It took a while to get him the ball, but the Minnesota Vikings offense finally found a way to integrate former Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. into the passing attack.
On Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, Smith caught three passes for a team-high 60 yards as Minnesota got back on track with a 34-14 win over the silver and black. But the performance of the team’s second-round pick wasn’t just impressive. It was record-breaking.
After reaching 60 receiving yards Smith broke the Vikings franchise record for most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in a single game. The record was previously held by Andrew Thomas who recorded 57-yards against the New England Patriots in 1994.
Games like these are what the Vikings hoped to have when they selected the former national champion with the 50th pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. On the outside, it may feel like Smith has taken a while to show up in the stat sheet, but a lot of the blame can be shifted to the below-average quarterback play of Kirk Cousins thus far.
But Smith continuing to get open downfield may prove to be one of the ways the Vikings passing attack can have a resurgence.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
