Why the Minnesota Vikings Need to Sign WR Duron Carter

Impending free agent wide receiver Duron Carter has been all over Minnesota Vikings headlines throughout the past couple weeks.

Carter, who has spent his past two years playing in the Canadian Football League as a member of the Montreal Alouettes, will be eligible to sign with an NFL team of his choosing on February 10th, 2015, and Minnesota should do everything necessary to add him to its roster.

David Richard/Associated Press/Associated Press

After a second consecutive successful season in the CFL, Carter—the son of former Viking and Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter—will be looking to make the leap to the NFL this offseason. Despite not being able to sign with a team until early February, Carter has already drawn plenty of interest from multiple NFL teams, including the Vikings.

"

Duron Carter is working out for the Vikings today, has interest from 49ers and Browns, but don't rule out Panthers as a sleeper team

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 9, 2015"

In addition to the teams listed above by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, Carter has been worked out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and both the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks are rumored to have interest in the 2014 CFL All-Star.

The abundance of interest in Carter should come as no surprise. He not only carries his father's name wherever he goes but has produced at a high level over his past two seasons in Montreal.

Year	Team	Games Played	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Avg.	Long	Touchdowns
2013	MON	12	49	909	18.6	71	5
2014	MON	15	75	1,030	13.7	64	7
Total	-	27	124	1,939	15.6	71	12

Carter, who managed to play in only 15 of the Alouettes' 18 regular-season games this year, still finished in the top three in the CFL in receiving yards (1,030), receiving touchdowns (7) and receptions (75). He recorded four 100-yard games in 2014 and was instrumental to Montreal's successful 2014 season, which ultimately concluded with a second-round loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup playoffs.

Although Carter has been highly coveted by NFL teams this offseason, it hasn't always been this way for the former Ohio State recruit.

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

He was highly recruited coming out of high school, but his college career never really gained any momentum due to consistent academic ineligibility issues, which began at Ohio State in 2009 and continued at both Alabama in 2011 and Florida Atlantic in 2012. Even though he had very little college experience—he played in only 12 college games, all with Ohio State in 2009—Carter made himself eligible for the NFL draft in 2013.

Despite recording solid results in both the 40-yard dash (4.58) and vertical jump (33") at the NFL combine—according to NFLDraftScout.com—and possessing an intimidating 6'5", 205-pound frame, Carter's name wasn't called, and he would become an undrafted free agent.

Now, two seasons removed from essentially being relegated to the CFL after being cut by the Vikings, Carter will receive a second chance to play in the NFL, and his father hopes it will be with his former team.

"

I talked to all of "Three Deep" @RandyMoss and @JakeReed86 and they want @DC_CHILLIN_8 in #Purple RT pic.twitter.com/s7CZHCftB4

— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) January 9, 2015"

It is beginning to look like dad will get his wish; the 23-year-old Carter spoke very highly of the Vikings following his recent workout at Winter Park, according to Mark Craig of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis): "It [the workout] went really well. I met everybody and it looked really good. I like Minnesota, I like the facilities, I like the coaches and everything. It seems like things are looking up. I would say Minnesota is probably my front-runner right now."

His initial reaction is great news for the organization, and Minnesota must capitalize on the opportunity to bring in a wide receiver like Carter.

The Vikings' current wide receiver depth chart—Greg Jennings, Charles Johnson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jarius Wright and Adam Thielen—is loaded with potential, but the group lacks considerable size and produced subpar results (again) in 2014.

Jennings (101.6) received the highest wide receiver rating of the group, with Wright (98.5) not far behind, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). In relation to the rest of the league, these two ratings rank 29th and 34th, respectively, among wide receivers receiving at least 45 targets in 2014.

Name	Targets	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Receiving Touchdowns
G. Jennings	92	59	742	6
C. Patterson	67	33	384	1
J. Wright	62	42	588	2
C. Johnson	59	31	475	2
A. Thielen	13	8	137	1

As emphasized by the chart above, the Vikings have now gone five consecutive seasons without a 1,000-yard receiver, and only two have reached this benchmark over the past decade—Sidney Rice (1,312) in 2009 and Nate Burleson (1,004) in 2004. Ineffective quarterback play has played a role in the lack of outstanding wide receiver numbers, but there will be no excuses moving forward with Teddy Bridgewater under center.

Based on his performance in the CFL, it can be assumed Carter has sharpened his skills since being invited to training camp with the Vikings back in 2013, but evaluating how much he has improved is a bit difficult to gauge due to a lack of available film to study.

His highlight tape with the Alouettes does reveal an impressive skill set, however:

Similar to his father, Carter appears to be a fundamentally sound receiver. He demonstrates efficient route-running ability, which Craig also notes as a strength, the ball sticks to his hands upon impact, and he does not appear to have any problem creating separation at the line of scrimmage, an issue that has plagued Patterson throughout his first two seasons. He also appears to be slightly faster than he was when he entered the 2013 draft.

In addition to performing well in the most basic aspects of the wide receiver position, Carter uses his elite size, long wingspan and big hands to gain a considerable advantage, a skill Johnson (6'2") and Patterson (6'2") have not shown despite also possessing above-average size. His size advantage in combination with excellent body control makes him very difficult to defend in one-on-one situations.

Intangibles are generally difficult to pick up on from a player's tape, but Carter shows noticeable passion for the game, even if he likely would have been flagged for excessive celebration on a couple occasions had he been playing in the NFL. Given that his work ethic and attitude were initially called into question by scouts, the enthusiasm he shows on film is a great sign.

Miller also highlights Carter's toughness, ankle-breaking inside moves on slant routes and versatility as strengths to his game; however, he points out that Carter struggled against physical cornerbacks in the CFL and too often passed up sure-handed grabs for the highlight-reel play.

Some of Carter's techniques may still require some refinement, but he undoubtedly possesses a desirable skill set, especially for a Vikings team lacking a tall, red-zone threat at wide receiver.

Former Vikings wide receiver Jake Reed, who played alongside Carter's Hall of Fame father for several seasons, may have said it best:

"

@jondre97 @DC_CHILLIN_8 Potential, man you have no idea! #skol

— Jake Reed (@JakeReed86) January 10, 2015"

His mismatch-creating physical frame, ideal measurements, athleticism, speed and improved techniques echo Reed's theory that Carter has plenty of potential just waiting to be unlocked.

Bridgewater and the Vikings desperately need to add a tall, lengthy wide receiver to their arsenal, and Carter appears to be a perfect fit. He is also young and will command considerably less money than other big-frame free-agent receivers (such as Hakeem Nicks, for example).

Signing a tall, relatively cheap wide receiver with tremendous upside like Carter is simply an opportunity Minnesota cannot afford to miss out on.

Statistics Courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference, unless otherwise noted.

For more Vikings analysis, statistics and discussion, find me on Twitter @RobertReidell