Minnesota’s tight end depth is better than we thought
When Irv Smith Jr. was lost during the first week of training camp many Vikings fans and members of the media deemed that the sky was falling.
Calls for the team to go out and bring in a veteran like Eric Ebron or Jimmy Graham were being thrown out there, but we’ve learned so far in this camp that this tight end depth may actually be acceptable.
Johnny Mundt was the first man up and he’s made plays and has slowly gained the trust of Kirk Cousins. Early in camp he outmuscled Lewis Cine on a jump ball and has been a consistent presence with the first-team offense.
The bigger surprise may be the emergence of second-year player Zach Davidson. The 6-foot-7 beast has had his share of first-team reps, getting plenty of targets and securing the catches for the most part, which is something he struggled with as a rookie.
Cousins has been talking to him on the sideline encouraging him and even giving him knucks. That’s a big endorsement for a young player who didn’t get a sniff as a rookie.
Ben Ellefson has also worked in with the ones, and while he isn’t the receiving threat that the aforementioned two are, he is an excellent blocker who can definitely help out this offense.
After watching this tight end group in camp, the team should now realize they can get by with what they have. If Smith’s recovery from thumb surgery takes longer than expected, they are in good hands and don’t need to waste a draft pick in a trade for a crusty veteran.