The Minnesota Vikings are not off to a great start at 0-3.
The Minnesota Vikings are not off to a great start at 0-3. But for their star tight end and Notre Dame product Kyle Rudolph, one play was worth the wait. During the Vikings’ 31-30 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Rudolph made a tough catch for his first touchdown of 2020. For the moment, it looked like the kind of play that would give the Vikings the momentum they needed to earn their first win of the season:
Rudolph’s touchdown was one of only two receptions he had out of three targets on the day. Those receptions were good for 11 yards. He now has four receptions for 39 yards through the first three games of the season.
Hopefully for the sake of Rudolph and really the entire Vikings offense, Kirk Cousins can get back to being the player he’s known to be. As of right now, Rudolph is on pace for the least productive season of his 10-year NFL career, the entirety of which has been with Minnesota. They say all things must pass, but it’s unlikely Rudolph is ready to leave the game just yet.
Rudolph caught his first touchdown of the 2020 season on Sunday afternoon against the Titans.
Over the years, we’ve some pretty impressive touchdown catches from Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, including one that beat the Saints in last year’s Wild Card game.
Rudolph was up to his old tricks on Sunday against the Titans as he hauled in a beautiful back-of-the-end zone one-handed catch. Not only was Rudolph able to haul the pass in, he was able to keep his feet in.
Just an absurd touchdown catch by Kyle Rudolph. Somehow tapped the right foot inbounds as he was coming down with the one-handed grab pic.twitter.com/3iNlhcd6kk
It was Rudolph’s first touchdown of the 2020 season and the 48th of his career, a mark that ranks fifth in team history. Rudolph is two touchdowns away from tying Sammy White’s mark of 50 for fourth on the team’s all-time list.
These are the top best-ball fantasy football dice rolls for the week of Aug. 24.
Fantasy football best-ball drafts are a blast. My preferred league platforms for these drafts are RTSports.com and SportsHub’s “Best-Ball 10s” services. Neither company sponsored this article … I just like what they do in the space. Check ’em out, or look around the web to find competitors.
Let’s dive right into my four favorite gambles for this upcoming week’s drafting action:
Fantasy football best-ball gambles of the week
QB Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints: While some gamers may not be inclined to potentially waste any pick, especially if Drew Brees isn’t on their team, this is one of the smartest wagers late in fantasy drafts. Brees is 41 years old, and he missed several games last year with a thumb injury, albeit kind of a fluky one. Winston has as dangerous a weapons cache as one will find in the NFL for a backup with considerable starting experience. The mistakes are part of owning Winston in fantasy, but he’s a lock for QB1 production should Brees miss action in 2020. Speculative mining is absolutely in play here, too, for gamers who don’t draft Brees.
RB Reggie Bonnafon, Carolina Panthers: Similar to the Winston recommendation, here’s an opportunity to spend a 19th- or 20th-round pick on a guy one injury away from replacing the best back in fantasy football. There will be zero utility here if Christian McCaffrey doesn’t miss time, but after registering the most touches in football over the past two seasons, what’s the harm in investing next to nothing in covering your bases, particularly if Run CMC is on your roster. This one should be an no-brainer for McCaffrey owners, although there’s only pure upside for those looking to steal a handcuff.
Want to dominate your fantasy football league draft? TheHuddle.com has been creating fantasy football champions for over 20 years. Use the code SBW20 to take $10 off your 2020 subscription: Sign up now!
WR Kenny Stills, Houston Texans: Is there a late-round receiver better suited for best-ball flier picks? Stills has the ability to uncork a defense, and he’s returning to an even friendlier situation than last year. No DeAndre Hopkins opens a significant amount of targets to be distributed, and the two primary receivers ahead of Stills in the pecking order come with serious injury concerns. Will Fuller is about as fragile as a receiver can be made, and Brandin Cooks is a concussion away from possibly before forced to sit out the year. Stills posted double-digit fantasy points in four of his final six games last season, showing chemistry with Deshaun Watson in their first year together. Enjoy the late-round return on investment!
TE Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings: In the past three years, Rudolph has 17 individual games (35 percent of appearances) with at least one touchdown, and three of those contests were two-score outings. … Not too shabby for a guy going in the 18th round of many best-ball drafts. Low investment, big pay-off potential for the cagey veteran. Sure, he’ll lose some touches to Irv Smith Jr., but Rudolph isn’t going anywhere, and the offense is more than capable of feeding both tight ends. The loss of Stefon Diggs and the familiarity with Kirk Cousins makes Rudolph a total steal in this format.
These are the top best-ball fantasy football dice rolls for the week of Aug. 24.
