Tag: Kyle Rudolph

Minnesota Gophers’ inspirational Casey O’Brien beats cancer for fifth time

What has Minnesota’s Casey O’Brien done for a fifth time?

Have to love great news in these rough times. This comes from Casey O’Brien, who holds for kicks at the University of Minnesota.

O’Brien tweeted Friday he has beaten cancer … for the fifth time.

Remarkable and wonderful news.

“I appreciate everyone’s support and prayers, and I am looking forward to returning to the field soon. I have complete trust in my team of doctors,” O’Brien said in the tweet. “My Oar is in the water and I will continue to Row the Boat.”

ESPN chronicled his story last year.

Minnesota Vikings tight end weighed in with a great sentiment.

O’Brien got to hold on a PAT last season.

 

Who have been the last 10 players drafted 43rd overall?

When considering the previous players that have been taken at 43rd overall, it’s a bit of a mixed bag in terms of impact.

The Chicago Bears are without a first-round pick for the second straight season, so their first pick will come at No. 43 in the second round.

When considering the previous players that have been taken at 43rd overall, it’s a bit of a mixed bag in terms of impact.

Let’s take a look at the last 10 picks at No. 43.

2019: LB Jahlani Tavai, Lions

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Tavai has only been in the NFL for one season so it’s difficult to judge the pick, but he showed promise in his NFL debut. In his rookie season, Tavai appeared in 15 games, where he logged 58 combined tackles, two sacks, two passes defensed and one interception.

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It might be time for the Vikings to bring back a throwback jersey. Some players and fans think so

Should the Vikings bring back a throwback jersey?

Throughout the 2020 offseason, three teams will have come out with new jersey concepts.

The Buccaneers and Falcons have come out with new uniforms, and the Colts came out with an alternate logo. The Browns are unveiling a new uniform Wednesday, according to cleveland.com.

New players will be arriving after the draft, people are desperately missing sports and the main way to shop is through online websites. The aforementioned teams changing their uniforms has been a nice distraction during these times, and it might not be a bad idea for the Vikings to do the same. 

On Monday night, ESPN reran the 2009 Vikings vs Packers game where Brett Favre took down his former team for the first time. Some Vikings players and fans took to Twitter, talking about how much they liked the throwback jerseys that were used that night in the Metrodome. 

Wide receiver Adam Thielen also got his take out there, by retweeting Rudolph’s tweet with the fire emoji and a thumbs up. 

If the Vikings were to bring back their throwbacks, the all white concept should strongly be considered as well. The current jerseys have an extremely clean look to them, but that shouldn’t stop the team from considering the throwback uniforms. The timing seems too perfect, and the designers would be able to consider giving the throwbacks a touch of modernization as well.

It is clear that some Vikings players have interest in bringing these jerseys back, and it would give the fanbase something to look forward to. If there were ever a time to release new jerseys, now seems as good of a time as any.

Notre Dame’s Kmet Rated Top Tight End by Touchdown Wire

Cole Kmet might not be a can’t miss tight end prospect but none exist in the 2020 NFL Draft. What he is is the best tight end available.

Anything and everything you read about this 2020 NFL Draft tight end class is that it pales in comparison to recent classes.

Last year’s class saw Iowa teammates T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant both go in the first round. 2018 wasn’t great, but it still had one first rounder, two second rounders and two third rounders. 2017 was chock full of highly rated prospects in O.J. Howard, David Njoku, and Evan Engram.

This year. Meh.

Washington’s Hunter Bryant, Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins, Florida Atlantic’s Harrison Bryant are interesting receiving threats, Dayton’s Adam Trautman is intriguing. I’ve always liked Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam. But none of them is the complete package.

Kmet is the closest thing the NFL is going to see in this draft to a “complete” tight end.

That fact alone may have been the impetus for Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet to enter his name in the draft despite 23 career games, 60 career catches and an opportunity to put up major numbers next year with quarterback Ian Book coming back and Chase Claypool’s targets to fill.

Based on analysis from Touchdown Wire’s own Mark Schofield, he made the right decision.

Schofield has him rated as the #1 in the class citing his ability to attack the seam, his catch radius, his run after catch potential, and the breadth of his blocking experience relative to other college tight ends.

Along with those positives, Schofield mentions his tendency toward body-catching in traffic, defenses finding success in knocking him off his routes and the injuries that prevented Kmet from gaining more experience.

I have Kmet ranked right now as my number one tight end and I don’t see that changing. Though some may consider me biased, I’ve been aboard the Kmet bandwagon as the next great Notre Dame tight end.

Check the time stamp there folks!

Now here’s the thing. Kmet is by no means a perfect prospect. Justifiably, there are concerns and I agree with all of those Schofield mentioned in his analysis. While the potential is there, there simply isn’t a lot of evidence of Kmet being a no-doubt prospect.

