The Minnesota Vikings have reached a one-year deal with former Tennessee Titans wide receiver, Tajae Sharpe.
Former Tennessee Titans wide receiver, Tajae Sharpe, arrived at Saint Thomas Sports Park with his own football — a tone-setter. (Side note: all rookies should do that, I mean, come on.)
But, will he show up at U.S. Bank Stadium in the same regard? Per Ian Rapoport, Sharpe has reached an agreement with the Minnesota Vikings on a one-year deal.
Source: Former #Titans WR Tajae Sharpe is signing with the #Vikings on 1-year deal. He’ll likely be the No. 2 alongside Adam Thielen, filling the void left by the Stefon Diggs trade.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 25, 2020
Call it luck or conincidence, but it just so happens that Sharpe made his debut for the Titans in a 25-16 Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in 2016.
Though the Titans lost, Sharpe was a life raft at a position that crippled the Titans organization for so long. He led the team in receptions, hauling in seven passes for 76 yards.
Now, Sharpe returns to a team he undoubtedly impressed three and a half years ago, with an opportunity for a more significant role. ICYMI, this offseason the Vikings traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills, and have lost former first-round pick, WR Laquon Treadwell, to the Atlanta Falcons via free agency. Enter: Sharpe.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1208852433700409344
So what are the Vikings getting?
A guy that packed a ton of production from the college level — the former University of Massachusetts stand-out had his best season as a Titan his rookie year, tallying 41 receptions for 522 yards and two touchdowns.
A guy who (through no fault of his own) was buried on the Titans depth chart behind a former top-5 pick in Corey Davis and a rookie phenom in A.J. Brown.
He has always had solid hands, especially where it counts the most like on the boundaries for tight throws and when he needs to sit down vs zone coverage and snag a pass to covert 3rd downs.
Without elite athleticism, he always manages to be “slippery” in the red zone which flusters defensive backs and he has a knack for being where you need him to be when it counts. Like I said before, the only problem is that he couldn’t see the field as often in offenses that predominantly ran heavy 2TE offenses.
In Minnesota, he should have a fair shake to do just that now that there is a vacuum where Diggs used to be.
Sharpe will end his career as a Titan with 92 receptions for 1,167 yards and eight touchdowns, but the numbers don’t tell the full story.
As is pertains to the Titans, the team will likely look to fill the void in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft — one of the deepest wide receiver classes in recent history.
A month ago, I wrote a pre-combine look at three wide receivers Tennessee could target in late April. And while I don’t see the Titans spending high draft capital at the position, there will be plenty of talent on day three for a younger, developmental wideout.