Myles Price has spent Vikings camp making it harder and harder to think of him as just a return man.
The undrafted receiver has stacked together a run of eye-catching plays, starting with a contested catch he turned into an explosive gain in the preseason opener against the Giants. He followed that with a one-handed touchdown grab. Four days later in joint practices, he blew past the Ravens’ defense for a score to finish a situational drill, then came back the next day and got open for another touchdown in red zone work.
That momentum did not carry into Saturday’s 13-3 loss to Baltimore, where Price finished with one catch for eight yards on four targets. Even so, Minnesota has plenty of reason to keep believing in what he can become.
Price first turned heads last year because of how dangerous he looked with the ball in his hands. In a preseason game against New England, he ripped off an 81-yard kick return by weaving through traffic and breaking tackles, and he also added a 20-yard punt return. He made the roster and went on to deliver a strong season as a returner, averaging 25.9 yards per kick return and 9.9 per punt return.
That résumé initially suggested a secure spot again this year, especially now that the NFL’s new return rules have made that role more valuable. But Price has made it clear he wants more than a specialist label.
At Louisiana Tech, he was a productive receiver too, finishing with 199 catches for 2,217 yards and 13 touchdowns while also running 33 times for 270 yards and three scores. He spent the offseason working to show he could be a fuller receiver at the NFL level, and he believes the work is starting to show.
“Every route in this offense has details to it,” Price said. “You have to be on point or KO [Kevin O’Connell] and coach Wes (Phillips), they're not going to trust you. Now I think I'm starting to show I can be trusted in the offense, and with trust comes more playing time, and it’s about taking advantage of every opportunity at this point.”
The Vikings already knew Price had burst. What they wanted to see was whether he could separate against NFL defenders, a different challenge that asks for more than speed. O’Connell said Price has been sharpening the finer points of the position.
“I think he’s really started to hone in on the artwork of the receiver (position), getting on edges, being able to understand how to release at the line of scrimmage to give himself the best chance to activate his quickness and change of direction and vertical speed,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Then he’s worked really, really hard catching footballs.
I mean, I think he’s so natural catching punts and just the tracking of that. I think there’s some correlation there, but you’ll see him on the jugs machine. quite a bit there.”
He’s also getting coached by one of the best developmental receivers in the building. WRs coach Keenan McCardell has been with the organization since before O’Connell arrived, and Vikings pass catchers have regularly taken steps forward under him.
“(McCardell) tells me, like, ‘you’re doing a great job right now,’ but he’s also one of those coaches, he doesn’t want you to get too high, right?” Price said.
“Keep it even killed, so each and every day, he’s kind of telling me, ‘come on, you gotta do it again. You gotta stack days again.’
In my position, it’s never enough, you gotta continue to grow and grow and show that you can do more.”
Price said the biggest thing helping him absorb those lessons is simple: confidence.
“As far as confidence-wise, like, it’s sky high, you know?” Price said. “I never think that I could be guarded, I never think I could be stopped, I think I can make every block, every hit, like, that’s just who I am as a person.”
With camp past the halfway point and one preseason game left, Price said he isn’t looking back at what he’s done so far. He sees it as a chance to show more of his game than he did a year ago.
“I think I’m kind of getting an opportunity to showcase who I am,” Price said. “Not just as a returner. Like how I could be utilized in the offense?”
He’s also earned some attention from a pretty famous observer. Randy Moss, after watching him make plays in practice, gave him some one-on-one guidance.
“He gave me a little vet move that I could apply to my game,” Price said. “I think that’s so cool.”
That kind of growth is exactly what the Vikings hoped to see from this camp, especially with three established starters-Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings-but little proven depth behind them.
“It’s been really, really cool to see (Myles's) growth really from day one of last year all the way through the offseason and where he is now,” O’Connell said.
Hopefully, Price keeps giving the Vikings more to work with.
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