irv smith jr. – Page 12 – Syndication Server

Vikings injury report: One out, one questionable for the Bears game

See the Minnesota Vikings injury report before the team plays the Chicago Bears on Monday.

Minnesota has emphasized a run-heavy system as of late and so far it’s worked.

The Vikings have ran over the Packers and Lions en route to two victories in a row. Dalvin Cook has tallied over 160 rushing yards in both of those games. Cook has been excellent at finding yards after the contact and turning decent plays into big plays.

However, the players upfront have also been a big help, which isn’t always a given with the Vikings. At times, Cook has had to do much of the work on his runs, but at least these last two games, the blocking has been good.

But on the final Vikings’ injury report, Minnesota revealed that it will be without one of its good blockers for the matchup in Soldier Field. Not only that, but this player is also a receiving threat.

Here’s the report:

Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr., FB C.J. Ham ‘trending in the right direction’ to play

Vikings OC Gary Kubiak seemed optimistic about the playing chances of Minnesota TE Irv Smith Jr. and FB C.J. Ham.

The Vikings offense has been dominant in the last two games, and the run game has been the biggest reason why.

With Dalvin Cook, Minnesota has imposed its will on both the Lions and the Packers defense, en route to two consecutive victories. But it hasn’t all been Cook.

Minnesota has also been stellar at blocking for him. With the offensive line, C.J. Ham and Irv Smith Jr. — the Vikings have been giving Cook a chance to make big plays.

So it’s a pretty big loss if Ham and Smith Jr. weren’t available to play Monday vs. Chicago. The two did not practice on Thursday and Friday, per the team’s injury report.

Despite that, Gary Kubiak gave a quote that should give Vikings fans a bode of confidence. The offensive coordinator said that Ham and Smith Jr. are ‘trending in the right direction’ to play on Monday night, per Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.

“If nothing else, I think playing Monday gives us a chance with a couple guys that have been nicked up,” Kubiak said, via Krammer. “We’ll see what happens, but I never worry about those guys being ready to play (mentally).”

Minnesota Vikings injury report for Week 10: two DNP, one player limited

See the Minnesota Vikings’ injury report on Thursday!

Game after game, the Vikings have had to deal with injuries. That might sound pretty ordinary for an NFL team, but last season, Minnesota was the least injury-prone team in the league last season, per Football Outsiders.

Based on the injuries at several key positions for the Vikings, it seems like Minnesota is in store for some regression when it comes to that stat in 2020. An already young secondary has had to deal with consistent absences due to injuries from players like Mike Hughes, Cameron Dantzler and Holton Hill.

The Vikings have released an injury report on Thursday, and it bodes well for the cornerback unit as a whole. You can read the Vikings’ injury report here:

Stock up, stock down from the Vikings’ win over the Lions

Minnesota Vikings 2020 News: See the stock up, stock down from the Vikings’ win over the Detroit Lions.

Minnesota hasn’t fully turned its season around, but the game against Detroit is another step closer to doing so.

The Vikings defeated the Lions 34-20 to move to 3-5 on the season. Minnesota’s win makes it two in a row for the team.

Once reeling and struggling on both sides of the ball, the Vikings now have a chance to go on a three-game winning streak. If the team wants to do that, it will have to beat the Bears in Chicago, not an easy feat, especially for the Vikings.

Minnesota had some players shine in the game vs. Detroit. Here is the stock up, stock down report from the game:

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, Mike Zimmer talk about Irv Smith Jr.

Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. had another good outing on Sunday.

Minnesota tight end Irv Smith Jr. had a promising rookie season, but at the start of his second year with the team, he was in a limited role.

Smith Jr. was only targeted five times in the first two games by quarterback Kirk Cousins. The offense struggled to get anything going and Smith Jr. did not fulfill the breakout performances that some predicted.

But recently, Smith Jr. has found his stride with the Vikings offense. The tight end was targeted five times each against Seattle and Atlanta.

Against the Packers, he was only targeted once, but he had a very good game blocking for Dalvin Cook as Minnesota went run heavy in cold weather.

This game, he was targeted four times, two of which were touchdown receptions as the Vikings rolled to victory. Cousins told Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune that Smith Jr.’s performance was a good reminder to the people outside of the organization.

“At any time, [the tight ends] can help us,” Cousins said, via Krammer. “It’s just a matter of the plays that get called and the way the defense chooses to defend those plays, and then the ball gets distributed accordingly.”

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer also liked what he saw out of the tight end.

“Irv believes now that he can really play this game and play this game at a high level,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “He’s always run good routes, he’s always caught the ball well. Probably his blocking is getting better and better.”

Krammer reported that Smith Jr. was seen at the trainer’s table after his second score. He did not return to the game.

For the Vikings sake, they need him healthy and involved in the offense. The unit looks better when he has a role in it.

B/R’s advice for the Vikings? Spread it around

Bleacher Report thinks the Minnesota Vikings need to get other players besides Adam Thielen involved more in the passing game.

The Vikings suffered a disappointing defeat to the Packers on Sunday, but it wasn’t all bad: Adam Thielen found his stride.

