It Would be Pretty Cool if the Vikings Acquired Eric Decker

The New York Jets will soon part ways with touchdown maven Eric Decker from their roster, and are evidently pursuing a retired Steve Smith to fill in the void left by no longer employing their top two receivers. Decker might be released outright or traded to a team for (likely) little value.

The Vikings should pursue him if he is released or his trade value is somewhere in the range of a sixth- or seventh-round pick (and they renegotiate his salary). If they don't acquire him, it's probably not a big deal.

In the last five years, Decker has ranked fifth in touchdowns per game of every player with at least 100 receptions over that time period.

Decker, over that time span, ranks fourth in red zone targets, second in red zone receiving touchdowns and seventh among those with at least 50 targets.

The only reason Decker is at all available is because of his injury history, and that does create significant issues. Rotoworld has a good summary of that history in their blurb relating to Adam Schefter's report:

It's quite the recovery. Decker had extensive hip and shoulder operations when he was injured in Week 3 last season. He was expected to face a rehab deep into summer, but Decker participated fully at OTAs. Now healthy, the Jets are looking to trade him in the next 72 hours or they will cut him. Decker likely prefers the latter so that he can pick his own destination, though he may not get the $14.75 million in salary he's due the next two years if that happens. The Titans and Ravens have been speculated as options.

In March, there was some doubt that he'd be available for training camp but in May seems to have dispelled doubt and was moving through rehab quickly enough, especially without structural issues.

It's unusual that the Jets have decided to pursue Smith, if only because parting ways with Decker fits with what has been coined as a "youth movement" by those covering the Jets and the owner himself.

They've let David Harris, Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, Nick Folk and Nick Mangold go as part of that effort.

This likely tells us that Decker's impending release or trade is not solely because of his injury but a combination of factors that has in big part to do with his age (he is 30).

The Vikings have a good handle on their starting receivers -- Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. They also have rounded out their depth chart with the additions of Michael Floyd and two late-round receivers and have given first-round pick Laquon Treadwell every opportunity to earn a starting job.

But as third receivers, both Floyd and Treadwell are pretty uncertain. If both of them have about a 20 percent chance of being good receivers, there's only a 36 percent chance overall that you end up with a viable option. Adding a third option brings those chances up to about 50 percent, and that assume Decker is as uncertain as Floyd and Treadwell. The true likelihood is probably closer to 85 or 90 percent.

It's inarguable that a healthy Decker would improve the team. Though the Vikings have substantially improved their run game, it seems likely that they won't revert to a scheme featuring a fullback, which means they have ample opportunity to field three receivers along with a running back and tight end.

Last year, the average team rolled out 2.6 receivers per play, with seven teams playing with more than 2.75 receivers per play. It would be fairly easy for the Vikings to split 900 snaps between three receivers. Adam Thielen, after all, led Vikings receivers with 879.

This would create a crowded receiver room, there's little doubt about that -- but it's pretty unlikely that any receiver whose position is now at risk would have contributed much anyway.

The Vikings have now carried six receivers on opening day for three consecutive years -- and the increasing likelihood that the fullback position is no longer relevant for the team opens up another slot for a player like a bottom-of-the-roster receiver.

Not only that, it would be pretty neat for the Vikings to have the best player to come from the University of Minnesota since Karl Mecklenberg -- and before that, Carl Eller.

The Vikings have about $14 million in cap space, so it's certainly possible for them to absorb a reduced Decker contract and it would make the team better at the primary skill they've lacked in-- producing receiving touchdowns -- for over a decade. The last receiver to produce double-digit touchdowns for more than one season for the Vikings was Randy Moss.

It wouldn't be a failure for the franchise to ignore the opportunity, but why not?

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