Frankly, he hasn’t played a lot of football. Even Kyle Rudolph, who seemed like he was always banged up, played in six more college contests than Kmet. But it does beg the question?

Is the unknown on Kmet a negative or is it a curiosity that will pique some team’s interest forcing him higher up the boards than we think.

I’m willing to bet on the latter.

Where does Kmet’s pro potential rank in my mind compared to recent products from “Tight End U”? I’m glad you asked.

Kmet might not be a knock-out prospect for reasons discussed but he is the clear top tight end in this NFL Draft.

Watch: Notre Dame’s Top 10 Catches by Tight Ends

In the midst of the sports abyss we currently sit in the Notre Dame Athletics YouTube Page has been posting top-ten lists of various events over the years and counting down some of the best plays we’ve seen from Notre Dame athletes.

Their latest honors the great tight ends that have come through Notre Dame and the best plays they’ve made over time.  Without spoiling the list go ahead and watch it and then we’ll react.

Nobody does the tight end position better than Notre Dame.  Year in and year out you look at the NFL Draft and another Notre Dame tight end is getting their name called.  In a few short weeks Cole Kmet will become the latest on that list.

In the midst of the sports abyss we currently sit in the Notre Dame Athletics YouTube Page has been posting top-ten lists of various events over the years and counting down some of the best plays we’ve seen from Notre Dame athletes.

Their latest honors the great tight ends that have come through Notre Dame and the best plays they’ve made over time.  Without spoiling the list go ahead and watch it and then we’ll react.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA-H3rV47Y8&w=560&h=315]

My immediate thought is without the impact of the play, the most impressive is Irv Smith’s at three.  What Smith did to those pour Hoosier souls sent football back three decades in Bloomington.

The two ahead of it obviously led directly to a national championship being won so even if they weren’t the most impressive plays like Smith’s was, I can’t argue for a second against either being ranked ahead of it.

The Rudolph play against Michigan in 2010 was one of the most-exciting I’ve been in attendance for, it’s just too bad nobody could tackle Denard Robinson that afternoon.

You could really put five through nine in any order and I don’t think anyone would be too upset.  The Rudolph game-winner at Purdue saved things from going south that season.  Well, for a few weeks, anyway.

If there was one that didn’t make the list that I always remember it’s the Jabari Holloway fumble recovery to take the lead against USC in 1999.  It didn’t save a memorable season by any means but it did help complete an epic comeback against Notre Dame’s biggest rival.

Then again, it wasn’t a catch.

Irish in the NFL: Zack Martin Named to All-Decade Team

Martin has been a force with the Dallas Cowboys as he’s been elected six times as an All-Pro and been selected for the Pro Bowl on six occasions in his six year career to date. By definition, nobody has dominated their position since 2014 like Martin has.

The NFL’s All-Decade Team for 2010-2019 is out and one former Notre Dame star made the team. As you could probably guess, it was an offensive lineman seeing as so many who came through turned to gold both in college and the pros over the last decade.

Zack Martin, one of the best linemen in the league since the day he was drafted walked away with the honors on Monday afternoon.

Martin has been a force with the Dallas Cowboys as he’s been elected six times as an All-Pro and been selected for the Pro Bowl on six occasions in his six year career to date. By definition, nobody has dominated their position since 2014 like Martin has.

It’s hard to make a case for any Notre Dame players being snubbed offensively. Quenton Nelson has a pair of All-Pro appearances but has only played two seasons. Ronnie Stanley has been good but only 2019 in his career so far has been anywhere near that level and although Notre Dame puts a tight end in the pros just about every year, Kyle Rudolph (the best NFL career of the bunch) doesn’t touch Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce in terms of production or dominance.

The defensive side of the ball is another story as plenty of stars were taken in the secondary yet Harrison Smith was not one of them. He might not have the flash as some but I have a hard time believing there were eight better defensive backs in the game since 2012.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph adjusts his training amid coronavirus

“I did a lot of pushups, a lot of situps. I ran around the neighborhood, I ran in the yard. You try to find a park or an open field,” Kyle Rudolph said.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph has been attempting to train in the offseason, but he hasn’t been able to do so at the team’s headquarters in Eagan, Minnesota.

Instead, Rudolph has had to get a little more creative.

“I did a lot of pushups, a lot of situps. I ran around the neighborhood, I ran in the yard. You try to find a park or an open field,” Rudolph told USA TODAY. “And that’s kind of what I’ve resorted to. Thankfully, I’m fortunate now to be in a different situation than I was when I was in middle school and trying to work out. So we do have some fitness equipment here at the house.”

