Those inside and outside of the Minnesota Vikings orbit foresaw this moment since April 25th, 2019. That was the day that Irv Smith Jr. joined the organization via 2nd-Round pick from the University of Alabama. Football teams do not draft tight ends with that degree of draft capital only to avoid full engagement.
For two years, Kyle Rudolph and Smith Jr. harmoniously coexisted. Rudolph took care of the late-game targets from quarterback Kirk Cousins whereas the offense familiarized itself with the contents of Smith Jr.’s toolset. It became apparent that Smith Jr. possessed the pizazz and physical capability to command the workshare of a first-option tight end.