Is the TE1 Torch Being Passed to Irv Smith?
Dustin Baker
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Is the TE1 Torch Being Passed to Irv Smith?
Following a Week 9 victory, Minneapolis media (we included) are abuzz about Dalvin Cook’s aspiring MVP candidacy, the Vikings schedule opening up in the next month, Justin Jefferson’s marvelous rookie season, and the progression of other young players like Jeff Gladney and Ezra Cleveland. All topics are in bounds and should be discussed with prevalence.
The Vikings have metamorphosed in the last two games – just when most fans had taken their chips off the table. The upbeat talking points we barked after the team nearly upset Seattle were murdered – within a day – when the Falcons made the Vikings look like buffoons.
Therefore, the agenda turned to 2021 draft picks, cap hits for releasing veteran players, tradebait candidates, potential leadership vacancies, and what the hell to do with Kirk Cousins’ oft-despised contract. The team’s win-loss record was an anemic 1-5, so the conversation dribbled into more interesting subject matters.
Now, a state of rejuvenation has tickled the purple bleachers of U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota was not supposed to overpower Green Bay, but they did. Because memories of the Colts and Falcons games were fresh, the Week 9 game versus Detroit would probably involve some doozies.
But, no. The team that was prophesied by Vegas oddsmakers to win 9 or 10 games had strangely shown up once again. The win over Detroit felt like a return to normalcy. The next several games will determine if this is all a mirage.
In terms of importance, the status of the team’s tight end position is not vitally important to, say, the maturing-on-the-fly defense or Kirk Cousins’ performance. For those that are obsessive fans, though, the tight end depth chart has become quite interesting.
Irv Smith Jr. is beginning the plodding process of a TE1 takeover.
The Targets
The longest-tenured player on this edition of the Vikings is Kyle Rudolph. When Everson Griffen bolted to Dallas [and then Detroit], Rudolph assumed the title. The 31-year-old has been a member of the team at its nastiest of patches (2013) and its tallest of peaks (2017). The 2020 season appears to be somewhere in the middle of those identifiers.
The landscape of his job security may be shifting. He will not be waived or anything psychotic like that, but his position-mate, Irv Smith Jr., was drafted to evenutally take over the starting job. It has begun.
For a while, Rudolph was an instrumental target of the passing game. The zeal around his role as a pass-catcher is subsiding. In 2016, Rudolph was targeted 132 times, which was staggering. That accounted for over eight targets per game. It was wide-receiver stuff. Through nine weeks, he has been targeted a meager 19 times – or just over two targets per contest. His duty within the Vikings offense is dwindling.
Meanwhile, Rudolph is splitting targets with the aforementioned Smith Jr. The younger tight end has been targeted 21 times by Kirk Cousins to Rudolph’s 19 targets. The workload has been divided, and Smith Jr. is getting more attention.
Irv Taking “Rudolph’s TDs”
In one game (Week 9 against Detroit), Smith Jr. has doubled Rudolph’s 2020 touchdown total. Of course, that’s only a 2:1 ratio. But the crucial aspect here is that Rudolph’s “ask” in the redzone is not as vehement. Instead of Rudolph bailing out the Vikings quarterback – no matter who it is or was – Smith Jr. is snatching the targets and touchdowns inside the 20-yardline.
At the height of his powers, Rudolph would grab six or seven touchdowns per season. This season, he is on pace for two. Smith Jr. is not on a breakneck pace either, but the moral of the story is that two men are sharing the TE1 job. Before 2020, Rudolph never truly shared the job with anybody, let alone someone as athletically gifted as Smith Jr. In his rookie season, Smith Jr. was a clear-cut TE2. The TE1 line between Rudolph and the Alabama alumnus is now unmistakably blurred.
How Long Can They Financially Coexist?
This is where the rubber hits the road.
Rudolph is slated to earn about $8 million per season for the remainder of his contract (2023). That is a fairly high pricetag for a tight end that is targeted just twice per game. Irv Smith Jr. costs about a million bucks annually. And, his deal stretches through the end of 2022 – two full seasons after the present one.
The Vikings notoriously have steely cap decisions – like most NFL teams – to make each offseason. Minnesota is normally toward the bottom of the business in remaining cap space because of the dollars allocated to various stars like Cousins, Adam Thielen, Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, and Eric Kendricks.
It likely makes sense to explore options that jettison Rudolph from the 2021 team at his current rate of pay. If so, the TE1 torch will be passed to Smith Jr. But who knows? Rudolph may be the type of dude that accepts a team-friendly restructured deal.