The Vikings Need More Tight Ends
Janik Eckardt
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The Vikings have a few holes on the roster. Some of the holes, such as the defensive backs and the offensive line, are often discussed, and others are never brought up. One of the position groups no one mentions is the tight ends.
Rostered Tight Ends
Irv Smith Jr.
Former Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman selected a tight end in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. It was viewed as the beginning of the end of the long-tenured Vikings’ fan favorite, Kyle Rudolph. Most people thought the consequence of the draft pick was a trade or release of Rudolph.
Surprisingly, the Vikings offered “Rudy” a new four-year contract for a whopping 36-Million Dollars. A move that confused the fans. Drafting a tight end in the second round means the player must be good, as the second round is high for most players in that position. That’s a lot of resources invested into a position group, despite most of the time only one player of the group is on the field.
2019
In his rookie year, Irv Smith Jr. played in all 16 games, but he just caught 36 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. 8.6 yards per reception is an underwhelming number, considering his high-level athleticism. Tight end is a hard position to play for rookies in the NFL. The things he had to do in college and professional football were a lot different, so his struggles were expected. Lack of opportunity because of Rudolph and some time to adjust to the NFL led to a slow start. In his first five career games, Smith Jr. just caught five passes for 64 yards and was barely used.
2020
Following his rookie year, expectations rose for the young player. As a result of missing three games with a groin injury in 2020, his stats did not show a significant spike in production. The second-year player finished the season with 43 catches for 365 yards and five touchdowns. His average yards per reception improved to 12.2.
2021
Veteran Kyle Rudolph was a cap casualty in the following offseason, and he was released. Expectations for Irv Smith Jr. were very high, as many projected him to be the breakout star of the Vikings. Unfortunately, for team and player, he missed the whole season with a torn meniscus. Tyler Conklin stepped in for him and did a fantastic job, but Irv Smith’s 2021 will forever be a “What-if?”.
Ben Ellefson
The 25-year old Ellefson was an undrafted free agent in 2020. He signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, spent big parts of his rookie campaign on the practice squad, and appeared in 7 games while catching one pass for ten yards. The Jaguars waived the tight end just before the 2021 season started and the Vikings claimed him off waivers. Knee and foot injuries limited him to five games in his second season. He could not catch his only target.
Ben Ellefson is solely a blocking tight end, and it is not a stretch to say that he will never be a real weapon for Kirk Cousins in the passing game.
Johnny Mundt
Just like Ellefson, the former Oregon Duck is primarily a blocking tight end. In his five seasons with the Rams, Mundt played in 47 games but caught just ten passes for 93 yards. His advantage over Ellefson is his familiarity with the new Vikings Head Coach and former Rams Offensive Coordinator, Kevin O’Connell. Outside of his good blocking skills, he is a good special teams player. Last October, Mundt tore his ACL, and it’s not clear when he can return to the field.
Zach Davidson
Davidson had an interesting career path as he began his career as a punter at Central Missouri. After redshirting his freshman year, Davidson was second in the country with 44.3 yards per punt. In his second season, he played both positions, punter and tight end. His breakout at his new position happened in his redshirted junior year when he caught 40 passes for 894 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was named first-team All-MIAA at both punter and tight end and first-team All-American in Divison II.
Rick Spielman decided to draft Davidson in his last draft, in 2021 and released the 5th-rounder when the Vikings had to get down to 53 players on the roster. The Vikings signed him to the practice squad on the next day. He did not appear in an NFL game.
The Vikings Should Add More Tight Ends
The Vikings have some big question marks in their tight end room. Irv Smith Jr. is coming off a lost season and long injury recovery. His potential is still more of a projection than reality, and his durability can be questioned after only playing in 13 of the last 30 games. The Vikings need a backup plan if Smith Jr. would have to miss time again.
Ben Ellefson and Johnny Mundt are strictly blockers, and chances are high that only one of them will be on the Vikings 53-man roster. Zach Davidson should be considered a project and not someone the Vikings should rely on until he shows that he is NFL-ready in practice.
The new Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should consider adding depth and talent into the tight end room. It’s a position of need. An NFL offense should have two pass-catching tight ends at the very least. And a team can never have too many of them.
The impact of elite tight end play is on full display by Waller, Kelce, Kittle, and Gronkowski every season. Still, even teams with multiple average receiving tight ends are harder for defenses to stop because of the added versatility.
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