Turns Out the Vikings Had Serious Competition for Jauan Jennings

Jan 3, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) takes the field before the game at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

The Dolphins don’t have much going for them after the fire sale over the past few months, but their sales pitch certainly involved a higher target share than the Vikings can offer. Without Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, Miami doesn’t have a clear top threat in the passing game.

The Commanders are in a better spot and Jayden Daniels has shown star potential. Kansas City does have several receivers in the building, but could’ve used Jennings’ physicality. They are always an intriguing spot for as long as Patrick Mahomes is under contract.

Ultimately, Jennings picked the Vikings. It’s unclear whether those organizations would’ve matched Minnesota’s salary offer.

His minimum pay of $8 million is certainly a cheap deal, given his production over the last couple of seasons, as well as the blocking he brings to the table that doesn’t show up on the scorecard. The triggers for the additional $5 million have not been revealed.

Sep 14, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) runs to the end zone after a reception against the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Head coach Kevin O’Connell commented on his new weapon, “Had a great visit with Jauan and really enjoyed my time I got to spend with him. He’s a player that I’ve always, from afar, had a lot of respect for. He obviously brings size to the room, brings a level of play style and physicality; the guy loves playing football.”

Jennings was a seventh-rounder in the loaded WR draft class of 2020. After a year on the practice squad, he entered the rotation in 2021, but remained in a rotational role through the 2023 campaign. His breakout took place in 2024 when the short-handed 49ers needed a pass-catcher to step up. He did with 975 yards and six touchdowns, followed by 643 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025.

The Vikings don’t need that kind of production if the top duo stays healthy, but they could use his physicality. At 6’3″ and 212 lbs, Jennings has the size and the power to be a mismatch as a blocker. He’s comparable to a tight end in that sense.

“We need a unique aspect to that (WR) room,” O’Connell added. “You can’t just be one thing. Because we move Justin around, we move Jordan around. You gotta be able to be a slot receiver, you gotta be able to do some of those jobs on the early downs that we ask of that player.”

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings sprints into the end zone for a touchdown during second-half action against the Chicago Bears, finishing the play on Dec 28, 2025, in Santa Clara, California, as he capped a scoring drive at Levi’s Stadium in a late-season NFC matchup. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images.

Last year, Jalen Nailor played in that WR3 role and was quite solid. He signed a three-year, $35 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. Jennings is likely to seek another raise next offseason.

“You gotta be able to line up on third down, when you’re one of the few players that might be single-covered in man-to-man, you gotta be able to win, you gotta be able to make contested catches, and you gotta be able to do something with it after the catch. Jauan does all those things. I think Vikings fans are gonna fall in love with watching this guy play football, the passion and the physicality that he plays with. You can tell I’m excited about it,” O’Connell emphasized.

Asked about his run blocking, the skipper commented:

“There are some unbelievable clips over the years of — if I said ‘doing his job,’ that would be a wild understatement. There’s an emphasis that he wants to go out and play with a certain kind of play style that I think we’ve seen at times with different guys over the years. And we’ve kind of pieced the room together in different ways to maximize each guy’s skill set.”

Jennings, 28, is signed through the 2026 season and gives the Vikings arguably the best receiving trio in the NFL and the best the franchise has had in a long time.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.