Minnesota Vikings tight ends focus on blocking
By Adam Carlson
The Minnesota Vikings grade out to have an average offensive line this year according to Pro Football Focus. With that information, many individuals, including myself, turned my attention to the blocking from running backs and tight ends, including Kyle Rudolph and MyCole Pruitt.
Both those individuals seemed to open up the season struggling in pass protection. There were times that Rudolph looked much more interested in getting out for his route than chipping a defender to help buy the quarterback time. However, that kind of blocking has been a focus of the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff as of late.
In a recent article on the Scout.com website, head coach Mike Zimmer praised tight end Kyle Rudolph for doing more of the little things that can help the team win.
"More from The Viking Age6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings historyFormer Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC NorthBears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022“I’d like to point this out to you – Kyle Rudolph, to me, (against the Lions) did some things that don’t show up. He chipped on the defensive end numerous times, he did a lot of really good things. He made a nice catch on the goal line that everybody sees, but some of the other things that he did, opening things up for other people, I thought was really important. It’s really what I’m trying to get our team to understand, the focus may not be on you today, but who cares? Let’s just go play together, let’s go win, let’s everybody do a good job.”"
Kyle Rudolph isn’t the only one that has been evaluated in their blocking game. Rookie tight end MyCole Pruitt was also looked at by Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Although blocking was one of Pruitt’s strong suits at the college level, he’s struggled a bit at as a professional. Turner isn’t discouraged though, as he’s also seen some good things from Pruit recently.
"Oct 25, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Vikings tight end MyCole Pruitt (83) carries the ball during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports“Pruitt’s a young guy, so there are a lot of things he needs to get better at,” Turner said. “He’s working hard as a blocker. He really had the big block that got Adrian started on the long run. I think he’s a willing blocker. He’s physical enough to be a good blocker, he’s got good athleticism, good feet, so he’s going to be a good blocker at some point and he’s working hard every day to get better at it.”"
You can see MyCole Pruitt, Kyle Rudolph and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings when the take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field tomorrow. Check your local listings for time and availability.