Jauan Jennings Compares Vikings to NBA Superteam

Jauan Jennings is the main newcomer at Minnesota Vikings organized team activities (OTAs) in terms of longevity, and he’s excited about his squad, so much so that he compared himself and his WR peers to the dynastic Golden State Warriors.

It’s big talk in May that Jennings and friends will have to back up in September.

Vikings New WR Trio Has Immediate Star Power Expectations

Jennings: We’re a Big Three

The new Viking was all smiles on Wednesday, fresh off six years in San Francisco with the 49ers — hence the Warriors analogy — and reporters were anxious to ask about his mindset with the Vikings.

“It’s awesome. I feel like Kevin Durant and the Warriors. Because it’s the big 3, man, you know what I’m saying? There’s a lot of talent over here, just top-down, head-bottom, lot of talent,” Jennings said.

Jennings once played with Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk at the same time, but Minnesota’s current group evidently takes the cake.

The Vikings’ Deepest WR Group in Years — Because of Jennings

One month ago, after the draft, Vikings fans looked at the wide receiver depth chart after no new rookies arrived at the position from Round 1 through 7, and thought, “What are they going to do at WR3? Is Tai Felton ready?”

The WR group felt stable because a unit with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison is never too far from prominence. Yet, at WR3, anxiety prevailed. Would the Vikings trust the responsibility to Felton?

Nope — they signed Jennings for $8 million, and instantly, the group became its deepest since the days of Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Jake Reed. The current trio isn’t quite as talented from head to toe as those three, but it’s not silly to suggest Jefferson-Addison-Jennings is the top trio since.

Overall, here’s the full WR setup at OTAs:

• Justin Jefferson
• Jordan Addison
• Jauan Jennings
• Tai Felton
• Myles Price
• Jeshaun Jones
• Dontae Fleming
• Joaquin Davis
• Dillon Bell
• Luke Wysong
• Marcus Sanders
• Terrill Davis

Not bad.

FantasyLife‘s Adam Pfeifer on Jennings: “Over the past two seasons, Jennings has ranked 32nd and 16th in fantasy points per route, largely due to a 35% end-zone target share. He’s played 15 games in both seasons, while running a route on nearly 82% of dropbacks.”

“The Vikings are getting a tough, reliable player to complement Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Since 2024, Jennings’ 69 receptions on third down are the 10th most in the NFL, drawing a target on over 26% of third-down routes and accounting for 24.5% of San Francisco’s third-down targets.”

The Superteam Constructed to Stop LeBron James

In 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from behind to complete a historic comeback and defeat the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Golden State led the series three games to one, but thanks to James and his co-pilot, Kyrie Irving, Cleveland pulled off the impossible.

How’d the Warriors, a 73-win team, respond? Signing Kevin Durant, who averaged 28 points per game on a 55-win Thunder team. That’s right: the only way to stop James’s second career prime was for one of the NBA’s leading scorers to join a 73-win team, stacking the odds in Golden State’s favor. The plan worked — the Warriors won two titles with Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson assembled as an unstoppable force.

And that’s how Jennings sees this Vikings WR corps. It’s probably an exaggeration, but you can understand his excitement.

Murray and McCarthy on Jennings

Not only is Jennings excited about his cohorts, but his quarterbacks are also stoked about him.

J.J. McCarthy on Jennings: “I’m so happy to have that guy as part of the squad. Jennings has got great energy about him. I’ve been watching him for a long time. He’s been doing it at a really high level for a long time, and we’re blessed to have him as part of this group. It’s just building those on-time and on-rhythm passes for each concept, each route. It’s just tremendous to be around that guy every single day.”

Kyler Murray sang Jennings’s praises, too: “Jauan, honestly, getting to meet him now, it’s been great. I understand what type of competitor he is. He’s kind of given us fits for the past couple of years. Just really a dog, you know. Throw it his way, pretty, ugly, whatever way it gets done. That’s the type of energy and juice he brings to the team and the field.”

Jennings has logged 15 touchdowns in the last two seasons. Vikings fans hope that production will transfer to the Twin Cities.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker