In new offenses, Vikings and Dolphins tight ends work by committee

Fantasy football players, beware.

While the Vikings and Dolphins have offenses led by top-flight receivers, their talents at tight end — second-round draft picks Irv Smith Jr. of Minnesota and Mike Gesicki of Miami — have been folded into committee approaches by new head coaches who also need muscle, not just agility and hands, to unlock their playbooks.

Smith, the 2019 second-round pick, is healthy after August thumb surgery derailed his comeback from last year's knee injury. He hasn't started a game as head coach Kevin O'Connell opts to open with tight end Johnny Mundt, who has been the preferred blocking option. Yet Smith ultimately has played more in each of the last four games as the preferred receiving threat, earning a 53.8% playing rate to Mundt's 43.6%.

Smith has seen more passes thrown his way (25 targets) than anyone not named Justin Jefferson or Adam Thielen, and ranks fourth on the team with 14 catches for 133 yards and a score. They're not the video-game numbers put up by the Chiefs' Travis Kelce or the Ravens' Mark Andrews; Smith has been more of a safety valve underneath. Smith, who is making nearly $1.3 million in the final year of his rookie contract, said he's getting more comfortable in O'Connell's offense and will embrace any chance he gets.

"Whatever my role is," he said, "make something happen."

The Dolphins are in a tenser situation with Gesicki, the 2018 second-round pick who was franchise tagged in March. The Dolphins front office's decision to tag Gesicki, and reported failed attempts to trade him, tied him to Miami for about $11 million — the fourth-highest cap hit at the position league-wide in 2022.

Like Smith, Gesicki, who had 73 grabs for 780 yards last season, comes off the bench for starting tight end Durham Smythe, who was drafted 81 spots after Gesicki in the fourth round in 2018. Smythe is playing more (58.4%) than Gesicki's 49.2%, giving the Dolphins offense a better punch as a run blocker for head coach Mike McDaniel's system, tight ends coach Jon Embree told Miami reporters last week.

Gesicki is on the field primarily to run routes, blocking just 28% of the time, according to Pro Football Focus. That's just a tick higher than Smith's 27.4% blocking rate for the Vikings. Gesicki has caught nine passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in five games.

"I feel like we're getting what we need out of [Gesicki]," Embree said.

The goal for NFL tight ends is to be versatile, though a great block by Kelce or 49ers star George Kittle isn't as celebrated as a catch and run for a touchdown. But blocking is just as pivotal for offenses like O'Connell's Vikings, inspired by Sean McVay's Rams, and McDaniel's Dolphins, stemming from Kyle Shanahan's 49ers.

All four offenses link run and pass games through play-action designs that can keep defenses guessing, especially if they have a tight end capable of both demolishing a defensive end on a run block and accelerating past a safety for a deep pass.

Smith and Mundt, the former Rams tight end, have lanes. But they also cross over, like when Smith run blocked on a second down and then Mundt replaced him and got a third-down pass in the Oct. 2 win against the Saints.

"I do view them pretty interchangeable," O'Connell said. "Each player has obviously strengths that they do that help our offense, but at the same time the growth of both those two guys within our system; obviously Johnny has had some experience in a similar type of offense, but we have evolved and changed. And Irv, despite missing quite a bit of time in training camp, has really picked up some steam here the last few weeks and his comfort level in the run game."

Run blocking has been a focus for Smith, who echoed O'Connell in saying he had to regain a feel in the offense after missing about a month following thumb surgery in August.

"Each week, I'm getting more and more comfortable," Smith said. "Any opportunity I can get, I'll take. There are some plays I wish I would've made, but you know, it's a long season."

Smith's upside as a playmaker will ensure his role, even as Mundt has carved out his own lane as a complementary blocker in a talented offense.

"He's a real problem with the ball in his hands after the catch, finishes forward violently," O'Connell said. "He's a tough guy to tackle. We'll continue to find ways to feature both of those guys, especially with how tough it can be to defend those three or four wideouts that we put out there."