shot to earn a significant role in Minnesota’s offense.”

Here’s what PFF said about Sharpe:

“Assuming Justin Jefferson takes over the WR2 role, Sharpe should be Johnson’s main competition for snaps in the passing game. From a PFF grading standpoint, the free-agent acquisition from the Tennessee Titans is coming off the best season of his four-year career — he earned a PFF grade of 72.3 in a low-volume role with the Titans, bringing in 25 of 35 targets for 329 yards, without any drops.”

Now that Stefon Diggs is gone, one of the ways the Vikings can replace his production is by having a wide receiver three get the ball more than in 2019. Who will that be? It could be anyone’s guess as of now.

CBS Sports projects Bisi Johnson and Dakota Dozier as starters

Bisi Johnson as a WR2 and Justin Jefferson in the slot? CBS Sports thinks it could happen.

Minnesota traded Stefon Diggs this offseason, and used one of the draft picks the team got for him to take wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson was a first-round pick and thrived with LSU. However, CBS Sports doesn’t have him as the wide receiver opposite of Adam Thielen.

The outlet predicted that Bisi Johnson will be the WR2, and Jefferson will be in a slot receiver role.

Here’s what the outlet said about the outlook of the wide receiver position:

“Thielen is primed for a major bounce-back after a banged-up 2019, especially now that Stefon Diggs won’t be stealing as many big-play targets, and Jefferson’s play style should blend in perfectly as Cousins makes him a target machine over the middle. But the real questions lie opposite Thielen out wide, where Bisi Johnson is penciled in as a starter but Beebe, Sharpe and Osborn could challenge for reps.”

Based on what CBS Sports said about Jefferson, it still seems like he’d at least be a big part of the Vikings offense in 2020.

CBS Sports made another interesting pick: the outlet thought Dakota Dozier would start over Dru Samia and others at the right guard spot.

Three 2020 Vikings candidates for most-improved player

Here are three Vikings players who could make some big improvements in 2020!

Minnesota is coming off a season where it went 10-6 and won a playoff game, but there’s still room for improvement if the team doesn’t want to take a step back in 2020.

The offensive line has come a long way since 2018, helping Dalvin Cook have a career year, and helping Kirk Cousins adjust to the Vikings offense better than he did in year No. 1. However, the team released Josh Kline, and there were some offensive linemen who struggled from time to time despite the Vikings’ success.

That means there are likely some new players on the offensive line in 2020, and some old ones who are going to have to get better.

There are also free agency losses at defensive back and defensive line. The team traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Bills for draft picks, too.

Here are some candidates who I think have the potential to improve in 2020.

C Garrett Bradbury

The Vikings drafted Bradbury in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and his rookie year didn’t always go as planned.

He looked erratic at times, especially against Green Bay and San Francisco, two teams that are very good at bringing pressure in the passing game. But a year under his belt in the NFL can go a long way, and Bradbury wasn’t exactly dominated by defensive linemen in his first season.

A year of lifting and learning the system better, mixed with the fact that Minnesota could draft a talented offensive lineman in one of the earlier rounds of the draft this season, could make a big difference.

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How can former Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs be replaced? With a group

Adam Thielen is the definitive No. 1 receiver on the Vikings now, but who will be the second wide receiver on the offense next season? It might be a committee.

The Vikings traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs this offseason, a big loss for a team that isn’t exactly rebuilding.

However, Minnesota received four draft picks from the Bills, in exchange for Diggs and a seventh-rounder. The team now has 12 picks in total, and can try to replace some of the production Diggs left with an early draft pick.

But that could very well not be good enough to replace Diggs. What are the odds that a rookie gels with the offense as well as Diggs and ends up being the leading receiver? Also, it’s not even necessary for the rookie to become a leading receiver, so long as Adam Thielen stays healthy.

Thielen had over 1,200 receiving yards in 2017 and 2018. Then, in 2019, he dealt with a hamstring injury that saw him miss some time. If he can go back to getting a ton of reps on offense, the Vikings won’t drop off in the passing game.

