Bottom Line

Osborn stepped up when allowed to be the Vikings’ WR2 at the end of 2022. As good as he was, his opportunity to be an impact fantasy asset this season has been somewhat squashed by the team deciding to draft rookie WR Jordan Addison in the 1st round of the NFL Draft this offseason.

Fantasy managers who participate in deeper league formats ought to consider Osborn as a speculative late-round dart throw bench stash if injuries on the depth chart open up the opportunity to see greater involvement.

What We Learned Last Year

• Osborn spent last season serving as the Vikings’ WR3, finishing as the WR45 overall in PPR.
• He recorded a pair of top-12 weekly finishes among WRs, with two more inside the top 24. Osborn finished outside the top 40 in his other 13 games.
• The former fifth-round pick finished fourth on the Vikings in target share (14%) and air yards share (15.7%), and third in receiving yards (650).
• Over the last four weeks of the 2022 season, Osborn saw an uptick in usage as the Vikings’ WR2 ahead of Adam Thielen. In that stretch, he averaged 8.2 targets per game (19.5% target share), 87.5 receiving yards, 0.5 TDs per game, and 18 PPR points per game.
• In each of the last two seasons, Osborn has received at least 80 targets and recorded 600+ receiving yards. He’s primarily been the team’s WR3 in that span, but the Vikings ranked eighth in 11-personnel grouping (three-WR sets) in 2022 under first-year HC Kevin O’Connell.
• Osborn played 76.6% of the team’s offensive snaps.

What to Expect in 2023

• The Vikings let go of veteran WR Adam Thielen and then drafted WR Jordan Addison in Round 1.
• Osborn will have a shot at WR2 usage, but the top three wideouts should all spend plenty of time on the field. So expect this to be more a question of target distribution than playing time.