Will Kyle Rudolph be better or worse for the Vikings in 2019?

Too many mouths to feed

I don’t want to harp on this too much as I mentioned this in a previous article about Adam Thielen, but the Vikings offense has a lot more weapons than it did a season ago and that could lead to a decrease in targets and production for Kyle Rudolph. as there could just be too many quality targets for Kirk Cousins to throw to.

Obviously, Irv Smith Jr. is the main guy who could cut into Rudolph’s workload, but the wide receiver depth chart also looks improved. From second-year guys like Chad Beebe, Jeff Badet, and Brandon Zylstra to the rookies Dillon Mitchell and Olabisi Johnson this will be a much more competitive unit, and guys will be battling to get on the field and make plays.

Dalvin Cook is also a threat to take away targets in the passing game as is third-round rookie running back Alexander Mattison. All these weapons could lead to a decline in targets for Rudolph.

Improved running game

An improved running game could also lead to fewer opportunities for Rudolph. The Vikings seem committed to improving their overall running game this upcoming season. Gary Kubiak was brought in as an offensive consultant and he loves to run the football.

If the Vikings are successful in this area, they will want to grind out games at the end. Which means that late in ball games they will be running the football over and over to burn time off the clock.

This will result in fewer passes being thrown, which will equal fewer targets and production for Kyle Rudolph.