Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter likes his group of receivers but he says that he could also add to that group in the draft, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times writes.
“I feel fine about our receiving corps. Obviously, at the top with [Vincent Jackson] and [Mike Evans],” Koetter said. “I’m not a believer that Vincent Jackson is anywhere close to being done. I think both of his injuries were extremely freakish last year. He happened to take a helmet right on the knee in both instances. Vincent is a fast healer. I think Mike is going to have a rebound year if we can call 1,200 yards a bad season.”
Beyond Evans and Jackson, Koetter has young wide receivers Adam Humphries, Donteea Dye, Evan Spencer, and Kenny Bell plus veterans Louis Murphy and Russell Shepard. Koetter isn’t ruling out adding to that group in the draft, but it’d be a shocker of Tampa Bay went receiver at No. 9 overall.
Here’s a look at the NFC:
- Coach Mike Zimmer doesn’t believe that the Vikings have to add a veteran wide receiver before next season, ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling writes. “We had a receiver here that was making a lot of money that really didn’t do what we needed to do,” Zimmer said. “So I don’t know that it’s a necessity to go out and sign another wide receiver. We’ve got to get better with the guys we’ve got, and we’ve got to fix other areas that can allow these receivers to be more effective in the games.”
- Washington coach Jay Gruden says he’s “very concerned” about the team’s safety depth, as John Keim of ESPN.com writes. Duke Inenacho and David Bruton are competing for a starting job at strong safety but both players are coming off injuries. Banking on Ihenacho is especially risky as he has missed most of the past two seasons with injuries.
- The 49ers worked out Buffalo offensive tackle John Kling, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). As previously reporters, the 6-foot-7, 315-pound lineman has also auditioned for the Chargers.
I suppose Zimmer’s right, considering how the Vikings were a near-lock to make the final eight last season with a quarterback who’d thrown 14 TD passes. Acquiring a receiver through the draft makes more sense than overpaying for one to plug into a run-oriented offense. The Vikings haven’t had much luck in procuring veteran receivers in recent years.
I would love to see the Vikings sign Anquan Boldin. He would be the perfect veteran receiver for Teddy Bridgewater. He would be a great possession receiver who would be super reliable on third downs and in the red zone. He would come cheap and also be a great influence on the newly drafted receiver as well as all of the other young ones already on the squad.