That Bama rook TE flashed a little potential today!

[purplefaithful]

I liked what I saw...

[Guest]

He looked fast. Rudolph lumbers like an old dump truck. 

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
He looked fast. Rudolph lumbers like an old dump truck. 

With a broken axel...

He had at least one explosive play called back...his blocking has been very good...maybe his head isn't so swimmy...dial #84 more often...

[Guest]

Takes some ballz to pick #84 to wear in purple...

[Guest]

When the Vikings went up 28-7 in the 3rd. On connective plays Rudy was mugged for 24 yards then cousins hits Smith for 26 yards. 

Rudy and Smith  are completely different players.

those 2  plays showed the mismatch they can create imo

[Guest]

I thought Smith looked and played faster than his 40 time ... noticeably quicker and faster than Rudolph.

Really excellent drafting in the early rounds by Spielman ... Bradbury starting, Irv Smith Jr. starting in a 2 TE sets, Mattison comes in as a backup RB and runs the ball with authority giving our offense an excellent 1-2 punch at RB.  If we can develop any of those later round picks we've really got another wave of excellent young players.

[Guest]

Vikings rookie Irv Smith Jr. finally gets some balls thrown his way

Vikings rookie tight end Irv Smith Jr. will always remember his first catch in the NFL. It came last week against the rival Green Bay Packers, and he actually lost one yard on the play. 
Needless to say, he was a little happier with his stat line in the Vikings’ 34-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday: three catches for a team-high 60 yards. 
“I just try to do my role,” Smith said. “Whatever the coaches want me to do, whether it’s blocking or going out there and making plays in the pass game, I’m going to do it. I feel like today my time came, and I made the most of it.” 
That productive performance came after Smith was used almost exclusively as a blocker in Weeks 1 and 2. 
“You know, as a tight end, we are a little bit smaller guys, and we have to block some of those big guys,” he said. “We like to be rewarded for that sometimes. It felt good.” 
It could be a sign of things to come. After all, there’s a reason the Vikings selected Smith in the second round of this year’s draft. 
“I think he showed some really good things today,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “His athleticism in the passing game — he beat man coverage once today — I think that can be another important factor for us.” 
It’s no surprise the Vikings have opted to bring Smith along slowly, especially with veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph in the mix, though they might have to make him a bigger part of the game plan moving forward. 
“He’s a guy that busts his tail,” receiver Adam Thielen said. “He does some of the dirty work, and then when he gets his opportunities, he does a great job of getting open, catching the football and running with it. They obviously liked him coming out, and now we can all see why they did.” 
https://www.twincities.com/2019/09/22/vi...n-his-way/

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:
Takes some ballz to pick #84 to wear in purple...

I think the trick is that he is a tight end and not a wide receiver. The dude can straight up block which is nice to see. Looking forward to seeing more from him. He has great speed and hands.