Stat projections for the Minnesota Vikings’ 2019 rookie class

Garrett Bradbury – G/C

Analysis:

Bradbury was the Vikings’ guy all along. They had arguably better value on the board in tackles Jawaan Taylor and Andre Dillard, as well as Iowa tight end Noah Fant, but Minnesota stuck with their man and it made a ton of sense.

Bradbury is a perfect fit for the Vikings’ blocking scheme that Gary Kubiak and Kevin Stefanski want to run in 2019.

Prediction:

• 16 total starts

Barring injury, Bradbury will start every single game for Minnesota next season. The only question is if it will be at guard or center?

The initial impression is that putting him at center would make the most sense. He’d be an upgrade over Pat Elflein from a season ago and then Elflein can kick it over to left guard, improving that position over Tom Compton, who held that role in 2018.

Irv Smith Jr. – TE

Analysis:

Irv Smith Jr. was a bit of a surprise pick for the Vikings, for a couple of reasons. The first being that it seemed unlikely he’d even make it to pick No. 50 in the second round. He was very productive in college and there were many teams picking ahead of Minnesota that needed help at tight end.

Secondly, the Vikings had bigger needs that could’ve been addressed. That’s all in in the past though and Minnesota took the best player available with this tight end who is a smooth route runner with good hands, speed, and size.

Prediction:

• 35 catches, 378 yards, 4 TDs (with Rudolph on the roster)
• 56 catches, 587 yards, 7 TDs (without Rudolph on the roster)

Irv Smith Jr. will earn a role on this team as a rookie and the size of that role will depend largely on if fellow Vikings tight end, Kyle Rudolph, remains with the team.

If he does, Smith Jr.’s production will dip a bit, as there will be fewer targets to go around. If Rudolph gets cut or traded before the start of the season, Smith Jr. could be one of the more productive offensive rookies in 2019 and see a lot of balls from Kirk Cousins come his way.