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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Jarius Wright's clutch play has earned him several nicknames from teammates.
The
Vikings wide receiver doesn't catch a lot of passes, but the ones he
does grab really seem to count. Of Wright's 14 receptions this season,
nine have been for first downs and two for touchdowns. Five catches have
resulted in a third-down conversion.
Wright caught three
passes for 18 yards in the Vikings' 14-9 victory over the Falcons on
Sunday in Atlanta. Two went for first downs, with one being a third-down
conversion.
"Mr. Jarius Wright, we call him Mr. Third Down,"
fellow receiver Stefon Diggs said after the game. "He does some great
things when he gets the ball in his hands. He gets us conversions, we
convert, try to keep the ball moving and sustain drives."
Wright
said Monday, Dec. 4, that teammates also call him "Mr. Clutch." Then
quarterback Teddy Bridgewater walked by and said he calls him "Mr.
Efficient."
"I've been thinking about getting some T-shirts made,"
said Wright, a six-year veteran. "Then I'll put all (the nicknames) on
them. I think they're pretty good names. I think they all kind of
describe me, for sure. ... I make the most out of every opportunity."
Wright
caught 42 passes for the Vikings in 2014, earning him a four-year,
$14.8 million contract extension in September 2015. He had 34 receptions
in 2015.
He didn't play much last year, catching just 11 passes
in eight games. Although he still hasn't gotten the playing time this
season he did in previous seasons, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer hasn't
hesitated to put him on the field in important situations.
"Whenever
he gets the opportunity to go in, he knows all the receiver positions,"
Zimmer said. "He's just a guy that loves to go out there and get a
chance to play, and when he does, he usually makes a play."
Vikings' run defense
The
Vikings played one of their best defensive games of the season, holding
the Falcons to 275 yards total offense, their lowest output of the
season. Still, Zimmer saw room for improvement.
Atlanta rushed 22
times for 102 yards, well above the 75.5 yards per game on the ground
Minnesota had been giving up. Zimmer, who calls the Vikings' defensive
plays, said he could have done better getting his players in the right
spots.
"I didn't do a very good job in some of the things to help
them in some of those," Zimmer said. "We had to make some changes here
and there. Our guys take a lot of pride in playing the run, and it
wasn't as good (Sunday)."
Minnesota remains second in the NFL in rushing defense with a 77.7-yard average.
The
Vikings entered Monday second in the league in scoring defense and
second in total defense. They haven't finished a season in the top two
in scoring defense since 1988 (second) and in total defense since 1993
(first).
Remmers ready?
Right tackle Mike Remmers could be ready to return after missing four consecutive games.
Remmers
sat out the first three with a concussion, and he missed the Falcons
game with a lower back injury. Remmers has been replaced each time by
Rashod Hill, who indicated Monday that Remmers might be back in the
lineup Sunday at Carolina.
"I think Mike's pretty healthy, ready
to go back," Hill said of Remmers, who played for the Panthers from
2014-16. "Whatever they need me to do, I'll do what I can do."
Zimmer
praised Hill, who primarily played left tackle until being called into
duty when Remmers suffered a concussion Oct. 29 on the first series
against Cleveland.
The Vikings lost tight end David Morgan on the
first series at Atlanta with a concussion. Zimmer said Monday he's doing
"a lot better" but didn't speculate on his status for this weeks game.
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