Zulgad: K.J. Osborn knows that in the NFL, “they’re always looking to replace you”
The Vikings’ addition of Jordan Addison with their first-round pick in last month’s draft has been celebrated as a move that won’t just give the team another quality receiver but also will create valuable room for superstar Justin Jefferson to operate. It’s what the Vikings hoped Adam Thielen would be able to do last season before injuries and the aging process took their toll on the one-time standout.
Combine the Jefferson and Addison pairing with a full season of tight end T.J. Hockenson and coach/play-caller Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Kirk Cousins are expecting the Vikings’ scoring offense to shoot from eighth into the top five in 2023.
One of the interesting things about Addison’s addition — O’Connell called him a Day 1 starter in a draft-night video posted by the Vikings — is what it will mean for K.J. Osborn?
The Vikings will talk about the competition for the No. 2 job at wide receiver, but it’s Addison’s to lose. This doesn’t mean Osborn won’t play.
Injuries are inevitable and O’Connell used three wide receiver sets on 74 percent of plays last season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That number will be interesting to track this year after the Vikings signed tight end Josh Oliver from Baltimore in free agency. Oliver is an outstanding blocker and the Vikings want to improve a run game that finished tied for 27th in the NFL last season with the Rams.
That means the Vikings will more often use two tight ends and a running back in certain formations to create confusion about their intentions and also provide more assistance to the running game.
The Vikings’ consistent use of 11 personnel in 2022 — one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers — was a big reason Osborn had career highs in targets (90) and receptions (60). He had 650 yards receiving and five touchdowns, trailing the 655 yards and seven TDs he had in 2021.
The one thing the Vikings know Osborn isn’t going to do is pout. He has too much to lose financially by taking it personally that his team didn’t think he could assume Thielen’s role. Plus, Osborn isn’t new to having to prove himself.
He was taken in the fifth round of the 2020 draft by former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and plugged into the kick return role. He averaged 21.6 yards on 14 kick returns and 3.9 yards on seven punt returns as a rookie.
Osborn, who will turn 26 on June 10, wasn’t on the field for one offensive snap in nine games. That changed in 2021. Osborn did not return a kick and only four punts, but an impressive training camp earned him a role on 68 percent of the offensive snaps.
That figure increased to 75 percent last season as he played in all 17 games for the second year in a row. Osborn will be a free agent after this season and has plenty of motivation to prove he’s capable of taking on an expanded role. Whether that be in Minnesota, or elsewhere.
Asked if he had a chip on his shoulder, Osborn acknowledged, “huge, huge.”
“It’s not just the draft,” he said. “It’s the NFL. They’re always looking to replace you. To me, it’s about respect, man. I want to earn my respect. … I was a fifth-round pick. I was a two-star recruit. I came from the (Mid-American Conference). If they draft somebody, didn’t draft somebody, I’m trying to prove to myself. Not to everybody else. I want to prove myself right. I don’t care about any doubters, or haters. My standard is higher than any fan or any coach in this building, for myself.”
Osborn, who transferred to the University of Miami in 2019 after playing four seasons for the University of Buffalo in the MAC, has done an impressive job of proving himself and has become one of Cousins’ trusted targets.
He looks at this situation as just another chance for him to overcome the odds.
“That’s who I am, though, so adding a contract year, some big things going on around here, it’s even more exciting,” Osborn said. “That just fuels me that much more.”
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com
