Irv Smith

Rookie tight ends are supposed to drop passes, miss blocks, commit penalties and run poor routes. The Vikings are glad nobody sent the memo to Smith, a 2019 second-round pick who turned 21 a month before Week 1. The Alabama product stepped right in as the No. 2 TE behind Kyle Rudolph, averaging 38.3 snaps per game in an offense that used multiple tight ends on 55 percent of its plays (second highest rate in the league). Rudolph maintained his three-down role for most of the year and scored six touchdowns, but he also saw 77 snaps as a pass blocker, compared to only 21 for Smith. Rudolph finished with small advantages in routes (361 to 322), targets (48 to 47), catch rate (83.0 to 76.6), aDOT (6.5 to 5.8) and YAC average (4.9 to 4.1), with both tight ends serving as reliable but nonexplosive options for Kirk Cousins. The difference, of course, is that Smith is a young guy with 4.63 speed, while the 30-year-old Rudolph ran a 4.78 40 at his pro day nine years ago. By the end of last season, it was often Rudolph rather than Smith coming off the field on third downs. The trend figures to continue in 2020, and with rookie Justin Jefferson replacing Stefon Diggs at wide receiver, there's a nice opportunity for Smith to emerge as Option B or C in the Minnesota passing game.

Although Smith's Alabama resume didn't match up with O.J. Howard's, the Vikings thought highly enough of Smith to select him with the 50th overall selection. Smith gets marks for pedigree - his father was an NFL tight end in the 90s - and he was considered the best pass-catching tight end in the talent-rich SEC last year. Minnesota isn't expected to keep Kyle Rudolph much longer, it's just a matter of whether or not Rudolph is jettisoned before the 2019 season. It's a mistake to expect Smith to rip up the league right away, especially since he turns 21 right before the season, but he'll probably settle in as a Minnesota staple in the next couple of years. He has interesting upside.