9/12/2023 0 Comments Baltimore ravens scoreThis group should shine under the leadership of Kevin O’Connell and Wes Phillips during the 2023 season.© 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. He came into the Vikings offense during 2022 and immediately provided a much-needed spark as a receiving option to take pressure off the wide receivers. We’ve barely even mentioned Pro Bowler T.J. Ham potentially playing some snaps at the position, Minnesota is chock-full of guys who can more than hold their own in both the blocking game and passing game at the position. With Johnny Mundt returning for his second season with the team, and do-it-all fullback C.J. The Vikings tight end room doesn’t come close to stopping at Oliver, either, as Phillips describes. Ham, guys who have been productive in this league, it just makes sense to make sure that we use all available players.” “When you have these guys, when you have Johnny Mundt, C.J. You’ve seen the guy you’ve seen what he looks like, but he can put that to use on the field,” Phillips sumised. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports Jacksonville, Florida, USA Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Oliver (84) makes a reception and runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the fourth quarter at TIAA Bank Field. He can work in the slot but he needs to get better as a blocker so he can stay on the field on every down.” Oliver will flash as an in-line blocker at times but might need to enter the league as a TE2/3 who works from the slot until he becomes more skilled and consistent at the point of attack.Īn anonymous AFC scout also said the following of Oliver ahead of the draft that spring, “I had him as my sleeper this summer, but he just put too much on tape to stay a sleeper. Oliver’s route-running and ball-tracking talent allow him to work beyond the first level and can help NFL team’s looking to push the ball downfield. Take a look at how Lance Zierlein of NFL.com described the tight end ahead of the 2019 Draft:Ībove-average, mid-air athlete with plus ball skills who was forced to deal with coverages that were consistently shaded in his direction thanks to an excessive target count. I’m far from the first person to point out Oliver’s prowess in the passing game, either. At San Jose State, Oliver put together 56 receptions for 709 yards and 4 touchdowns during his senior season of 2018, resulting in his third-round selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars. While he hasn’t been considered much of a pass-catcher throughout his NFL career, recording just 26 receptions over his first four NFL seasons, he played that precise role throughout college. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports I went with Oliver for the reason that he could be an explosive piece in the Vikings passing game.Cleveland, Ohio, USA Cleveland Browns linebacker Tony Fields II (42) tackles Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Oliver (84) during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. A few weeks back, Kyle Joudry and I discussed a couple underrated Vikings players that may be ready to explode onto the scene in 2023. Oliver may now be well-regarded as a blocking tight end in the league, but as Phillips notes, it hasn’t always been that way. We were kind of saying ‘hey, we’re going to have to, you know, teach this guy how to block,'” Phillips said. “Josh Oliver, when you just look at his production, a lot of it last year in Baltimore was in the run game, but he was also a guy coming out that we all graded that was very productive in the pass game. ĭuring his press conference on Thursday afternoon ahead of the Vikings second training camp practice, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips spoke on Oliver’s role, and what he expects the tight end to bring to the table this season. 27, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Oliver (84) spikes the ball after a touchdown score as tight end Mark Andrews (89) looks on and Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andre Cisco (5) is slow to get up after an attempted stop during the fourth quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov.
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