Vikings Step up Tyler Conklin’s Involvement. And It Worked.
Adam New
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Alas, there was plenty to smile about on Sunday as the Minnesota Vikings got their season up and running. One of the differences from the first two weeks of the season was the usage of tight end, Tyler Conklin. He saw four targets in Week 1 and Week 2, bringing in six catches for 56 yards over the two games. For the home opener, Conklin played 72 percent of the offensive snaps and saw double the targets, catching seven of the eight passes thrown his way for 70 yards and the opening Vikings touchdown. Only star wide receiver Justin Jefferson had more catches and yards on the day, receiving an impressive 79.5 grade from Pro Football Focus for his performance. The fourth highest-graded player on offense in week 3.
During his first three seasons in Minnesota, Conklin has proved himself a safe pair of hands, catching 32 of his 43 targets in those three seasons for 329 yards and a touchdown. He had never had more than three targets in a game before week 14 of last season, before moving up the depth chart due to injury to Kyle Rudolph. Those last four games were supposed to be a precursor to this season. Conklin saw between four and six targets over that four-game stretch, doing sufficiently well to cause optimism of him being a valuable part of the offense.
Thrust into the TE1 Spot
I had high hopes he would be a good foil for Irv Smith Jr. this season and take advantage of being the “other guy.” As everyone had their eyes on Irv Smith’s seemingly impending breakout season. Sadly that was put on hold due to Smith’s pre-season knee injury, which ended his season before it had started.
Now in the position of the lead tight end, Conklin came into the season himself recovering from a hamstring injury. It was time for him to step up, and he was ready to start the season. KJ Osborn exploded onto the scene as the much-desired WR3, while Conklin was solid in Week 1 and 2 before making his mark in week 3. Teammate Adam Thielen was in no doubt that Conklin had what it takes saying this week, “Conk, we know what kind of player he is. We see it every single day. We were just kind. of waiting for him to take off.”
The Competition
The Vikings moved to bring in competition at the tight end position before the season started. Acquiring Chris Herndon via trade from the New York Jets, and also picking up Ben Ellefson off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ellefson looks to be the blocking tight end the Vikings have been missing since David Morgan’s career succumbed to injury. His presence on the field has been a help to the improving offensive line unit.
Meanwhile, we have seen very little of Chris Herndon. I’m not ready to throw the trade under the bus quite yet and declare it a disastrous panic trade. He’s not been here long, and there hasn’t been any need to rush him into the action the way the offense has been playing. His time may yet come.
The Next Step
The question as we head towards the Week 4 matchup with the Cleveland Browns: Is last week’s performance the ceiling? Will that the Seahawks game turn out to be a rare event? Or can Conklin repeat it going forward? His 16 targets and receptions so far tie for the 7th most in the league at the position. His 126 yards are the 11th most for a tight end. Those are undoubtedly TE1 numbers, but it will require more weeks like the last one to keep him there.
Conklin talked about doing extra work with the tight end group and Kirk Cousins — to build rapport and trust, specifically on the types of short passes that may get a critical 3rd down or as a red-zone target. The sort of play we’ve already seen he’s more than capable of. Will increased trust from his quarterback, which he surely must have after last week’s performance, see more targets for Conklin? It should do.
We have probably seen the target range for the tight end in the opening weeks. It will be somewhere between four and eight targets a game. He should go into the game against Cleveland full of confidence on the back of last week’s performance and glowing praise from his head coach. This week Mike Zimmer said of Conklin, “He’s doing a nice job. He’s a good, solid player, and a good guy, and a good worker.” That is high praise from a coach like Zimmer.