2021 Position Recap: Tight Ends

EAGAN, Minn. — It was a weird year for Minnesota’s tight ends room.

Tyler Conklin led that position group, which was a bit unexpected considering where the unit was as training camp opened.

The Vikings had released longtime veteran Kyle Rudolph in March, which paved the way for Irv Smith, Jr., to take on a bigger role as the team’s top tight end.

And Smith looked primed for a monster season after an impressive camp and preseason, but he tore his meniscus in the preseason finale on a fluky play.

Suddenly, the tight ends group was in flux in Minnesota.

Conklin was thrust into a starting role, which he performed admirably with one of the top seasons in team history for a player at that position.

The Vikings also acquired Chris Herndon in a trade soon after Smith’s injury, sending a fourth-round pick to the Jets and also getting a sixth-rounder back in the deal.

Herndon made a minimal impact over 17 games in Purple and wasn’t the only fresh face to arrive at that position.

Ben Ellefson was signed to the active roster shortly before the season started, and Luke Stocker was added to the team in mid-October after Ellefson was placed on Injured Reserve.

Both of them played more of a blocking role, however, as Conklin proved to be the main tight end target in Minnesota’s passing attack.

The Vikings also spent a 2022 fifth-round pick on Zach Davidson, but the former Division II standout (including as a punter) essentially took a redshirt and spent 2021 on the practice squad.

Conklin stepped up significantly for the Vikings in 2021. But all in all, it was a down season for that position group compared to preseason expectations.