Getty The Vikings are considering signing Dede Westbrook after he returned punts for the team in 2021.
While the Minnesota Vikings have plenty of returning talent on both sides of the ball, special teams remains a concern.
With one of last year’s punt returners, K.J. Osborn, expected to play a larger role in the offense after a breakout sophomore season at wide receiver, Minnesota has zero NFL experience in its prospective punt returners, second-year receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette and sixth-round pick Jalen Nailor.
Entertaining more options for return men, the Vikings invited an old friend to the team’s practice facility on Tuesday.
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Vikings Considering Re-Signing Dede Westbrook: Source
On May 31, Dede Westbrook, who spent four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before playing for Minnesota in 2021, visited the Vikings for a tryout.
And even before Westbrook arrived for his workout, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press had reported that the Vikings were considering re-signing him but that there was competition for Westbrook, 28.
“The Vikings want to get a look at Westbrook since they have a new coaching staff under Kevin O’Connell, who replaced the fired Mike Zimmer,” Tomasson wrote on May 31. “If the Vikings like what they see, they could reach a deal to bring Westbrook back. However, a source said there are several other teams looking at the veteran receiver as well.”
Last season, Westbrook returned 22 punts for 183 yards, an average of 8.3 yards. On November 14, he set the tone for the Vikings in a 27-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, returning a punt for a season-high 45 yards after the Chargers’ first possession of the game.
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Dede Westbrook’s 45 yard Punt Return yesterday is the second longest in the NFL this season😤
@DedeTHEGreat11 @YMAPAAsports @Vikings
A 2017 fourth-round pick, Westbrook played for Jacksonville through the 2020 season, tallying a career-high 66 catches in 2018 and 2019. He appeared in just two games in 2020 after suffering a torn ACL before joining the Vikings.
Westbrook has a close relationship with Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell. McCardell, who played six seasons and earned a Pro Bowl nod as a Jaguar, was Westbrook’s position coach in Jacksonville. McCardell was hired by Zimmer last year and retained by O’Connell.
Vikings’ Special Teams Saw Drastic Improvement in 2021
For most of the last decade, Minnesota’s special teams were graced with great returns from Cordarelle Patterson and Marcus Sherels.
But the 2020 season saw many of the team’s special teamers elevated into starting roles, leaving inexperienced players to fill the void. The Vikings special teams unit ranked 31st in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) that season, its worst performance since 2008, per Football Outsiders. In total, the special teams unit cost Minnesota nearly 47 points in 2020.
The Vikings’ longest punt return that season? Thirteen yards.
Westbrook enjoyed a productive season returning punts for a Vikings special teams unit that finished 13th in DVOA in 2021 under Ryan Ficken, who was not brought back with the change of regime.
Under special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, Minnesota’s special teams players will look to take another step forward, with return men like Westbrook and Kene Nwangwu at their disposal.
Nwangwu became the first rookie in NFL history to return two kickoff returns for touchdowns in his first five games of his career. Daniels hopes to get even more out of the explosive 2021 fourth-round pick, who averaged 32.2 yards per return last year.
“You see a guy who has a very, very explosive first step, the ability [break tackles], to get in and out of his cuts,” Daniels said in a May 26 story on Vikings.com. “That’s what you’re looking for from a kick returner, is the ability to stick that foot in the ground and get vertical immediately. I’m really excited about the plan that we have for him and what we’ll do this year with him.”