One Vikings Veteran Gets Praise as a “Problem”
At the risk of being a bit hyperbolic, one wonders if there has ever been a defensive coordinator who doesn’t love having a strong ground game. Maybe Mike Zimmer took things to a bit of an extreme, but the underlying idea remains: a clock-killing, first-down getting offense makes a defense look good. Very sensibly, DCs want their own team to run effectively.
To that end, consider a Vikings veteran who was recently deemed a “problem” by Minnesota’s Brian Flores, the defensive coordinator since the 2023 season. Coach Flores sees the brawny tight end as being someone who helps the offense to function. More specifically, there’s the impact on the run game, a facet of football where overlooking the pass catcher could lead to getting walloped: “Where’s Josh Oliver in the run game? Because he’s a problem.”
Vikings Veteran Josh Oliver a Great “Problem”
Flores’ point about Oliver arrived within a broader reflection on the talent present within Minnesota’s offense.
In practice at TCO Performance Center, his group needs to contend with a pile of talent. Lining up against Justin Jefferson isn’t for the faint of heart, so seeing him on a day-to-day basis presents a great challenge. The DC goes on to specifically mention T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, and Jordan Mason. So, too, did he give some praise to J.J. McCarthy, insisting that the sophomore can “spin the ball to those guys.”
Bring things around to a basic point that runs through the coach’s full answer: needing to identify where specific players are at on the field.
One thinks of Mr. Jefferson as the prime example. If a defense doesn’t pay proper respect to #18, then the receiver is quite likely to be hitting the griddy before too long. But then there’s an added layer of difficulty due to the abundance of weapons available on offense, as Flores goes on to mention.
With Josh Oliver in particular, there’s an awareness of how he’s capable of thriving as a blocker.
Truth be told, the Vikings don’t need a ton of pass-catching help (at least when health is on their side). Jefferson gets a boatload of targets as a result of being the NFL’s preeminent receiver. After the top option is a full arsenal of weaponry, players who all deserve attention from the young quarterback: Addison, Hockenson, Jones, and Mason. Each of these players deserve touches since all are dangerous.
Plus, there’s still a collection of players behind the most obvious names — guys like Jalen Nailor, Rondale Moore, and Tai Felton (among others) — who can make a difference on Sunday.
The point is simply to say that Josh Oliver isn’t in town to catch a pile of passes. He caught just 22 passes for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns last season. Each one of those stats represent either a new career high or tie a previous career high.
The point for Mr. Oliver is to be someone who is a road grader. Clear out lanes so that runners can find green grass to explode into. That’s the real reason why Oliver is still employed with the Vikings: the man is elite at what he does as a blocker.
Brian Flores, the defensive coordinator, has taken notice. If his defenders don’t know where Oliver is on a down-to-down basis, then the rugged tight end is almost certainly going to win the rep.
Earlier in the offseason, Josh Oliver agreed to an extension to stick around with the Vikings. Other teams are therefore going to need to contend with the problem at tight end for several more years.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