Thielen tallied 110 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions.

Now, Bleacher Report wants the Vikings to find other targets. The outlet said “spread it around” in regards to what Minnesota should change from Week 1. Here’s what it said about the Vikings:

“One of the big questions entering the season for the Vikings was how the offense would mask the loss of Stefon Diggs. Bisi Johnson and Alexander Mattison can’t be the two receivers after Thielen on the receiving chart in a shootout with Aaron Rodgers—Cousins and the coaches have to get Irv Smith Jr. and Justin Jefferson more involved.”

I’m fine with Johnson finding himself near the top of the receiving chart, especially if he’s the wide receiver two. However, players like Johnson, Jefferson and Smith Jr. need to get more targets in order for the offense to attack secondaries in a variety of ways.

Kubiak on Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr.: He’s taken a ‘big step as a second-year player’

Who’s ready for Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. to break out in the 2020 NFL season?

Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is coming off a rookie season where he had 311 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Now, Smith Jr. is entering his second NFL season. PFF tabbed him as a player the Vikings underused last year. Could he be posed for a breakout 2020?

Minnesota offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak recently talked about the tight end. Here’s what he said:

“Really just settling down, knowing what we’re doing,” Kubiak told reporters about what Smith Jr. has progressed in. “We ask Irv to play a lot of spots for us, tight end the up position, those wideout positions. But Irv has really settled down. He understands schematically what we’re trying to do, how we call things.”

Kubiak went on to say that he can do a lot things with Smith Jr. on offense, whether that’s giving Rudolph a break or in the run game.

“Irv’s taken a big step as a second-year player,” Kubiak said. “We’ve got to do a good job as coaches to make sure that progress continues in the right direction.”

Minnesota TE Irv Smith Jr. listed as a player the Vikings underuse

Who’s ready for Irv Smith Jr. to have a big year for the Vikings?

Despite a year that was good compared to rookie tight ends, Irv Smith Jr. is a player who could be used more, according to one outlet.

Pro Football Focus listed each player that their team underuses. For the Vikings, it was Smith Jr., who is entering his second NFL season. Here’s what the outlet said about the tight end:

“Of course, an injury to Rudolph would open the door for Smith to assume a much larger role. Expect fireworks if this comes to fruition; the man is a baller.

Smith is the fantasy football discount version of Dallas Goedert: extremely talented and capable of supplying top-five production with a full-time role he won’t get without injury or suspension to the team’s actual starter.”

Smith Jr. is a player who could break out with more reps. He had 311 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2019. Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak has liked to use two tight end sets in the past, so he might not even have to be the first-option tight end to have a big year.

Where do Rudolph and Smith rank in fantasy football TE rankings?

This could be the season we see Kyle Rudolph take a step back in Minnesota’s offensive approach.

It’s fantasy football season, baby!

If you’re trying to draft a top-tier tight end in your fantasy league, it’s probably best to stay away from either Kyle Rudolph or Irv Smith Jr. of the Vikings.

Dwain McFarland over at Pro Football Focus put together his tight end tiers ahead of the fantasy football season. Smith ranks in the ‘Tier 8 – TE2’ tier along with Jace Sternberger, Chris Herndon, Ian Thomas, Blake Jarwin and Eric Ebron.

Not exactly guys who are going in the first few rounds of your draft.

Meanwhile, Rudolph ranks in the tier below Smith along with Greg Olsen and Tyler Eifert.

We’ve speculated more than a few times on this site that 2020 will be the season when we’ll see far less of Rudolph in the passing game, giving Smith a bigger opportunity. Smith was the team’s second-round pick in 2019 for a reason.

Rudolph is probably a streaming option, while Smith could be a good option as a backup or a high-upside third tight end if your roster allows it.

You can check out McFarland’s full tier rankings here.

Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. could be a steal of a fantasy football draft pick, according to PFF

Do you think Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. will be an underrated player in fantasy football?

Pro Football Focus ranked each NFL team’s most valuable player in terms of their average fantasy football draft position.

The pick for the Vikings? Irv Smith Jr., a tight end for Minnesota who’s coming off a pretty successful rookie year. Here’s what Pro Football Focus said about Smith:

“Smith’s rookie season could be considered a success, as his TE33 finish was relatively impressive for a backup tight end. His role within the Vikings’ offense is likely to expand after the departure of Stefon Diggs (91 targets). While rookie receiver Justin Jefferson is likely to receive most of those vacated targets, Smith’s development could lead to more playing time and more two-tight end sets, hence a greater target share. The main issue for Smith in 2019 was the quality of his targets, as his aDOT of 6.3 yards ranked 34th among tight ends with 25-plus targets in 2019. He actually ranked below veteran teammate Kyle Rudolph (7.5).

PFF’s fantasy projections expect an expanded role for Smith in 2020 — ranking him as the TE20 and projecting him an additional 17 targets.”

If Smith Jr. can take on a bigger role in 2020, he might help replace Diggs, who was the Vikings’ leading receiver in 2019. A healthy Adam Thielen can be a big boost, too.