Kyle Rudolph (TE, MIN) - 2020 Fantasy Football Sleeper

4 years ago by Antonio Losada

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TESTING NEW WIDGET hide

BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~168 Overall

CURRENT ADP: 180+ (Undrafted)

ANALYSIS: I am not going to sell you what Rudolph is not: a league winner. It is going to be hard for Rudolph to score big-time PPR points in 2020 being part of the Vikings offense. There is nothing wrong with that, though. Rudolph has scored at least 113 PPR points in each of his last five seasons, only he did so last year while getting almost half of the targets he needed to reach that mark in years prior to 2019. You might not believe this, but since 2000, Kyle Rudolph's 2019 season ranks as the third-best in PPR points among TEs with 50 or fewer targets. He is, plain and simple, one of the most efficient tight ends around.

Minnesota won't change the way they approach the game next season, and Rudolph will most probably stay a low-volume tight end relying on efficiency while sharing the field and TE-position reps with second-year man Irv Smith Jr. Rudolph will need to make the most of his chances to reach his latest levels of production, but he's proved he's more than capable of that and he's also often targeted in the end zone, making him a good late-round pick with even more extra goodies going his way often.

Rudolph isn't being drafted at all these days with an ADP over 180 (that is, beyond the end of the 15th round in 12-team leagues). He's been completely overlooked even though PFF has him projected to score 110 PPR points in 2020, only 10 fewer than teammate Irv Smith Jr.... only that Smith is getting drafted earlier while expected to hand his owners a very similar (if not smaller when all is said and done) than Rudolph. There will be a moment down the road when Minnesota favors the younger Smith Jr. over Rudolph, but with Stefon Diggs no longer with the team and Rudolph yet to show true aging signs I'm betting on him finishing 2020 with more points than Irv Smith Jr. and having another great season in terms of ROI, so I'd advice targeting him as your last-round pick if you've punted on the TE position earlier and plan on getting one late and/or stream the position through the year.