The Vikings expect Smith to handle a bigger role in his second professional season, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.
Smith was one of the youngest players in the NFL last season, and he had the disadvantage of playing a position with a notoriously steep learning curve for rookies. No matter, he played 60 percent of Minnesota's offensive snaps during the regular season and 58 percent in two playoff games, catching 39 passes along the way. Smith never emerged as a high-volume receiver, but he demonstrated progress throughout the year, and the Vikings expect him to take another step forward this season. In fantasy-football terms, there's still the issue of Kyle Rudolph taking a large chunk of the tight-end snaps and targets, likely limiting the ceiling for Smith's receiving production. The two tight ends had similar stats last year in terms of catches, yards and targets, but Rudolph held a 6-2 advantage in touchdowns. It won't come as any surprise if Smith takes on more of the receiving work in single-tight end formations this year.