Irv Smith Jr. (TE, MIN) - Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED: 7% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: Let me make something clear before we move forward: Minnesota's passing game and QB Kirk Cousins are, let's say, not volume-friendly. Cousins ranks 26th in passing attempts this season, and he's targeting his tight ends just 1.7 times per game compared to the wide receivers' 4.2 targets and even the running backs are at a close 1.5 per. With that in mind, though, the outcomes can't get much better for Irv Smith Jr.

It was always going to be a shared field between Smith and Kyle Rudolph, but the former has absolutely out-performed the latter this season. After a putrid start to the year (no more than 2.1 PPR points in the first four weeks), Irv Smith has logged 10+ PPR points in three of his last four outings.

Smith scored 10.4 and 11.5 points leading up to Minny's bye week (W7), and this past Sunday he had his best game of the season with 15.0 PPR points. He's caught 6 of 14 targets in those three matches for an average of 43 yards per game and two combined touchdowns (both against the Lions in Week 9).

While you shouldn't expect two-touchdown performances weekly, Smith has been better than Rudolph over the full season and leads him in PPR, PPR per game, targets, and scores. He should be the Vikings no. 1 TE going forward.

Obviously, Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson will remain the prime offensive options among Minnesota's pass-catchers. But from Week 10 to Championship Sunday (Week 16), the Vikings face the 24th, 15th, 14th, 28th, 17th, 24th, and 25th defenses in points allowed to TEs. Not bad for a streaming option in deeper formats.

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