K.J. Osborn is a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Osborn played his high school ball at the distinguished IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida during his senior year, and was a two-star prospect who enrolled at the University of Buffalo as a member of the 2015 class. Osborn would spend four seasons at Buffalo, where he earned All-Mac honors in 2018, before transferring to Miami for his final season in 2019. In that final season at Miami, Osborn’s college stats featured a receiving line 50-547-5, leading the team in receiving. He also returned 16 punts for 255 yards, and returned 10 kickoffs for 201 yards.
KJ Osborn appeared in just nine games as a rookie and didn’t register a reception, much less a target, which made his 2021 ascent all the more unexpected. Through the first two weeks of the 2021 season, Osborn looked like one of the best fantasy receivers in the league. He caught seven passes for 76 yards (14.6 PPR) on nine targets in Week 1 against the Bengals, and went for 5-91-1 and 20.1 PPR in Week 2 against the Cardinals. Osborn’s high-end fantasy production proved to not be sustainable over the course of a 17-game season, as he finished 2021 as the WR51 in fantasy points per game (9.3), but he still turned out another five double-digit games between Weeks 3 and 18. Osborn ranked 31st in total routes run (472), and was able to utitlize his speed on deep balls with 16 deep targets (34th). He finished with 863 air yards on the year and had only one drop.
In terms of next gen stats, Osborn didn’t dominate in any particular metric, ranking no higher than 28th in any of the efficiency metrics we measure at PlayerProfiler.com. But he proved himself to be a sure-handed wide receiver, as he totaled just one drop on the year while seeing the 23rd most snaps (292) of any wide receiver out of the slot.
Osborn is under contract with the Vikings for two more seasons, and could be in line for another leap in year three. Boasting a 4.48 40 time and 73rd-percentile burst score (125.3), he has the tools to be a viable contributor in 2022. While he’s never going to command the top target share in Minnesota, Osborn’s role as a slot wide receiver is one that we know can provide tremendous value for fantasy purposes. These players often look like values at their ADPs, a la Jamison Crowder and Russell Gage, due to their lack of consistency, but ability to provide you with several high-end spike weeks.
With a new coaching staff set to take over in Minnesota in 2022, Osborn could be the beneficiary from a change in coaching staff, scheme and perhaps even quarterback.
