Many fantasy football players are not huge fans of tight ends, and for good reason. After some select few (Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten among few others), there really is not a lot of high-end fantast talent at the position. The most we can hope for from our tight ends are usually a few catches for less than 60 yards and a touchdown. That is where the Minnesota Vikings fantasy surprise comes in.

Last year, Kyle Rudolph caught nine touchdowns for the Vikings, including two against the San Francisco 49ers. Rudolph uses his massive frame to his advantage in the red zone, and will definitely get those targets this season. Rudolph will also be more involved between the 20’s this year since the Vikings no longer have Percy Harvin.

Rudolph should easily be targeted over 100 times this season and will likely best his career high in catches (53) and yards (493). With the ceiling to be a top five fantasy tight end and a floor of six touchdowns, he is not much of a risk should you need a tight end in the mid to late rounds.

The Vikings have few weapons on offense that could draw more targets than Rudolph, with the exceptions being Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson. With the amount of carries Adrian Peterson will get, Rudolph should have some room to get open on play action and third downs.

Expect Rudolph to get between 55 and 65 catches for 600 yards and around 10 touchdowns this season, which would easily put him among the elite as far as fantasy tight ends go. Draft him in the 8th round, but no earlier unless your league has higher benefits for tight ends.