Unsung Vikings Player Had a Career Day
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings finally looked like the unit fans and the organization alike expected all year. The Washington Commanders had no chance to win and got blown out 31-0. Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak.
Unsung Vikings Player Had a Career Day
Various guys made plays for Kevin O’Connell’s operation, both on defense and offense. They even skipped their weekly special-teams blunder.
On the stat sheet, one veteran stood out: Tight end Josh Oliver.
Regarded as one of the elite blocking tight ends in the NFL, Oliver also starred as a pass-catcher. Though only grabbing a pair of passes for 24 yards, both of them added six points to the scoreboard. He ended the team’s two-game (yikes) touchdown drought.
For the first time in his career, Oliver caught not just one but two touchdowns in a single game. In his NFL career, the big target has registered 79 catches for 787 yards and 11 touchdowns in 78 games. This season has been particularly quiet for the ultimate role player that arrived in the 2023 offseason. His yardage total in each of the last two campaigns eclipsed 200 yards. He’s up to just 86 yards on the year. Like all receivers, Oliver’s numbers have suffered from the subpar quarterback play.
But his pass-catching skills are not why the Vikings handed him a pretty strong deal despite having already acquired T.J. Hockenson at the time. He’s a masterful blocker. The god-given size of 6’5″ and 264 lbs (officially; you can probably add another 10-20 pounds) gives him the requisite strength to pull off blocks most tight ends can’t in today’s day and age of the receiving tight end.
In fact, he’s such a good blocker that he was the emergency lineman when all the actual linemen were dropping like flies in the game against the Steelers in Dublin.
Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips made some strong claims during last season: “Josh is the best blocking tight end in the league, you know. And that’s no disrespect to anyone else and for anyone who wants to use that as fuel, go ahead; I can’t say I’ve studied each one intently, there are some good ones out there, but we’ll take Josh over anybody in this league in the role that he’s in. He’s not only physical imposing, he’s a 270-pound man, but the attitude that he plays with, the physicality.”
After spending two seasons with the 2019 draftee, the Vikings signed the veteran to a contract extension in the offseason. He agreed to a three-year extension worth $23.25 million with one year remaining on his deal. Oliver is pretty much guaranteed to be on the roster for another season, and even moving on in 2027 would result in a cap penalty.
In training camp, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores said about the blocker’s presence, “Where’s Josh Oliver in the run game? Because he’s a problem.”
It’ll never show up in the numbers, but Oliver is fantastic at that one specific job, and it’s made him some nice money over the years.
Oliver is 28 years old and he just had a career day.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.