Michigan State football: Jalen Nailor makes Vikings’ 53-man roster

Former Michigan State football star Jalen Nailor has officially made the Minnesota Vikings’ 53-man roster.

A former Michigan State football star who was on the fringe of roster cuts made the 53-man roster on Tuesday afternoon.

Jalen Nailor was announced as one of six receivers who made the Vikings’ roster.

The Vikings official 53-man roster:

Quarterbacks (3):
Kirk Cousins
Nick Mullens
Jaren Hall

Running Backs (3):
Alexander Mattison
Kene Nwangwu
Ty Chandler

Fullbacks (1):
CJ Ham

Wide Receivers (6):
Justin Jefferson
KJ Osborn
Jordan Addison
Jalen Nailor
Brandon Powell
Jalen…

— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) August 29, 2023

This news shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given the fact that Nailor was one of the rising stars to begin fall camp for Minnesota, but an injury kept him out of practices and made his roster outlook a bit murky.

On Tuesday, however, he is officially on the 53-man.

Nailor was having a really strong start to camp before his injury and many were even saying that he was one of the breakout candidates for the Vikings this year. Being slowed by injury, there was speculation that he might get cut. But his talent and ability to work his way back made him an easy pick for the staff to be on the roster.

The former MSU wideout joins Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, KJ Osborn, Brandon Powell, and Jalen Reagor as the receivers on the roster. With just six guys at the position, there’s a good chance Nailor will see a good amount of targets.

In 2022 as a rookie, Nailor finished with nine catches on 13 targets for 179  yards and a touchdown. He showed his explosiveness and the reason he was nicknamed “Speedy” with his 19.9 yards per reception. That solid start to his NFL career was enough to get fans to buy in and he could become a legit target for fellow Spartan Kirk Cousins.

Although they’re division rivals with the Lions, I could get used to see Cousins throwing touchdown passes to Nailor and I hope it happens all season long.

Nailor is going to make his presence felt this season.