New Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings has worked with a couple of pretty good quarterbacks.
And he thinks he’s about to add to that list.
Jennings might have been spoiled catching passes from Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but he said Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder impressed him as well.
“I love him,” Jennings said of Ponder, via Judd Zulgad of 1500ESPN.com. “I love his personality, I love his demeanor on the field. The one thing we talk about, and I’ve shared with him more than anything, is the trust factor because he has everything he needs. The skill set, he has it. It’s just about trusting the other guy.
“Whether that other guy is Kyle [Rudolph], myself, [Jerome Simpson], across the board. It’s just about trusting we’re going to be where he’s knowing that we should be and us trusting that he’s going to have the ball where we know it should be. So, that’s the one thing that kind of takes that split second off of our timing. Other than that, once we develop that trust and that comfort, the sky is the limit. . . .
“But Christian, he’s going to be great. I’m excited. He’s going to shock people.”
To put Ponder in the same sentence as Jennings’ previous suppliers is unfair mostly to Ponder. He has had moments when he’s looked acceptable, but there are no indications he’s ever going to approach a Pro Bowl level, much less an MVP.
And that’s also perfectly fine for the Vikings, who continue to rely on some guy named Adrian Peterson.
Ponder doesn’t have to be great to be effective, but the fact Jennings is willing to vouch for him now is a good sign.