Kyle Rudolph knows his receiving numbers are down. That's because he has millions of fantasy football players to remind him on social media.
"Unfortunately, fantasy football does not count run-blocking and pass-blocking," the Vikings tight end said Friday. "Obviously, I'd love to be running around catching a bunch of balls for yards and touchdowns. But we have a great running back and we're a physical team that's going to run the football."
The Vikings have relied on Adrian Peterson and their second-ranked rushing attack to move the ball on offense. And when they have thrown the ball, they have sometimes asked their tight ends to help out with blocking, even if it's just throwing a shoulder into a pass rusher on their way downfield.
As a result, Rudolph has been used as a blocker on 49.1 percent of his snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. That is his highest frequency since 2012, when he helped pave the way for Peterson to rush for 2,097 yards.
"If that's what I'm called upon to do, that's what I've got to go out there and do," Rudolph said. "If that's what's going to help us win football games, if that's the identity of our football team, then I want to be a part of it."
Rudolph has 14 catches for just 104 receiving yards and one touchdown through four games. In the Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos, he caught only two passes for 7 yards despite running 43 routes as a receiver.
But offensive coordinator Norv Turner said Thursday that he thinks it's only a matter of time until Rudolph makes fantasy football players happy.
"My experience, particularly in this system, is that things go in cycles," Turner said. "Through 16 games, you're going to have a lot of different people contribute, and that's just the way it tends to work in this league."