The team added Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe in the offseason. Sharpe wasn’t a star for Tennessee, but he showed glimpses of promise in a limited role. He tallied 1,167 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in three active seasons with the Titans.

There’s no telling how good Sharpe will fit in with Minnesota’s offense, but maybe more reps and targets will see an increase in production that’s suitable for a second wide receiver. But I think it’s likely his efforts will have to combine with a rookie and others on the team in order to fill the void Diggs left.

Bisi Johnson and Chad Beebe were both in the third wide receiver spot in 2019. Johnson was mostly in the third wide receiver role, finishing with 294 yards in his rookie year with the team.

Beebe has had his moments with the Vikings, like in 2019 when he beat Green Bay defensive backs for a 61-yard reception. But I don’t think it’s going to be Beebe or Johnson consistently in the second wide receiver spot, but rather, increased production for them would take some pressure off whomever has to enter into that role.

I think Minnesota’s best option is to draft a rookie early. However, the team has other needs in the draft, so maybe it’s not necessary to take one in the first.

A wide receiver such as Michigan’s Donovan Peoples-Jones or USC’s Michael Pittman Jr. give the Vikings good value past the first round in what is a deep wide receiver class.

A wide receiver like one of those two, in addition to Sharpe, Johnson and Beebe having decent years, gives Minnesota the boost it needs to replace at least a good amount of Diggs’ production. If the rookie steps up and Sharpe is better than expected, it might even replace all of it.

Where does Vikings’ 2019 rookie class rank?

Garrett Bradbury was disappointing, but three other players on the offensive side of the ball were impressive.

With the 2019 NFL season over (besides that one really important game), we know how each team’s 2019 draft class played out.

The folks over at Pro Football Focus ranked every team’s draft class and the Vikings ranked right in the middle of the pack at 15.

Here’s a snippet of what PFF writer Ben Linsey wrote about the Vikings:

Though first-round pick Garrett Bradbury had a rough rookie season — he was constantly beaten by pass-rushers foaming at the mouth to get an opportunity against him — the rest of the Vikings’ class had some bright spots. Their next two selections — tight end Irv Smith Jr. and running back Alexander Mattison — both appeared capable of being starting-caliber players on a good offense.

To recap:

Garrett Bradbury: Not as good as everyone thought he would be.
Alexander Mattison and Irv Smith Jr.: Probably a very bright future.
Bisi Johnson: Looked like a steal in the seventh round.

You would have liked to see more rookies step up, but Bradbury will improve in season No. 2, and both Mattison and Smith Jr. looked to have big roles with this team for years to come.

Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes active vs. Chargers

Rhodes will play after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury.

Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes hurt his ankle in Week 14 against the Lions.

Heading into Sunday’s Week 15 game against the Chargers, Rhodes was officially listed as questionable. Rhodes will be active for the game, which isn’t much of a surprise. Coach Mike Zimmer said earlier this week that he doesn’t expect Rhodes to be limited.

The Vikings will also have wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring), who wasn’t even on the team’s injury report. Thielen hurt his ankle in Week 7 against the Lions and has played in just one game since injuring it.

Minnesota will be without running back Alexander Mattison (ankle) and safety Jayron Kearse (toe) are out.

Wide receiver Bisi Johnson (quad) will play after being listed as questionable going into the day.

Chargers final injury report vs. Vikings

The Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings released their final injury reports ahead of the Week 15 matchup.

The Los Angeles Chargers had their last practice of the week before taking on the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday.

Here is a look at the final injury report for both teams:

Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu is the only player whose game-time status is up in the air. Nwosu is listed as questionable with an ankle injury. He was limited all three practices.

For the Vikings, running back Alexander Mattison and safety Jayron Kearse are out. Wide receiver Bisi Johnson and cornerback Xavier Rhodes are both questionable.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen is expected to play after missing the past four games.

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