K.J. Osborn hypes the return of “Three Deep”

I had originally put this down in the FanPosts, but it’s so sweet that I figured it needed its own story.

The phrase “Three Deep” has a special meaning for fans of the Minnesota Vikings, as it was the nickname bestowed upon one of the great wide receiver trios not only in team history, but in the history of the NFL. It came about during the 1998 season that featured a pair of outstanding veterans in Cris Carter and Jake Reed and the addition of a young rookie named Randy Moss. Those three receivers helped the Vikings to what was then the highest-scoring offense in NFL history.

Today, current Vikings’ #3 wide receiver K.J. Osborn blessed us with this:

Yes, Osborn is hyping what we might as well call Three Deep v2.0, featuring himself alongside Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. That picture is awesome and should be made into posters that are sold everywhere that football stuff can be purchased.

Does it seem a little ambitious? Maybe a little. Then again, it seems like the Vikings will be running a lot more three-wide sets this year than they have in the past two seasons, and last season Osborn put up better numbers than any WR3 has put up in a very, very long time. There are even some rumblings that Osborn might be ready to leapfrog Thielen into the #2 spot, but we’ll have to see how that works out.

Last season, Osborn caught 50 passes for 655 yards and seven touchdowns. I’m not sure what percentage of the team’s snaps he played last year, but that percentage seems likely to increase in 2022 with the new offense the team is installing.

What do you think? Are we going to see a return of “Three Deep” this season, folks?