Fantasy football best-ball drafts are a blast. My preferred league platforms for these drafts are RTSports.com and SportsHub’s “Best-Ball 10s” services. Neither company sponsored this article … I just like what they do in the space. Check ’em out, or look around the web to find competitors.
Let’s dive right into my four favorite gambles for this upcoming week’s drafting action:
Fantasy football best-ball gambles of the week
QB Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints: While some gamers may not be inclined to potentially waste any pick, especially if Drew Brees isn’t on their team, this is one of the smartest wagers late in fantasy drafts. Brees is 41 years old, and he missed several games last year with a thumb injury, albeit kind of a fluky one. Winston has as dangerous a weapons cache as one will find in the NFL for a backup with considerable starting experience. The mistakes are part of owning Winston in fantasy, but he’s a lock for QB1 production should Brees miss action in 2020. Speculative mining is absolutely in play here, too, for gamers who don’t draft Brees.
RB Reggie Bonnafon, Carolina Panthers: Similar to the Winston recommendation, here’s an opportunity to spend a 19th- or 20th-round pick on a guy one injury away from replacing the best back in fantasy football. There will be zero utility here if Christian McCaffrey doesn’t miss time, but after registering the most touches in football over the past two seasons, what’s the harm in investing next to nothing in covering your bases, particularly if Run CMC is on your roster. This one should be an no-brainer for McCaffrey owners, although there’s only pure upside for those looking to steal a handcuff.
WR Kenny Stills, Houston Texans: Is there a late-round receiver better suited for best-ball flier picks? Stills has the ability to uncork a defense, and he’s returning to an even friendlier situation than last year. No DeAndre Hopkins opens a significant amount of targets to be distributed, and the two primary receivers ahead of Stills in the pecking order come with serious injury concerns. Will Fuller is about as fragile as a receiver can be made, and Brandin Cooks is a concussion away from possibly before forced to sit out the year. Stills posted double-digit fantasy points in four of his final six games last season, showing chemistry with Deshaun Watson in their first year together. Enjoy the late-round return on investment!
TE Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings: In the past three years, Rudolph has 17 individual games (35 percent of appearances) with at least one touchdown, and three of those contests were two-score outings. … Not too shabby for a guy going in the 18th round of many best-ball drafts. Low investment, big pay-off potential for the cagey veteran. Sure, he’ll lose some touches to Irv Smith Jr., but Rudolph isn’t going anywhere, and the offense is more than capable of feeding both tight ends. The loss of Stefon Diggs and the familiarity with Kirk Cousins makes Rudolph a total steal in this format.
Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph has been a Vikings staple.
Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph has been a mainstay in the Vikings offense for quite some time now.
Playing with the Vikings for nine seasons, Rudolph has started at least eight games every single season of his NFL career. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler.
He’s four touchdown receptions away from passing Sammy White for fourth all-time on the franchise’s all-time list and six to pass Anthony Carter for third in team history.
So Rudolph has been a Vikings staple, and that’s evidence of him signing a four-year contract worth $36 million in 2019.
His $9 million yearly average ranks him tied for the fifth highest-paid tight end in the NFL, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Rudolph is tied with Rob Gronkowski, who recently went over to Tampa Bay in a trade.
George Kittle’s recent extension puts him at No. 1. Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and Travis Kelce are the other three tight ends who earn more than Rudolph.
Minnesota had just one representative on CBS Sports’ list of best players by each jersey number.
Minnesota has plenty of players whose numbers have become well known among Vikings fans.
There’s Adam Thielen, who is No. 19. There’s Kirk Cousins, who’s No. 8. Danielle Hunter’s No. 99 has also become well known.
But none of those Vikings were on CBS Sports’ list of best players by each jersey number.
The outlet compiled a list of the top players with each jersey number. Minnesota’s lone representative was Kyle Rudolph, who is No. 82. Minnesota was one of six teams to have just one player crack CBS Sports’ list.
Hunter having the same number as Aaron Donald is a tough beat. Same goes for Cousins, who has the same number as Lamar Jackson.
However, I think a compelling argument could be made that Thielen should be at 19 instead of Amari Cooper.
To be fair, CBS Sports did list Thielen, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Deebo Samuel as possible options. The outlet also said that 19 is maybe the best wide receiver number in the league.
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.
Sure this comes down to George Kittle versus Travis Kelce, but who are some of the other top tight ends in the league today?
If you think about it, the tight end position was at the forefront of the last schematic revolution in the NFL.
Consider the Tampa 2 coverage scheme. For those that need a refresher, this is a defensive coverage that plays with two deep defenders, but tasks a third – often an athletic linebacker – with defending the area between the safeties. This coverage is traced back to the Tony Dungy/Monty Kiffin teams, and it was implemented to protect that area of the field against receivers or, in many cases, tight ends.
Where TEs had previously been viewed as a sixth offensive lineman who could occasionally add something in the passing game, as more teams looked to these players in the passing game defenses needed a response. The Tampa 2 coverage was born.
As is usually the case, schematic advancements in football move in cycles. When more professional teams wanted athleticism at the tight end position, better and better athletes started playing the position. A new generation of tight ends was born, players like Jimmy Graham and Tony Gonzalez, who were dominant more for what they did as receivers than anything else. When these players started running away from linebackers, defenses needed to adjust again.
when I think about the league from a conceptual standpoint, i usually end up down a Bill Belichick-related rabbit hole. If you read and study the defensive mind over his years in the league, you will see that there is nothing Belichick considers more dangerous to a defense than a versatile tight end. If you want visual evidence of this fact, go back to the 2018 regular season meeting between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots. Against an offensive featuring the explosive Tyreek Hill, it was Travis Kelce who found himself double- and even triple-covered at times.
If Belichick is worried about a position or a player, you better take notice.
Right now the league has a very solid class of talent at the position, including the aforementioned Kelce, who is as you would expect among the top of the class. But how does this group stack up?
As usual, we begin with the Honorable Mentions.
Honorable Mentions
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
We start with a player with tremendous potential, but who has yet to truly put it together. Evan Engram looked every bit the part of a future mismatch nightmare coming out of college – and those who saw his week of practices at the Senior Bowl would concur – but injuries and inconsistency has been the hallmark of his young career. If he puts it together he can crack a list like this. Hayden Hurst now looks to be the prime option at the position in Atlanta, and with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on the outside and Matt Ryan throwing to him, he is in a good position to excel in 2020. Jonnu Smith is stepping in as the main man for the Titans, and that play-action heavy offense is a good position for him to succeed. Gerald Everett might be the second TE option for the Los Angeles Rams, but Sean McVay has done creative things for him in the past and we can expect that to continue into 2020. Greg Olsen might have a TV gig waiting for him, but he can still be a factor for the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.
Then there is what is taking place in Tampa Bay. Rob Gronkowski is usually a mainstay on lists like this, but since he sat out all of 2019, he did not meet the snap threshold for inclusion. But he, coupled with O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, are also names to watch.
Also, in a bit of “calling my shot,” look for Adam Trautman to be on a list like this sometime soon…
Best tight end groups
(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
As more and more teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings rely on multiple tight end packages, some great units are starting to develop around the league. Obviously with elite players like George Kittle and Travis Kelce, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs have solid groups by default. But in terms of a 1-2 punch, it is hard to top what Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson have assembled in Philadelphia. Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are two of the top TEs in the game, and as a result the Eagles implemented this package a staggering 52% of the time.
Not too far behind, however, were the Vikings. Under Kevin Stefanski the Vikings used 12 personnel on 34% of their snaps, and having Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. in place certainly led to that usage. With Stefanski off to Cleveland, you might want to keep an eye on their group, which as of this moment consists of Austin Hooper, David Njoku and an intriguing rookie in Harrison Bryant.
Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin make up the seventh-best tight end position group in the NFL, says PFF.
The Vikings have a veteran presence in Kyle Rudolph at the tight end position. The team also has Irv Smith Jr., a tight end who is coming off a promising rookie season in 2019.
Those two and Tyler Conklin help make up the seventh-best tight end position group in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Here’s what the outlet said about the Vikings tight end unit:
“Rudolph has a huge frame, and while there always feels like there should be more production in there, he’s had a solid nine-year career for the Vikings. Last season, Rudolph had the No. 13 receiving grade during the regular season (76.9), though his run blocking has tapered off in recent years, given that he has graded in the 50s in this department for four consecutive seasons.
Smith brings a different skill set to the unit as more of an oversized receiver who can line up in the slot and make plays in space. He caught 39 passes for 350 yards as a rookie to go with a solid run-blocking grade of 65.4. Then there is 2018 fifth-rounder Tyler Conklin — and his 14 career catches — who will add depth to the group.”
PFF went on to say that due to question marks surrounding the Minnesota receiving position on the team, Rudolph and Smith Jr. could both see an uptick in production.
Thielen’s teammate Kyle Rudolph didn’t do quite as well.
Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen took part in the American Century Championship celebrity tournament over the weekend in Tahoe and did quite well, finishing 12th overall.
Mardy Fish won the tournament.
Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph finished 66th overall out of 70 golfers, so not great for him.
Other notable names for Vikings fans in the tournament included Case Keenum (5th), Aaron Rodgers (16th), Larry Fitzgerald (25th) and Patrick Mahomes (38th).
