A wide receiver for the Minnesota offense
After making a trade down in the third round, the Minnesota Vikings have added another weapon to the offense for J.J. McCarthy to take advantage of.
With the 102nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the final pick of the third round, the Minnesota Vikings have selected wide receiver Tai Felton from the University of Maryland.
Felton set a Terrapins record this past season, hauling 96 receptions for 1,124 yards (the record is the reception total). He was a three-year starter at Maryland, and really came into his own in his final two seasons, culminating in First-Team All-Big Ten honors this past season as well as Third-Team AP All-American honors. Felton tore the ACL in his left knee in October of 2019 on a punt return and lost a lot of his scholarship offers as a result, but Maryland stuck by him, and he showed why he was so highly recruited in the first place.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Felton as the #19 wide receiver in this year’s draft class. That seems a bit low for a player who caught 96 passes this past season, in my opinion, but I’m now admittedly biased. Here’s what Brugler has to say about Felton:
A three-year starter at Maryland, Felton lined up primarily outside in offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ pro-style spread scheme, although he logged more slot snaps as a senior than in his previous three years combined. After missing almost all of his final two years of high school, he was somewhat of a late bloomer when he joined the Terps and found himself buried on the depth chart, but his impact and production improved each of his four years in the program. As a senior, he was named team MVP after leading the Big Ten in catches (8.0) and receiving yards (93.7) per game and breaking DJ Moore’s single-season Maryland record for catches.
A natural field-stretcher, Felton can stay in the corner’s pocket before pulling away at the last moment, although his success rate was just 28.6 percent (eight catches on 28 targets) on throws of more than 20 yards in 2024. He can avoid contact with his quick feet, but his mediocre play strength stands out and hurts his ability to play through contact mid-route and at the catch point. Overall, Felton has the explosive speed to be a weapon in the quick game and downfield, which gives him NFL starting potential as a Z receiver. His special teams experience will only boost his chances of cementing a spot on an NFL depth chart.
The last time the Vikings took a smallish receiver out of Maryland, it worked out relatively well for them. That player was, of course, Stefon Diggs, who turned into one of the best in the National Football League after a slow start to his rookie season. With the Vikings, he should immediately be in the mix for the WR3 spot and be an opportunity to be a deep threat in Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
Welcome to Minnesota, Tai Felton!
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