Will Irv Smith Jr. be a breakout tight end in 2021?

Liz Loza and Dalton Del Don discuss the role of Minnesota Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. in 2021 after the release of former starter Kyle Rudolph. Hear the full conversation on the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Video Transcript

LIZ LOZA: Kyle Rudolph, however, in Minnesota was officially released. So how many Irv Smith Jr. shares are you buying?

DALTON DEL DON: Oh, yeah. I moved him into my top 12, because, yeah, this frees up his opportunity. He's looked good, passes the eye test. Adam Thielen kind of fading, getting up there in age.

I don't love it, because Justin Jefferson's awesome, and it's a run-first team. But there aren't a lot of mouths to feed in Minnesota, pretty condensed target tree there. So yeah, Irv Smith is a tight end one for me on my-- on my fantasy board.

LIZ LOZA: I mean, I-- I like that you mentioned the run-first offense, but this is still the NFL. Right? Like this is 2020 in the NFL. Everybody's passing, like 4,000 yards for a quarterback is nothing anymore. And we know--

DALTON DEL DON: Totally.

LIZ LOZA: --Kirk Cousins is staying in Minnesota. We know-- and we know how much he loves to favor the tight end position. Irv Smith Jr. was the number three passing option in that offense at various points throughout last season. Thielen, you mentioned, is fading. Justin Jefferson is the man. He can do all the things. He's the wide receiver one.

But I also think that Smith has another opportunity to inch his way into, as you were saying, the top 10 to 12 at the tight end position. Now, I mean, people are gonna be like, oh, great. What is that? Like five catches and 50 yards a week or something? But like that's still-- that's still a position that we need to take into consideration.

And he has NFL bloodlines, which you know people want to have conversations about. This isn't Cris Collinsworth's kid. Right? Like people want to talk about nepotism. This is-- NFL bloodlines matter not just because of connections, but because of at training and reps and the kind of physical therapy and attention and coaching that players can receive and have access to.

DALTON DEL DON: And you know, a lack of volume also, it helps when it's offset by efficiency. And Cousins got like 8.3 YPA last year. So I think the offense is, in general, it's a good system to be in. And tight end position I got myself excited about last season, and it totally disappointed. But I could talk myself into it again this year. You've already brought up plenty of names. And Dallas Goedert without Zach Ertz. Noah Fant, another year and possibly an upgrade at quarterback position. Tyler Higbee without-- what-- Gerald Everett is almost certainly going to leave. Logan Thomas came on down the stretch, and there's still--

LIZ LOZA: Oh, I love him.

DALTON DEL DON: --a Gesicki possible breakout.