A Creative Way for the Vikings to Soothe Their Needs at One Position
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings are in a tricky spot at their tight end position heading into 2024.
T.J. Hockenson’s ACL injury throws a massive wrinkle into any type of moves that Minnesota could potentially make this offseason. On one hand, Hockenson very well could only miss a couple games to begin the season, but on the other, if there are complications with his rehab, the majority of the 2024 season could be in jeopardy.
Regardless, the Vikings are in a spot where they would currently roll into Week 1 with Josh Oliver as their only healthy tight end on the roster. That simply cannot happen. As a result, Minnesota could try to get creative to find a solution at the position.
A Creative Way for the Vikings to Soothe Their TE Needs
Last season, the Vikings brought in former 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry, who has struggled to live up to that draft status throughout the early portions of his NFL career. Harry, 26, has totaled just 64 receptions for 714 yards and five touchdowns and did not catch a single pass in a Vikings uniform during the 2023 campaign.
A big reason for this was simply Minnesota’s lack of need for Harry at the WR position. They had six other receivers take on more offensive snaps than the former New England Patriot, burying him near the bottom of the depth chart.
Still, Minnesota opted to bring him back on a reserve/futures contract when their season concluded, indicating that the Vikings still see a role for him on their roster. Perhaps that role could be at tight end.
Let’s start with the obvious. Of course, this is not a suggestion that Harry can completely replace Hockenson’s production at the tight end position, or even come close to doing so. There are very few people on the planet who could make that claim.
However, Harry always has looked the part of a tight end, being listed at 6’4″ and 225 pounds. For reference, Hockenson is listed at 6’5″ and 248 pounds. On top of that size, Harry has some fantastic athletic ability with 4.5-speed while putting up a Relative Athletic Score of 8.42 at the combine in 2019. If Harry can add some extra muscle this offseason while maintaining most of that explosion, his capabilities as a tight end could go from idea to reality.
At this point, Harry has never been utilized as a tight end by name, especially for extensive snaps. PFF suggests that he lined up as a true tight end for two snaps during the 2021 season for the New England Patriots, but that is the only playing time he’s gotten at the position over his NFL career. Then, PFF listed him as a tight end for 12 snaps during his three seasons at Arizona State.
Even still, Harry has always been a very proficient blocker as a large wide receiver, particularly in the running game. During his final season with the Patriots in 2021, Harry played 174 snaps as a run blocker, and PFF graded him at 84.7 in that department.
Among 207 wide receivers and tight ends to play at least 100 run blocking snaps, Harry’s PFF grade ranked third in the entire NFL. However, he simply hasn’t been utilized much in this role over the past couple seasons, playing just 87 run blocking snaps in 2022 and only 17 in 2023 with the Vikings. Take a look at how Minnesota utilized Harry on one of those plays (No. 13 on the lefthand side of the field):
This blocking ability isn’t all that new for Harry. In fact, it goes all the way back to his collegiate days at Arizona State. During the 2018 season, Harry played 372 snaps in that department, and he was graded at 73.4 by PFF. There were 94 wide receivers to play at least 300 run blocking snaps that season, and Harry placed 16th among them.
Overall, Harry has a history of being a very proficient run blocker, which could very well be useful for the Vikings in 2024 as they continue to try and find a way to revitalize their rushing attack.
Rather than utilizing extensive resources to bring in more tight ends to help fill Hockenson’s void for a few weeks, Harry could be an option to keep an eye on as the 2024 season approaches.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.