What Is Wrong with Minnesota Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph?

Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph likely envisioned a much different start to his 2015 season. 

Finally healthy and surrounded by playmakers, Rudolph entered his second year in Norv Turner's offense with Teddy Bridgewater ascending at quarterback and the comfort provided by a multiyear contract. Everything seemed in place for the breakout season almost everyone has expected for the last two or three years. 

Instead, Rudolph has been mostly invisible through four games. 

While his 14 catches rank second on the team, his volume numbers have lacked in the impact department. At his current pace, Rudolph will catch 56 passes for just 416 yards and four touchdowns—a stat line far off the expectations of Minnesota's fourth-highest-paid player.  

Rudolph's average of 7.4 yards per catch is the third worst among receivers and tight ends with at least 10 receptions. He has only one catch over 15 yards, and he also dropped a sure-fire touchdown against the San Diego Chargers in Week 3. 

	Rudolph	NFL Rank
Receptions	14	21st (tied)
Targets	22	17th (tied)
Yards	104	29th
TD	1	19th (tied)
Yards/Catch	7.4	24th*
First Downs	5	20th

One reason why he's been so quiet? The Vikings' inability to protect Bridgewater. 

"That's what they always help remind me," Rudolph said, via Andrew Krammer of 1500ESPN.com. "That there's more you can do than catches and yards. Obviously, I want to be out there running around catching balls, but what good does it do if I'm running down the field and we're not getting the ball out? There's a lot of different responsibilities I have."

Per Pro Football Focus, Rudolph has been asked to block on 111 of his 226 snaps this season. The Vikings offensive line has needed all the help it can get in keeping defenders off Bridgewater's back. Occasionally, the tight end position is needed to assist in pass protection. 

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A seasoned coordinator, Turner understands the ebbs and flows of what his offense asks of various positions. 

"My experience, particularly in this system, is that things go in cycles," Turner said Thursday, per Vikings.com. "The way that people are playing us right now, or I should say the way Denver played us, there were opportunities to throw the ball to the outside. Obviously, we were playing against two outstanding pass-rushers, so the ability to help in there with the tight ends was very important for us." 

Minnesota is also running the football at a high rate. Through four games, the Vikings have called run plays on almost 47 percent of the offense's snaps. It's an understandable ratio given how productive running back Adrian Peterson has been to start this season. 

But Rudolph can't blame everything on opportunity. According to PFF, he has run 115 pass routes in 2015, which ranks second on the Vikings offense behind Mike Wallace (120). His 22 targets are also second to Wallace (24). However, Minnesota's top receiver has twice the receiving yards and three times as many first-down receptions as Rudolph. 

Taking advantage of opportunity has been Rudolph's primary problem. 

Jim Mone/Associated Press

PFF tracks a metric called yards per route run. It's a simple but indicative measure of the top producers at pass-catching positions. So far in 2015, Rudolph has averaged just 0.91 yards per route run, which ranks 33rd out of 38 qualifying tight ends. 

Once again, poor pass protection is at least partly to blame for scheme limitations. Despite running well over 100 routes, Rudolph has been targeted on just two passes over 20 yards. He's not winning down the field, mostly because the Vikings offense isn't capable of pushing the ball vertically with the current offensive line. As a result, most of Rudolph's opportunities have come on short passes. 

The Vikings had the whole bye week to rectify the issue. The offensive line isn't going to improve overnight, but Minnesota can find different ways to utilize its $45 million tight end. One way might be giving Rudolph more chances in the slot. 

He's been targeted 11 times when lined up as a receiver inside. Rudolph has turned those targets into eight catches, 76 yards and his only touchdown. It's a wrinkle Minnesota could work into the game plan moving forward, especially if the base offense continues to struggle in providing Rudolph opportunities to make plays down the field. 

Turner, who has fed plenty of tight ends in his day as a play-caller, isn't worried about Rudolph's involvement.

"I don’t get caught up in that because through 16 games you’re going to have a lot of different people contribute and that’s just the way it tends to work in this league," Turner said, per Vikings.com.

Rudolph isn't having a great start to his 2015 season. The good news is that he has 12 games to get things turned around, but it might take better offensive line play to make it happen. Everyone in the Vikings' passing game will continue to be limited until Turner truly trusts the players blocking for his young quarterback. 

Zach Kruse covers the Vikings for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2