Scoggins: Dedication to Pilates part of Nailor’s successful start

Jalen Nailor earned his nickname “Speedy” as a 6-year-old during the first week of his first season playing football. Players were running sprints at the end of practice, and Nailor finished first every time. His coach pulled him aside and told him he had a new nickname.

“It just stuck,” Nailor said Wednesday.

The nickname stayed with him through middle school, high school, college at Michigan State and now as a Vikings receiver.

Something else stuck with Nailor besides his speed: Tight hamstrings.

“I’ve had hamstring problems throughout my life,” he said.

He tried stretching and massage therapy, and more stretching.

His hamstring issues flared up again last year, causing him to miss time in his second season with the Vikings. Desperate for answers, Nailor approached a Pilates and fitness instructor named Denise Strenger for guidance.

“Anything to help me,” he said.

He went to a private Pilates workout and kept going back. His performance on the field suggests he made the right call.

Nailor has caught a touchdown pass in all three games, which is tied for the NFL lead, after stepping into the No. 2 receiver role in Jordan Addison’s injury absence.

Limited to only six games last season because of injuries, Nailor knew something had to change for his NFL career to get off the ground. He believes Pilates is an important part of that formula.

“It’s paid off so much,” he said.

Strenger, who is Pilates director at Training HAUS in Eagan, has worked with Vikings players individually for a handful of years but began working with the full team as a structured initiative under GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell.

“This new regime is very science-driven,” she said.

Strenger defined Pilates as “flexibility with strength and control.” Her individual sessions with Nailor began last November, oftentimes twice a week.

The workouts incorporated an apparatus called a “Pilates Reformer” that focuses on injury prevention while also strengthening core muscles.

“Trying to get his hamstring lengthened but not overstretched because otherwise he wouldn’t be as fast as he is,” Strenger said. “The ability to get low, get high, jump up and be able to land with control and power, that all comes from core.”

Nailor noticed that his hamstrings “loosened up” during his sessions, but their work is more all-encompassing than one specific body part.

He suffered a back injury in his final game at Michigan State, the 2021 Peach Bowl. That caused lingering soreness that became exacerbated by his tight hamstrings. His Pilates workouts with Strenger are designed to make sure everything is working in conjunction.

“It teaches your body how to use different muscles all in one,” he said. “Every time I have a session with her, I feel like a new person. Literally every time. From head to toe, I feel so much better than I did walking in.”

Nailor’s strong training camp has carried over to the regular season. Addison’s injury created an opportunity, and Nailor has taken advantage to earn the trust of coaches, teammates and quarterback Sam Darnold.

Both he and Justin Jefferson have touchdown catches in each of the first three games, becoming the first Vikings duo ever to accomplish that feat and the first teammates to do so in the NFL since 2018.

Nailor has been targeted nine times so far. Darnold has completed seven passes in those targets for 106 yards and a 155.3 passer rating, which is the third-highest passer rating to a receiver in the league, according to NextGen Stats.

“It’s a big confidence boost,” Nailor said. “I’m just trying to play my game and play fast.”

Speed has never been a problem, hence his nickname. Being healthy enough to showcase his speed and talent became his primary motivation and the reason for trying something new. So far, so good.