Jauan Jennings does not appear to be long for the Minnesota Vikings, and one team in the AFC West Division is primed to pay the biggest price for the wide receiver in a trade ahead of the November 10 deadline.
Jennings’ value is minimal if one calculates it by his traditional statistical production in this season alone, as he is off to a horrendous start in an offense that mostly sputtered out until QB Kyler Murray finally began to find his way last week.
But everyone in the NFL knows that the Vikings’ 29-year-old wideout is better than the two catches for nine yards he has amassed in four games played thus far.
So the market will bear out a fairer value for Jennings, who is a tough possession receiver and one of the better blockers at the position league-wide. The more a team needs a starting wideout, the better chance the Vikings have of making a favorable deal after Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Tuesday, October 13 that Jennings’ trade market “is expected to heat up” in the days to come.
In that context, let us consider the Las Vegas Raiders.
Vikings Likely to Shop Jauan Jennings After Poor Start to Season
Jennings has not meshed well with Murray. He has seen just five targets through four games after scoring 15 TDs on 127 receptions across the past two years combined.
Jennings is on a one-year deal worth $8 million, which means he is low-risk and short-term as a trade candidate. The Raiders, now losers of two in a row, desperately need a WR1.
And while Jennings isn’t really that, nor has he ever been, he should provide an upgrade over anyone in the Las Vegas wide receiver room. Thus while most other teams might only consider a conditional fifth- or sixth-round pick for Jennings, the Raiders may be willing to go higher.
Las Vegas was a prime candidate for Jennings this offseason before he joined the Vikings, and the Raiders perhaps make even more sense now given their record (3-2), the condition of the AFC West and the team’s circumstances at quarterback.
Fernando Mendoza Switch Might Prompt Raiders Into Jauan Jennings Trade
Tre Tucker is the only wideout in the team’s top four producers with regards to receiving yardage (2nd), targets (3rd), receptions (4th) and receiving TDs (tied for 4th), per ESPN statistics.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins has consistently favored tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty in the pass game through five weeks, while backup TE Michael Mayer is the other member of the Raider’s top four pass-catchers.
Ben Solak of ESPN predicted that Cousins has one more start before the team turns the football over to No. 1 overall Fernando Mendoza. And it might be nice of Las Vegas to give its franchise QB at least the semblance of a top receiver to add to his proverbial quiver of weapons through the air.
“To quickly pivot from Cousins to Mendoza might feel like an early abandonment of a well-laid developmental plan. But I would argue that the pivot is justified,” Solak wrote Tuesday. “The Raiders are currently 3-2 in a suddenly much-more-winnable AFC West than previously believed.
“Yes, the Chiefs are 4-0 — but the Raiders went neck-and-neck with them in Week 4, and both the Broncos (3-2) and Chargers (0-5) have been clearly worse than Las Vegas through five weeks,” Solak continued. “The 1.5 games back should not deter the Raiders from pushing for the division — and in that effort, potentially landing a wild-card berth regardless.”
Vikings’ Jauan Jennings Trade Pitch to AFC Nets Best Return for WR