A favorite is emerging to be the punt returner for the Minnesota Vikings by Adam Carlson

When SB Nation released their wide receiver corps power rankings, they made the decision to place the Minnesota Vikings among the elite units of the NFL.

The Minnesota Vikings have an amazing duo of wide receivers as starters. There is no denying the success that both Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs have achieved with the team and both are likely to be superstars for the team for many years to come.

However, past them on the depth chart, things get a little rocky. There is the disappointing Laquon Treadwell at the third spot and then several young players with huge potential behind him to fill out the roster.

Even with questions in terms of depth, the Vikings were praised by SB Nation when they released their wide receiver corps power rankings for the 2019 NFL season. The boys in purple and gold were ranked fourth among the 32 franchises, which is quite an accomplishment considering all the talented pass catchers around the league.

Here is the biggest positive thing SB Nation had to say about Minnesota’s wide receivers:

“Thielen exploded with eight straight 100+ yard receiving performances to start last season before cooling off over the last half of the year. Diggs helped pick up where he left off with the first 1,000-yard season of his budding career.”

Any time a team can have a pair of 1,000-yard receivers, that is a great feat. And, as Vikings fans have seen over time, both Thielen and Diggs make tough catches and can turn them into big plays quite quickly.

However, the biggest negative from SB Nation is exactly as I stated above:

“Treadwell’s overwhelming mediocrity — he has 56 catches in three NFL seasons — led the Vikings to decline the fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract as a former first-round pick.”

Last year, Minnesota signed a free agent in the middle of the season, and even that individual was much more impressive than Treadwell. Sadly, Aldrick Robinson has moved on to the Panthers, but his 17 catches for 231 yards and five touchdowns still made him an important contributor to the team…which makes Treadwell’s 35 catches for 302 yards and one touchdown seem even more disappointing.

Thankfully, there are hungry young pass catchers on the team looking to make a name for themselves this season and who could help replace the production Robinson saw. Chad Beebe, Brandon Zylstra, Dillon Mitchell, Olabisi Johnson, and others will all be pushing for a role with the Vikings this year, and that competition should see the cream rise to the top and help out Diggs and Thielen this year.

Honestly, fourth place is probably a bit generous for how top-heavy the wide receiver corp of the Minnesota Vikings is. SB Nation obviously respects what the two starters do so much that they were willing to be lenient with the rest of the group, but hopefully, the supporting cast will show they have come to play in 2019.

(H/T to The Daily Norseman for finding this story)