X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

Irv Smith Jr. (TE, MIN) - 2020 Fantasy Football Sleeper

The Minnesota Vikings enter the 2020 season with high hopes of winning the NFC North Division title on the heels of a 2019 campaign, which saw them finish 10-6 and reach the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. The team will still be led by Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, and Adam Thielen, however, they recently traded away their leading target earner in Stefon Diggs. This means the offense will likely flow through different avenues to make up for the departing 94 targets he garnered.

For this reason, Irv Smith Jr. makes for an interesting sleeper candidate heading into 2020. Smith was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft and had an immediate impact on the Vikings' offense, which is unique because tight ends often struggle mightily in their rookie season. He even managed to go tit-for-tat with Kyle Rudolph, who has been the top tight end in Minnesota for nearly the entire decade. Further improvement in 2020 should mean Smith takes over as the leading target earner at tight end.

Let's take a deeper look into Smith's 2019 season, as well as some of his advanced metrics, to show exactly why he could become a standout sleeper heading into 2020.

Featured Promo: Get any full-season NFL Premium Pass for 50% off and win big in 2022. Exclusive access to our Premium articles, 15 lineup tools, new Team Sync platform, Lineup Optimizer, Premium DFS tools and cheat sheets, and much more! Sign Up Now!

 

A New Tight End Emerging in Minneapolis?

Irv Smitj Jr. had a solid rookie season for a tight end in 2019 by hauling in 36 of his 47 targets for 311 yards and two scores. This nearly matched Kyle Rudolph in targets (48), receptions (39), and yards (367), but trailed significantly in touchdowns as Rudolph finished with six and was a clear red-zone threat. As a rookie, Smith showed a lot of promise in his advanced metrics, especially for a tight end. He accounted for 8.3% of all Vikings' air yards, which ranked him in the top 28% of the league at tight end. This is a big reason he was known for making big plays as he hauled in five receptions of 20-plus yards, which is a number Rudolph has reached only four times in his nine-year career.

Smith also showed relatively solid hands in 2019 as noted by his 75% catch rate. This was good enough to rank him in the top 27% of the league and could certainly increase in his second year as he develops more of a rapport with Kirk Cousins. Smith showed speed in 2019 as well, which was noted by his 4.63 40-yard dash time. This ranked him in the top 22% among tight ends and is a skill set that cannot be taught and could lead to even more big plays in 2020.

Smith garnered 11% of the Vikings targets in 2019, which put him in the top 22% in the league amongst the position. This is important when you consider the departure of Stefon Diggs. Diggs had 94 targets in 2019 and has since been traded to Buffalo. There is no one in Minnesota to vacuum up those additional targets except for first-round draft pick, Justin Jefferson. Jefferson will certainly grab some of the departed targets, but rookie wide receivers tend to struggle in the first couple years of their career and Cousins should feel more comfortable getting Smith involved in the passing game early on in 2020.

The current ADP for Smith is 301 and he is being taken as the 28th tight end off the board. This means he is not being drafted in 12-team leagues unless the league is incredibly deep. He makes for a solid selection in the final round of your draft as a potential "wait and see" bench tight end or someone to add to the top of your waiver wire watch list. He also makes for a solid buy in dynasty leagues as his value should increase in the coming seasons.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!




Win Big With RotoBaller

Be sure to also check out all of our other daily fantasy football articles and analysis to help you set those winning lineups, including this new RotoBaller YouTube video:




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF