Overall tight end evaluation
This season, there were too many times that the tight ends of the Minnesota Vikings were forced to keep back and block in the passing game. For that reason, the statistics of David Morgan and Rhett Ellison suffered.
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But the resurgence of Kyle Rudolph’s career with Sam Bradford throwing the football is a great sign for the future. Diggs and Thielen have established themselves as capable receivers and that will continue to put the big tight end in situations were he should have a mismatch advantage.
Each of these tight ends should return to the team, but only Rhett Ellison is scheduled to become a free agent. Expect the Vikings to lock him up on another short-term deal while Morgan develops to keep the group together.
Overall, this group of tight ends have to be considered one of the most successful groups on the team. While each one is a bit of a specialist, they do what they do quite well..but there is always room for improvement.
Grade for overall tight end play in 2016: B+
Next: 2016 Vikings evaluations - running backs
What did you think of the performances of these tight ends? Are the grades fair? Do you project a different group on the field for the team during the 2017 NFL season? Let us know in the comments below. Up next in this series, the Minnesota Vikings wide receivers will be evaluated.