An Ex-Viking Among FA Tight Ends Who Could Help Minnesota
K. Joudry
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Currently, Minnesota doesn’t have a ton of depth among their tight ends.
A recent power ranking from ESPN highlighted how the Vikings did very little to solidify things beyond Irv Smith Jr. For what it’s worth, Smith has been getting some hype about his 2022 role:
The 2021 season-ending injury, of course, gives Minnesota fans some pause when it comes to Smith and the rest of the tight ends. What happens if the TE1 goes down again? It’ll be up to Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, Ben Ellefson, and Zach Davidson to fulfill the TE1 duties. Should the Vikings look to add someone else to this group?
The fine folks at Spotrac have a handy tool, one that allows us to see which tight ends remain in free agency. The first name that jumped out was MyCole Pruitt since he was drafted by the Vikings in 2015. Over these past four seasons, he has played well for the Titans. Last year, he finished as the 11th-best TE in the NFL, according to PFF.
One has to assume that a major part of the reason why he’s still available is due to the really unfortunate ankle injury that occurred in early January. If he can get back to full health, Pruitt is someone to consider. His role with the Titans was primarily as a blocker. He only had 14 catches last season, and the vast majority of his snaps (388) came inline. In other words, Pruitt was relied on to help the offensive line in pass pro and to open lanes in the run game, so he’d be a good complement to Smith.
Other prominent names are Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Eric Ebron, Blake Jarwin, and Kyle Rudolph. The best fit may be Jarwin, who most recently played for the Cowboys. He’s still quite young (27) and has great size (6’5, 260). Last year, he finished 50th overall in the PFF rankings. Most of his snaps were inline and he finished with a very healthy 69.3 run blocking score. Like Pruitt, he’s also recovering from an injury.
If Minnesota decides they need more depth among their tight ends, there are some names to consider in free agency. A blocking specialist who can be an occasional pass catcher would be a great option.
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