Greg

Childs

After a tremendous sophomore season with 894 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, Childs never met that production in his final two seasons. He boasts a wiry build at 6'3/219 pounds and uses it to make too many body catches, but Childs has 34" arms and 4.55 speed. After suffering a serious knee injury in 2010, Childs has never looked the same. He will be paired with Arkansas teammate Jarius Wright in Minnesota.

Childs suffered the injury in October 2010, but was ready for the beginning of the 2011 season. He notched only 21 catches for 240 yards after going for at least 46/659 each of the previous two years. Childs says he’s 100 percent now, and playing with a “very big chip on my shoulder.” Impressively built at 6-foot-3, 219, Childs clocked a 4.55 in the 40, and could see some snaps outside as a rookie.

In the tradition of former Vikes RB Onterrio Smith, Childs declared himself the steal of the draft in late April. A week later, he went down with a calf strain at rookie minicamp. Childs should have no limitations heading into training camp.

It’s interesting that veteran Michael Jenkins, due $2.5 million while coming off knee surgery, has been swept aside. It’s another sign that Jenkins is on the roster bubble. Childs has dropped several balls early on, but he made the play of camp in Thursday’s practice. We want to see more consistency before recommending Childs as a late-round flier for September.

Childs labored through the injury as a college senior, running with a hitch in his gait and failing to produce. It’s why he fell to the fourth round. Childs’ pre-injury college tape was more on par with a late first- or second-round pick. He may open the season as a starter while Jerome Simpson is suspended.

They re-signed undrafted WR A.J. Love in a corresponding move. Childs, the 134th overall pick in April’s draft, will miss his entire rookie season with double patellar tendon tears after rupturing his right patellar tendon as a junior at Arkansas. We wouldn’t rule him out after he came back from the first one, but the odds are heavily against Childs having an NFL career.

He’s been out since rookie camp in early May. “He’s missing some valuable time, but at the same time, that can happen as a wide receiver,” coach Leslie Frazier said. Childs’ injury is a concern because he battled a significant knee injury late in his junior season and throughout his senior campaign at Arkansas.

Simpson is not eligible to play until Week 4. Childs has the size at 6'3/219 and a 4.55 40 to go with it, but he’s been battling a knee injury since his junior year at Arkansas. He also missed the majority of the offseason program due to a calf strain. Childs will have to prove his health and beat out Stephen Burton/Emmanuel Arceneaux at training camp.

The injury is said to be unrelated to the torn patellar tendon that required an 18-month recovery period across Childs’ junior and senior seasons at Arkansas. Although Childs is an early-round talent, he remains a major question mark going forward due to the injuries.

According to ESPN 1500’s Tom Pelissero, Childs became awkwardly twisted with a defensive back while extending for a downfield catch. It’s not clear at this point whether this is related to the knee injury that shortened Childs’ junior season and crushed his draft stock. Trainers were seen checking out both of Childs’ knees. “I don’t have any information of exactly what happened and what his state is,” coach Leslie Frazier said. “Greg has struggled with injuries as we all know. Hopefully, things will work out and it’s nothing serious.”