The Minnesota Vikings have a need at wide receiver and Michigan wideout Tarik Black is a guy who could fill that role perfectly. The Vikings have Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, who are going to be the top two receivers for the next couple of years. This season, the team has had issues finding a third receiver, especially when Thielen missed a few games with a hamstring injury.
Laquon Treadwell is fine and does a good job with his role, but he isn't that explosive. Olabisi Johnson has also come in and proven to be someone the Vikings can count on, but if he could be the Vikings' fourth wide receiver, that would be even better.
Black is still a raw talent, which means he isn't going to be one of the first wide receivers off the board. The third or fourth round is probably where he is going to go, and the Vikings need to snatch him up if he's still available. With the Wolverines this season, Black has caught 25 passes for 323 yards and a touchdown.
One place that Black has really shown flashes is catching and tracking the deep pass, something thedraftnetwork.com noted in their evaluation of him:
“Outstanding physical and athletic profile that gives him a noticeable ceiling for the NFL. Dynamic ability down the field that showed early on in his career. Tracks the deep ball well and can adjust to it on the fly. Will rip the ball into his body through contested catchpoints. Does a good job of accelerating through the catchpoint or maintaining his balance after rising towards the catchpoint. Understands body positioning and how to shield defensive backs. Accelerates well off the line of scrimmage and shifty enough to slip by defensive backs in space. Will drop his weight into would-be tacklers.”
Diggs has been the main deep threat this year for the Vikings, but putting another deep threat outside with him would be a great asset for the Vikings. Defenses are already having a hard enough time guarding both Diggs and Thielen. If Black were to develop into a solid wide receiver and Kirk Cousins continues to play well, the rest of the league might be in some trouble.
One concern for Black the first couple of years at Michigan was his injuries, but he has done a good job of staying healthy this season and that is something that teams shouldn't be worried about much.
If the Vikings can get a couple of immediate impact guys early on in the draft and get Black in one of the middle rounds, that would have to be considered a win.
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