Minnesota Vikings: 3 Early breakout candidates on offense in 2020

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 17: Irv Smith Jr. #84 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates his first NFL career touchdown with Dalvin Cook #33 in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 17, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 17: Irv Smith Jr. #84 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates his first NFL career touchdown with Dalvin Cook #33 in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 17, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images /

3. Olabisi Johnson

One player that could be poised to have a breakout season in 2020 for the Minnesota Vikings is wide receiver Olabisi Johnson.

Johnson broke onto the NFL scene for the first time in 2019 after he was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Colorado State. While being somewhat of an outsider at the wideout position on the depth chart leading into his rookie year, Johnson made an impact throughout the course of the regular season and ended up emerging as high as the No. 3 target on the outside of the field for quarterback Kirk Cousins and company.

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During his rookie season, Johnson appeared on the field for a total of 53 percent of Minnesota’s overall offensive snaps, finishing the year with 31 receptions on 45 targets, while hauling in just under 300 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Johnson really got his first chance a year ago during Week 4 of the regular season against the Chicago Bears on the road in Chicago. During that game, the wide receiver finished with four receptions for 35 yards in the Vikings passing attack.

From that point on, Johnson took that momentum and ran with it while somewhat surprisingly providing Minnesota with a nice young option at wide receiver now and into the future.

As the 2019 campaign progressed, Johnson appeared on the field more and more for the Vikings. He ended up recording notable performances in Week 7 when he tallied four catches for 40 yards and a touchdown, also adding a career-high six catches for 35 yards in Week 11.

Part of the reason Johnson got an opportunity early on in his professional career a season ago was due to some injury issues on the receiving corps in Minnesota, most notably with Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen during the middle of the year.

With Thielen out, that gave the Vikings a chance to take a more extensive look at Johnson, and with Stefon Diggs now gone and Minnesota looking to move in some new pieces on the depth chart at wideout, Johnson could be set to have another dominant year in his sophomore season.

Although the Vikings did end up drafting Justin Jefferson out of LSU in the draft a few weeks ago, Johnson could still find himself with another big opportunity to be either the No. 2 or No. 3 option at wide receiver. That could provide the young wideout with a great opportunity during the 2020 season.