Irv Smith (I love this)

Hope he brings his dad with him!

He's only 20 years old. He's going to get better, his upside is really big. He'll get bigger, too. Excellent blocker. Can create mismatches with his speed. A little raw right now, but I like this pick a ton. A Ben Watson type?

Steve Jordans kid goes to the Saints
Irv Smiths kid goes to the Vikings

Nepotism knows no boundaries...

Some sweet highlights....

https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/2019/04/26/these-irv-smith-jr-highlights-will-make-vikings-fans-very-happy/

Remember that time when Rudy broke a defender's ankles?

Yeah, me either. Watched Bama quite a bit...Smith was a great get here...he could have easily gone 20 picks higher...

I expected him to go 1st round since it’s so difficult to find TE’s as dynamic as him. Couldn’t believe our luck. WAIT till this kid starts learning routes from Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs! Linebackers and likely a number of safeties are going to have their hands full with Irv!

It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

@"JimmyinSD" said: It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

@"StickyBun" said: He's only 20 years old. He's going to get better, his upside is really big. He'll get bigger, too. Excellent blocker. Can create mismatches with his speed. A little raw right now, but I like this pick a ton. A Ben Watson type?

@"JimmyinSD" said: It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

On a more serious note, he was a late first/early 2nd round projection.  He didn't even seem like a legit option for us because if we went OL in the first round, I personally didn't think he'd make it to 50 and I figured the Vikings would go a different direction (DT, DE, etc) with their next pick.  On the flip side, if we didn't take an OL in the first, it was a given that we would be looking at maneuvering ourselves to get an OL with their our second pick.  Considering all that, it just didn't seem realistic that the Vikings would be able to draft this guy at all and would look at TE later in the draft.

Personally, I couldn't be happier with how it all played out.  

Loved that moment. I even started cheering along with them!
He looks fast. As mentioned, faster than his 40 time. He should be an instant contributor to the new offense.
Good pick.

@"JimmyinSD" said: It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

https://vikefans.com/discussion/#/discussion/comment/66072

"TE is different. There's a group of three at the top. Hockenson, Irv Smith, who I like more than any of them, and Fant. There's a bit of a drop there and then there's a group of like 10 or 12 TEs that all have middle round grades. That's where we should tap into it if at all."

@"JimmyinSD" said: It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

@"BarrNone55" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said: It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

The two things I consistently mentioned was getting a receiver who could make defenses pay for doubling our WRs and a RB Day two...almost positive I was the only one with a RB Day Two...

@"Wetlander" said:

@"BarrNone55" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said: It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

The two things I consistently mentioned was getting a receiver who could make defenses pay for doubling our WRs and a RB Day two...almost positive I was the only one with a RB Day Two...

I remember you saying that because I thought it was a little early to look at RB2...  but your prediction was spot on.

BOOM

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"Wetlander" said:

@"BarrNone55" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said: It's funny how many people are excited for this pick when I don't think I heard his name mentioned pre draft.

The two things I consistently mentioned was getting a receiver who could make defenses pay for doubling our WRs and a RB Day two...almost positive I was the only one with a RB Day Two...

I remember you saying that because I thought it was a little early to look at RB2...  but your prediction was spot on.

BOOM

I still think it was a little early for RB. So conflicted about the Mattison pick. On the one hand you have what looks like a talent everybody and his brother was sleeping on. On the other, we trade down three times while Nate Davis, Khalen Saunders, Trey Pipkins, Bobby Evans, and Yodny Cajuste go off the board. 

As much as I love Oli Udoh's upside, I think I'd rather have Yodny Cajuste and a 6th round back than Mattison and Oli Udoh. Here's to hoping I'm dead wrong about that. 

I get that the Vikings didn't want a Cook backup, but rather a 1-2 punch, a Murray replacement. Just think now more than ever backs are a dime a dozen...especially when almost every year you see a half dozen 7th-round and undrafted backs like Chris Carson, Matt Brieda, and CJ Anderson come in for starters and not miss a beat. 

if they honestly got guys they liked and can use... who am I to judge the cake by the recipe card?  its not like they took total bums or guys that are red flags with their early picks.  a year ago half the fans were blowing up over a CB that 4 months later they were gushing over and talking about him starting opposite of Rhodes.

This is not a new comp but after looking at their metrics side by side it's amazing how similar Irv is to Jordan Reed. 

Irv: 6-2, 242, 4.6 forty
Reed: 6-2, 245, 4.7 forty

Reed has slightly better jump numbers, but he's not the blocker that Irv is either. Reed was Cousins favorite target in Washington. Irv should look like his twin down the field.