Life After Kyle Rudolph Apparent in Tampa
Dustin Baker
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers squeezed their 2020 win-loss record to 8-5 after the Minnesota Vikings allowed kicking woes to dismantle a would-be win.
Minnesota dominated the game’s time of possession narrative holding the ball over 39 minutes. Since 2015, teams that possessed the football for north of 39 minutes in a game won 86% of the time (49-7-3). The Vikings added another loss into that obscure stat metric while self-inflicting wounds to their once-unthinkable playoff aspirations. Now, Minnesota will watch Arizona Cardinals games with laser focus as the redbirds must lose one of their remaining three games versus the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, or Los Angeles Rams – with the extremely pretentious mindset that the Vikings will win their final three contests. Up next, the Chicago Bears travel to U.S. Bank Stadium. And then it’s away games at New Orleans and Detroit to punctuate a topsy-turvy 2020 season.
Most other aspects of the Vikings performance at Tampa Bay were unexpectedly impressive. Dalvin Cook became the first player to rush for more than 100 yards versus the Buccaneers since Week 9 of the 2019 season. Mike Zimmer’s defense was not intimidated by Tom Brady and Bruce Arians’ offense. Tampa Bay tallied 303 offensive yards – the third-lowest Buccaneers output this season.
The Vikings passing offense was efficient. Kyle Rudolph missed his first game since 2014, and Minnesota oddly didn’t seem to miss his services. Between Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin, the two men accounted for 103 yards and a touchdown – 46% of Kirk Cousins’ 225 passing yards.
Week 14 in Florida was a glimpse into the future of the Vikings offense – one that may not involve the aforementioned Rudolph.
Irv Smith Jr. Chomping at the Bit
Smith Jr. rejoined the team after a bizarre groin injury that he may have endured while celebrating a touchdown weeks ago. The Vikings second-year tight end led all purple pass-catchers with 63 receiving yards on four catches and a touchdown. General manager Rick Spielman drafted Smith Jr. with lofty draft capital (second round) 20 months ago and an eventual plan to transition the University of Alabama alumnus into the team’s TE1 role.
It’s happening now.
Although the Vikings passing attack has not struggled with Smith Jr. out of the lineup in 2020, he adds newfound speed and agility to the position that Minnesota has arguably never seen before. His physical skill set and body stature effectively nominate Smith Jr. as a muscular wide receiver with the letters “T” and E” sneakily next to his name on statsheets.
The 22-year-old will be a member of the Vikings for at least another two seasons before the team’s front office will cough up the cash to extend his services. For the Vikings to justify this eventuality, Smith Jr. will demand TE1 targets. Those days are comings – soon.
Tyler Conklin Affordable and Productive
How will the Vikings exist after Rudolph slides out of his longtime TE1 spot? Simple. Tyler Conklin as a complement TE2 to Smith Jr.’s TE1.
Conklin is under contract through 2021 at a price tag of $685,000 – a steal for a productive TE2. The fifth-round pick from 2018 has never consistently sniffed a true-blue TE2 designation on the Vikings depth chart, but he showed in Week 14 at Tampa Bay that he is ready for the responsibility. Indeed, it was “one game,” but Conklin was efficacious when offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak scribbled his name into the gameplan. Cousins found Conklin five times for 40 receiving yards – on five targets. His catches had no odor of garbage time while his yards-after-catch were unexpectedly notable.
So long as Kirk Cousins is the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, Tyler Conklin is capable of filling the role of TE2 at a reasonable contractual price. Cousins spent three full seasons in the nation’s capital as a ball-distribution maestro – a characteristic that has carried over to his Vikings tenure when needed.
All about the Dollars
Let’s be clear: Kyle Rudolph is an outstanding football player. His hands and clutch genes are close to impeccable.
The Vikings primary “problem” pertaining to Rudolph is his salary. He is the fifth-highest paid tight end in the NFL – that has received the 28th-most targets among tight ends in 2020. This discrepancy is feckless for a team that will assuredly pinch pennies – again – in an offseason that is two months away. A lack of targets is emphatically no fault of Rudolph’s. An anti-Rudolph passing strategy has emerged merely because of the rapid ascension of Justin Jefferson and to a smaller extent, Irv Smith Jr.
Wide receivers and tight end mouths will need feeding in 2021. Unless the Vikings revert to a heavy-Rudolph philosophy (unlikely), Irv Smith Jr. retires at the ripe-old age of 22, or Rudolph takes a paycut, the tight end position will look markedly different in 2021 than years past.