Pete Prisco Tabs Kyle Rudolph As Most Overrated Viking

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports has put together his “Most Overrated” player list for this season, as he does every year. He has gone through every roster in the NFL and chosen the one player on each team that he feels is “more name than game.”

When he got to the Minnesota Vikings, he chose a player that, frankly, it’s kind of hard to disagree with. He selected tight end Kyle Rudolph as the most overrated member of the Vikings. Here’s what he had to say about his pick.

He had 46 catches last season with five touchdowns, which isn't good enough for a player with his ability. In fairness to him, he was asked to stay in and block more to help compensate for a banged-up offensive line. But to look at him, you would expect more in the passing game. Maybe this will be the year.

I’ve said something similar to this before, but it seems like we expect huge things from Rudolph every year, and every year the numbers don’t quite match what we’re expecting. We thought that he might have been breaking through when he reeled in nine touchdown catches in 2012, but those nine touchdown catches represent nearly half of the total for his five-year career (he has 22 touchdown receptions in five NFL seasons). He’s also never had more than 500 receiving yards in a season, though he had 493 in 2012 and 495 last season.

I understand that he had to spent a lot of time staying in as a blocker last season, but you would still think that someone with Rudolph’s athletic ability would be more of a threat in the offense. As he enters his sixth NFL season. . .and his second after signing a fairly lucrative extension. . .perhaps this will be the season where it finally all comes together.

What do you think of Pete Prisco’s selection of Kyle Rudolph as the Vikings’ most overrated player?