The Vikings might no longer have longtime return man Marcus Sherels on roster anymore, but Minnesota still has a plethora of options for punt returner.
As reported by Chad Graff of The Athletic, the team has been going with seven different players in training camp: K.J. Osborn, Quartney Davis, Mike Hughes, Ameer Abdullah, Chad Beebe, Tajae Sharpe and Bisi Johnson.
Graff also mentioned who he thinks has the clearest path to the starting punt returner job: Osborn.
“He was drafted in the fifth round specifically because of his ability there,” Graff said. “But if he doesn’t show enough as a wide receiver, perhaps the Vikings would look elsewhere.”
Abdullah has been a serviceable return man in the past, but like Osborn, he might be too low on the depth chart at his other position — running back, in Abdullah’s case — to make the team. Nothing is defined just yet, though.
“That’s a tough deal,” Maalouf told The Athletic of evaluating the Vikings punt returners. “I think it’s important that we create the environment around him where we put as much stress on him as possible, whether it’s catching punts from a JUGS (machine) or catching punts from Britton (Colquitt). … Now we’ve got to start adding the elements. It’s not the same as preseason games but it’s up to us, as coaches, to kind of create that environment where we’re going to see how they react.”