Rudolph also told USA TODAY that he is still in direct contact with head strength coach Mark Uyeyama and head trainer Eric Sugarman, who have been emailing him on what he can do.

“Whether it’s giving us functional movements that you can go out in your backyard or out in your front yard or go in the driveway, or if you can find a park nearby, go to the park and it allows us to get at least some functional movement and then it goes up from there,” Rudolph said.

Ranking the Vikings’ 3 best 2nd-round picks since 2000

With the NFL Draft right around the corner and our Kyle Ratke ranked the Vikings’ three best second-round picks since 2000.

With the NFL Draft right around the corner and our Kyle Ratke ranked the Vikings’ three best second-round picks since 2000.

3. LB, E.J. Henderson, 2003

Our apologies to tight end Kyle Rudolph for missing out on this list. I guess you could go either way, but I’ve got Henderson here.

Henderson became an full-time starter for this time in his second season and had 761 combined tackles over nine seasons, making the Pro Bowl in 2010.

His 559 solo tackles rank seventh in team history.

It wouldn’t take much for me ($20, maybe $10) to put Rudolph in this spot over Henderson.

2. LB, Eric Kendricks, 2015

Vikings fans have known for a hot minute how good Kendricks is and how much he has meant to the team’s defense over the years. He was rewarded with  an All-Pro and Pro Bowl appearance in 2019. It’s been the best of his career, but it certainly didn’t come out of nowhere.

At 28 years old, Kendricks has plenty left to contribute to this team’s defense.

Kendricks turned out to be a better player than the team’s first-round pick (Trae Waynes) in the 2015 draft.

1. RB, Dalvin Cook, 2017

I know, I know. We are only three years into Cook’s career and he’s missed 19 games. But man, when he’s on, he looks like one of the best players in the entire NFL.

In just 14 games in 2019, we saw Cook run for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns to go with 53 receptions for 519 yards.

Cook should have been a first-round pick, but there were some off-the-field worries about Cook coming out of Florida State. So far, though, he’s been a stand-up guy and a leader for the Vikings.

Cook is only 24 years old and it really feels like he could become one of the most dangerous weapons in the league for the next five years. Of course, health plays a big part of that.

Kyle Rudolph Donates 82,000 Meals in Wake of COVID-19 Outbreak

Point number two played itself out yet again Monday as it was announced that Kyle Rudolph is yet again helping out his community.  This time the former Pro Bowl MVP is donating 82,000 meals to families hit the hardest by the COVID-19 outbreak in the Minneapolis area.

If you have paid any attention to former Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph since he left campus you’re probably aware of a couple things:

1. He’s still a red-zone weapon now nine years into his NFL career, having scored 47 touchdowns to date, six of which came this past season.

2. He’s an infinitely better person off the field.

Point number two played itself out yet again Monday as it was announced that Rudolph is yet again helping out his community.  This time the former Pro Bowl MVP is donating 82,000 meals to families hit the hardest by the COVID-19 outbreak in the Minneapolis area.

“Growing up, I never had to worry about not having meals if we didn’t have school, and that’s not the case for a lot of kids around our community,” Kyle told Vikings.com. “There’s a lot of families who are going without meals because mom and/or dad aren’t able to work right now … so we wanted to do something here for the families in our community that we know are being directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.” – Kyle Rudolph to Vikings.com

Rudolph is also heading “Rudy’s Meal Plan” where he hopes to raise $200,000 dollars for Second Harvest Heartland, a foundation with the goal of eliminating hunger.

If you’d like to help Rudolph reach his $200,000 goal you can do so here.

It’s not why he does it but I really do hope that Rudolph ends up winning a Walter Payton Man of the Year Award at some point.  That’s not to take anything away from the great work countless NFL players do annually but you can see how much giving back means to Rudolph and his family regularly.

Now enjoy this picture of Rudolph back in his high school days that the All-American Bowl tweeted out Monday evening.

Kyle Rudolph on the 456-page CBA Proposal: ‘I think my printer ran out of ink’

The new proposed CBA is 456 pages long. For Kyle Rudolph, it’s been a process trying to read it.

456 pages — that’s how long the proposed collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is, and players are ostensibly going to read through it and make a decision.

Kyle Rudolph has not had an easy time with it.

“I actually just printed it out to try and read through it. … I think my printer ran out of ink,” Rudolph said on The Pat McAfee Show.

“You can’t even zoom big enough on an iPhone to read all the fine points that they have in there.”

Rudolph went on to say that he will educate himself the best he can before he makes a vote on the decision. The current CBA will expire in March of 2021. You can read more about the CBA, and the impending player vote that Rudolph will be a part of, here.

Some players, like Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey, have been vocal in their disdain for the agreement, advocating for players to vote no.