Where on earth are we in football again? Oh, yeah, the off-season. The post-draft season. At times, it seems like the days are dragging by slowly. One of the only positives of post draft seasons, though, is that the actual football season is slowly, but surely making it’s way back to our televisions.
Looking forward to kicking back, relaxing, and watching football on Sundays, the coming home from school or work feeling and finally relaxing to watch the game on Monday night; it’s amazing. That feeling will be accompanied by what appears to be, an upgraded Minnesota Vikings team.
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Leading into the draft, there was a lot of talk on whether the Vikings should go after a receiver, probably DeVante Parker; the former teammate of Teddy Bridgewater. Yes, Parker was a stud in his college days, and yes, he would’ve been a great fit for Bridgewater; but everyone seemed to forget about the newly acquired free agent Mike Wallace.
There’s no need to fear about not getting Parker, because Wallace is here to take over the No. 1 spot. His numbers may not be a nice as they used to be, but he hasn’t slowed down much. After all, Wallace proclaimed himself to be the fastest man in the NFL.
In the 2009 draft combine, Wallace ran a 4.33 40-yard dash. He’s said that his best time is a 4.21, which would be better than Chris Johnson’s 4.24, which is the combine record. That’s very…very impressive. He’s also said that he could run a 4.25 right now, which is, yet again…very impressive.
Regardless, the point he’s trying to say and what we all know, is that he’s fast. Plain and simple. However, Wallace bring more to the table than just his speed. Wallace may not have the height or hands as Parker, but he still has No. 1 receiver talent.
In his years for the Steelers, he made an immediate impact right from the get-go. Playing in 16 games, starting four of them, Wallace had 756 yards on 39 receptions and added 6 touchdowns to his rookie season. 756 yards on 39 receptions leaves Wallace with an excellent 19.7 points-per-game; the best of his career so far. He then went on to have back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 yards. Also totaling up for 18 touchdowns.
Wallace was spectacular during these times as a Steeler. Then, at the end of the 2012 season, Wallace was a free agent and signed with the Miami Dolphins.
Since then, Wallace’s number have declined. He hasn’t had over 1,000 yards since, and he didn’t have many touchdowns in his first year as a Dolphin. The second year, though, Wallace had 862 yards, 10 touchdowns and averaged 12.9 yards per game. Which is still more yards than any Viking receiver has had since 2009; when Sidney Rice had 1312 yards.
So, at least that’s already an improvement, right? You bet.
Norv Turner has coached many great No. 1 receivers ever since he began his career. He’s been the offensive coordinator for Michael Irvin, Randy Moss, Vincent Jackson, Josh Gordon and an honorable mention with Chris Chambers. So now, with Wallace at the No.1, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
His speed isn’t his only great asset. Wallace has a 40-inch vertical and he’s only 6’0″, the man has hops. He’s able to jump up and battles for balls in the air, we’ve seen it before. A good portion of his touchdowns also came in the redzone, so he’s versatile at the receiver position. Strong, quick, athletic, and tough.
In his years with the young Ryan Tannehill, it was sloppy for both of them. Tannehill, however, has improved since.
Having another young quarterback with Bridgewater could rattle Wallace again, he’s known for having bag language on the field, but that’s highly unlikely now. After a promising rookie season, Bridgewater is bound to break out this year. When Teddy grows, the numbers for Wallace will too. Wallace will learn quickly that Bridgewater wants to succeed, and the Vikings are doing their best to make that happen as well.
Also, Stefon Diggs has a great chance to be a lovely addition; there’s going to be some competition in the receiving core all around. No competition for Wallace though, with six seasons under his belt, Wallace knows how to play the game. It’s easy to forget that the Vikings grabbed him with all the draft talk and questioning on the No. 11 pick, but the Vikings are without-a-doubt in good hands with Wallace.
Next: Stefon Diggs to Replace Cordarrelle Patterson?
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