Kyle Rudolph had a crappy year last season. He was underperforming even before missing the second half of the season with a broken foot. He was a disappointment.
Not all of that, however, was his fault. Christian Ponder was terrible, and there might have been some things the Vikings could have done differently to get Rudolph open. That’s above my understanding of the game, but that’s my sense.
They’ve got Norv Turner coming in now to run the offense, and I think that will nudge Rudolph back on track. There’s a good chance, I think, that he’ll be one of the top half dozen tight ends in the game. Statistically, anyway (and what else do any of us care about?).
Turner’s last seven teams have tended to heavily use tight ends. I see averages of 84 catches, 1,017 yards and 9.6 TDs per season. Not that Rudolph will put up those kind of numbers. Those are team totals, including the second and third tight ends. And note that Turner spent all of those years coaching Antonio Gates and Jordan Cameron. Those guys are badasses.
But I think Rudolph is on the upswing.
Below are the tight end numbers for Turner’s last 15 offenses. They include not only the Gates/Cameron numbers, which great, but also Turner’s previous eight offenses, which aren’t as good. (In particular, the Raiders and 49ers of about 10 years ago – those teams were terrible.).
But I want to be fair. I’m not trying to sell you on Rudolph. I’ll be balanced and give you all the info to work with. (Remember, by the way, that tight end production has risen dramatically around the league over the last 10-15 years.)
| NORV TURNER'S TIGHT ENDS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 1999 | Washington | 30 | 354 | 11.8 | 3 |
| 2000 | Washington | 48 | 518 | 10.8 | 2 |
| 2001 | San Diego | 43 | 443 | 10.3 | 5 |
| 2002 | Miami | 47 | 602 | 12.8 | 7 |
| 2003 | Miami | 56 | 708 | 12.6 | 3 |
| 2004 | Oakland | 49 | 619 | 12.6 | 5 |
| 2005 | Oakland | 43 | 504 | 11.7 | 3 |
| 2006 | San Francisco | 56 | 587 | 10.5 | 5 |
| 2007 | San Diego | 85 | 1070 | 12.6 | 10 |
| 2008 | San Diego | 75 | 831 | 11.1 | 10 |
| 2009 | San Diego | 88 | 1198 | 13.6 | 9 |
| 2010 | San Diego | 80 | 1149 | 14.4 | 12 |
| 2011 | San Diego | 95 | 1081 | 11.4 | 7 |
| 2012 | San Diego | 72 | 740 | 10.3 | 10 |
| 2013 | Cleveland | 95 | 1052 | 11.1 | 9 |
—Ian Allan