With many jobs, K.J. Osborn is 'as explosive and reliable as anybody' the Vikings have

Kirk Cousins finished his fifth season as the Vikings' starting quarterback on Sunday. In that time, he has completed 20 passes that have gained at least 50 yards.

The two receivers who have caught the most passes of 50-plus yards from Cousins aren't a big surprise: Justin Jefferson and Stefon Diggs have five each. But the third name on the list — who now has four 50-plus catches after hauling in the fourth-longest pass of Cousins' time with the Vikings — might be a surprise.

It's K.J. Osborn, whose 66-yard catch on the Vikings' first drive of Sunday's 29-13 victory at Chicago was the team's longest completion of the regular season. He finished the day with five catches for 117 yards, surpassing 100 yards for the second time in his career and ending the regular season with 60 catches. Osborn became the fourth Vikings receiver to catch at least 60 passes this year, after T.J. Hockenson (who has only been with the team for two months) caught his 60th pass of the season for Minnesota on Sunday.

The 2022 Vikings are the first team in franchise history with four receivers that caught 60 passes, and the ninth team in NFL history with at least that many.

All four of Osborn's deep catches are actually over 60 yards; he caught a 64-yarder for a touchdown early in the Vikings' Week 2 loss to the Cardinals last year, had a 62-yarder last December against the Steelers and caught a 64-yarder against the Colts last month. His catch on Sunday came out of a bunch set with Hockenson and Jefferson running routes to occupy the Bears' underneath defenders.

"We called the concept where K.J. is really running the top shelf route, the deep route right there," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "We put T.J. and Justin underneath this deep route so, if it did justify them playing a little more coverage to the underneath part of the field, we thought K.J. would have a great chance down the field. Kirk saw it in rhythm. Great protection. Threw an absolute dime."

For the season, Osborn finished with a career-high 60 catches for 650 yards and five touchdowns, in a role that had him on the field for 873 snaps (the most of his career) and required him to be an integral part of the run game, blocking from tight splits in the three-receiver sets the Vikings favor.

"One of the things about K.J. is he has so many jobs in our offense," O'Connell said. "His second long completion there down the Bears sideline, he's bluffing as if he's blocking one of our bubble screens or receiver perimeter screens. Gets behind the defense, and Kirk finds him for another big play. His role is an evolving thing, snap in and snap out. He's incredibly valuable to the coaches, but also to the 10 guys in the huddle knowing the different jobs he's going to do. When called upon, he's as explosive and reliable as anybody we have."

He is also on an affordable contract, which could make him an even more important piece of the Vikings' puzzle for 2023.

Osborn is scheduled to count just $1.076 million against the cap next season. Though the NFL's Proven Performance Escalator clause, which rewards late draft picks who have played more snaps than expected, could bump the 2020 seventh-rounder's salary north of $2.5 million, he would still be a bargain among Cousins' group of pass-catchers. Adam Thielen is scheduled to count for $19.96 million against the cap, Hockenson has a guaranteed fifth-year option of $9.33 million and a megadeal for Jefferson is on the horizon. The Vikings could add another pass-catcher in the draft, but they will also count on Osborn's continued development.

For all the questions that await the Vikings about the composition of their 2023 offense, though, the immediate task is a Giants secondary that will have starters Xavier McKinney and Adoree' Jackson — who both missed the Dec. 24 matchup between the two teams — back for the playoffs.

As the Giants focus on containing Jefferson, who caught 12 passes for 133 yards last time, the Vikings will need other options. Hockenson had 13 catches for 109 yards and two scores in the previous game; Osborn, who had only three catches for 17 yards in that victory over the Giants, could play a bigger role especially if the Vikings need another option downfield.

He has earned Cousins' trust and turned himself into one of the Vikings' essential offensive players. On Sunday, Osborn finished his regular season with another reminder he could be the one to come up with a big play in the playoffs.

"Last year, he started showed up more and more, sometimes [by] accident, where he's getting the ball and not expecting it and he's just making plays," Cousins said. "Then this year, [we] give him more, and he's handled it. He shows it in OTAs. He shows it in training camp where you say, 'This guy is the real deal.' I have total confidence in him to do it all as well when it comes to the different things you ask of a receiver."

TWO PLAYERS WHO STOOD OUT

Alexander Mattison: He carried 10 times for 54 yards in his 25 offensive snaps, scoring a pair of 1-yard touchdowns that showcased his ability to finish on short-yardage runs. The Vikings have struggled this season to get a yard when everyone knows they need a yard, and Mattison might be their best option as a power back at the moment. Seven of his 10 carries went for first downs. Overall, his success rate — a metric that measures the efficiency of a rushing attempt given the down and distance of a particular play — was 90% on Sunday.

Duke Shelley: The former Bears cornerback, who was added to the Vikings' roster after Chicago cut him at the end of the preseason, has become one of the surprise successes of the 2022 season, nudging Cameron Dantzler out of a starting spot and making up for his 5-foot-8 height with a feisty style of play that led to seven pass breakups in 11 games. His first career interception — an overthrown pass from Tim Boyle — came against his former team, allowing him to run to the middle of the Bears' logo and slam the ball down at the 50-yard line. Teams will likely test Shelley in the playoffs, but he's shown he's not going to back down from a challenge. His first big play of the season was a game-saving pass breakup when Josh Allen tried to beat him in the end zone in Buffalo.

ONE AREA OF CONCERN

Run game consistency: While Mattison had nine successful runs in 10 attempts on Sunday, Dalvin Cook was successful on just two of his 11: his 12-yard run in the first quarter and his 15-yarder in the second quarter. His other nine runs went for a total of 10 yards, and according to NFL Next Gen Stats, he ran for 20 fewer yards than expected, given how rarely he faced loaded fronts. For the season, Cook's success rate is 48%, 33rd-best in the league among backs with at least 100 carries, according to Football Outsiders.

The Vikings' struggles to open space for Cook have been a consistent theme this season: 62 of his 264 carries went for no gain or lost yardage, and his 842 yards after contact were the fourth-most in the NFL this season, according to Pro Football Focus. But given how rarely he faced eight-man fronts this season (just 18.94% of the time, according to NFL Next Gen Stats), it'd seem reasonable to expect the Vikings to run more consistently when he's getting the majority of their carries.

He averaged 4.57 yards per carry in the Vikings' Dec. 24 victory over the Giants; he could have an important role to play in the Vikings' effort to handle a tough New York front in the playoffs.