5 breakout stars to watch for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. TE. Vikings. Irv Smith. 1.. player. 60
The Vikings’ release of long-time tight end Kyle Rudolph has greased the skids for Smith to have a third-year breakout in 2021. At the end of last season, with Rudolph out with a foot injury and Smith healthy himself, we got a glimpse of what could be to come.
Over the last four games of 2020, Smith had 15 catches for 183 yards (12.2 yards per catch, 9.2 yards per target) and three touchdowns. That was essentially half of his production for the entire season (30 receptions for 365 yards and five touchdowns). Of course, that translated to fantasy production.
Irv Smith Jr. played the last 4 games without Kyle Rudolph in 2020
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) March 3, 2021
He ranked 8th among TEs w/ 12.8 fantasy points per game pic.twitter.com/vOWPQ8c2ZQ
But focusing strictly on those last four games while Rudolph was out is missing a bigger picture. From Week 5-17, Smith had the fourth-best receiving grade among tight ends from Pro Football Focus.
Irv Smith Jr's 82.6 receiving grade from Week 5-17 ranked 4th among TEs 👀#TE1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RHZZKN5hTh
— PFF MIN Vikings (@PFF_Vikings) March 3, 2021
According to Player Profiler, Smith was a top-15 tight end in the following categories last season.
Yards Per Catch (12.2; eighth)
Route Participation (73 percent; 14th)
Average Target Distance (8.3 yards; 10th)
Yards Per Target (8.5 yards; eighth)
QB Rating When Targeted (132.2; second)
Smith is deployed out of the slot a fair amount, so he could functionally be the Vikings’ No. 3 wide receiver. No matter what, a breakout is looming.
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