Analysis: It’s a contract year, so it’s time to shine for Vikings receiver Jalen Nailor

Welcome to the NFL, where one man’s looming league suspension is just another man’s potential for prime-time glory to kick off a contract year.

As Vikings receiver Jordan Addison awaits the possibility of a three-game suspension stemming from his drunken driving plea deal, teammate Jalen Nailor bides his time quietly in a league whose mantra sometimes is Next Man (Currently Not In Trouble) Up.

“Obviously, I want Jordan on the field with us” in Chicago for the season opener, Nailor said Thursday before a training camp practice at TCO Performance Center.

But …

“It could be just another opportunity for me to get more reps, more snaps in to help the team win,” Nailor said. “The coaches trust me to step in. The guys trust me. I trust myself as well to step in whenever one of our guys might not be there.”

The Vikings open the season with back-to-back prime-time games – Monday night at Soldier Field in Chicago and back home for Sunday night against the Falcons. Nailor could be the prime beneficiary of the entire country, including the Bears and Falcons, focusing most of their attention on All-Galaxy receiver Justin Jefferson while Addison sits.

“If they single me, it’s a great opportunity for me to make plays and keep establishing myself in this league and then whatever happens, happens down the road,” Nailor said. “I’m so grateful to be in this position, on the field with ‘Jets’ [Jefferson].”

Nailor, a sixth-round pick in 2022, is in the last year of his rookie deal. He’s 26, making $1.15 million this year and hopeful but not fixated on having a season that could greatly increase that figure given his youth, speed and growing penchant for taking advantage of the opportunities that come his way.

“Handle my stuff on the field,” he said, “and the business side handles itself.”

Glancing at just the numbers, Nailor’s third season didn’t leap off the page. But watch his tape and he’s a serious threat when a defense underestimates him as it scurries to cover Jefferson, Addison and T.J. Hockenson et al. Every one of Nailor’s 28 catches went for a first down (22) or a touchdown (six) last year.

Last December, this reporter polled fans and the locker room with a bit of a softball question, albeit an interesting one. The question: “Who is the Vikings’ most underrated player?”

Eighty-three people responded, including 29 players. Nailor got two votes. One of them came instantaneously from Nailor himself as he explained, “I just feel I’m producing at a high level and kind of overlooked.”

Seven months later, Nailor – with only 40 career catches, albeit 30 first downs and seven touchdowns – is doubling down on his claim that he warrants more attention.

“For sure,” he said. “Just something I got to continue to prove to the outside world that I’m a great player, too.”

Nailor switched his jersey to No. 1 this year. Seems like a subtly bold move, perhaps.

“No significance,” he said. The number came available when cornerback Shaq Griffin wasn’t re-signed, and Nailor had wore it “back when I was like 8 years old.”

That’s also when Nailor got the nickname “Speedy,” which has stuck with him from Pop Warner through Year 4 in the NFL.

Asked a follow-up softball question as to who would win a 40-yard dash among the current Vikings, Nailor said, “Myself.”

Who’d finish second?

“Jordan [Addison],” he said. “Maybe ‘Jets.’”

Nailor’s swagger also has a touch of pizzazz to it. Asked what he did for fun when he wasn’t working out this offseason, Nailor said, “Just hanging out with my wife [Mariah] and our little girl, who just turned 2.”

Asked for the little girl’s name, Nailor gave the coolest name for the daughter of a dad whose ultimate job is to find the end zone early and often, especially in a contract year.