Percy Harvin is third in the NFL with 30 catches this season and first in the NFL with 38.3 yards per kickoff return. So it’s easy to see why Harvin is pleased with how everything is going in Minnesota right now.
But Harvin acknowledges that he wasn’t happy over the summer, when he didn’t understand his role in the offense, or the plans the coaching staff had for him, and asked to be traded because he didn’t know what was going on.
“I think it was just the identity of our offense, just not only me, just guys knowing exactly what the coaches are asking of them on a week-to-week basis, not playing one position one week, and [coming] in and not totally having a grasp on what they’re asking for the next week,” Harvin told the Star-Tribune.
Harvin says he’s now totally on board with what Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave is doing, not only because Harvin is getting more touches than he used to, but also because he thinks Musgrave has found the right way to take advantage of the skills of the Vikings’ other players.
“I think Coach Musgrave has done a great job -- I said it all offseason -- of putting [tight end] Kyle Rudolph in great situations,” Harvin said. “We got a package for [wide receiver] Jerome Simpson, which you’ve seen, where we’ll take shots downfield. So everybody, I think, knows their role, knows what the coaches expect them to do. Now you can just sit back and try to do it at the highest level you can.”
Harvin is doing it at a high level this season, and he’s a big part of the reason that the 3-1 Vikings have already matched their win total from all of last season.