Vikings: Add a deep threat in Wallace

When the Minnesota Vikings traded for Mike Wallace they got themselves a receiver with serious deep speed. That he was available would have seemed inconceivable back when he was a big name free agent in 2013, but average form (-4.9 in two seasons in Miami), large salary and apparent discontent were all contributing factors to the Miami Dolphins decision to let him go.

Wallace is something of a one-trick pony, a receiver who uses his raw speed to gain separation; when it works he is more than capable of taking it to the house. That makes Wallace deadly in a vertical offense with a quarterback with the strength and accuracy to find him deep. That was more or less the case throughout his time Pittsburgh, where he caught passes from Ben Roethlisberger, racking up an impressive 4042 yards and 32 touchdowns in four years. Unsurprisingly, much of Wallace's production came after he'd blazed past the secondary, with 43.7% of his yards and an impressive 68.75% of his touchdowns coming on Deep Passes (those that travel at least 20 yards downfield in the air).

In Miami, Wallace gained just 460 yards and two touchdowns on deep balls, but still remained relatively productive with 1,792 yards and 15 touchdowns in two years. Now he finds himself in Minnesota as part of a Norv Turner offense that will definitely take shots downfield, and with a quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater who completed 46.3% of his deep passes as a rookie, 10th-best in the league in 2014. All of which appears to make Wallace an excellent fit in Minnesota.