Back in March, the Vikings' first move of free agency was signing tight end Josh Oliver to a three-year, $21 million contract, which was a head-scratcher for many fans given T.J. Hockenson's presence and Oliver's meager NFL receiving stats.
Once you actually dove into it, of course, the deal made plenty of sense. From a salary cap perspective, it's functionally a back-loaded two-year contract. And from a football standpoint, adding Oliver — who is a fantastic blocker from the TE position — should help improve the Vikings' running game while allowing them to utilize 12 personnel more often, which they believe will create advantageous matchups for Justin Jefferson and their other weapons.
Another thing the Vikings have made clear is that they think Oliver can be more than a "blocking tight end" in their offense. As offensive coordinator Wes Phillips pointed out last week, the perception of Oliver was entirely the opposite when he was coming out of San Jose State in 2019.
"The interesting thing about Josh is coming out, he was really more of a pass-catcher," said Phillips, who was previously an NFL tight ends coach from 2013-21. "It was like 'Oh, he's got the size, we're going to have to teach this guy how to block if we were to bring him in,' because he caught a lot of passes at San Jose (State) and he ran 4.5 something. When he gets that train rolling, he's a tough cover just due to his size, his length, his catch radius."
Coming out of high school, Oliver was a two-star recruit without any major-conference offers. He played sparingly in his first two seasons at San Jose State, broke out a bit with 35 catches as a junior, and then led the Spartans with 56 catches for 709 yards and four touchdowns in his senior season. Only one FBS tight end had more receptions during that 2018 season.
Since coming into the NFL, Oliver has shifted his game. He has just 26 career receptions in three seasons (35 games) with the Jaguars and Ravens, running a route on 43 percent of his career snaps. But 14 of those catches came last season, including a four-catch, 76-yard, one-touchdown performance against Jacksonville. With his combination of size and athleticism, Oliver should have a good chance to set new career highs in the three main receiving categories in 2023.
"We had a play down at the goal line a couple days back where a linebacker had great coverage on (Oliver) and he just, it was basketball, he just boxed him out, he extended his arms, and there was just no way the kid could cover it," Phillips said. "We're excited about what he can do both in the run game and the pass game."
To be clear, Oliver's main contributions to the Vikings' offense will come as a blocker. He earned a very strong 74.6 PFF run blocking grade last season and will give Minnesota a big boost in that area.
"Well, have you seen the guy?" Phillips said when asked how Oliver will help the Vikings' running game. "He's obviously a physical presence, I mean he's an over-270 pound tight end. He's a very large man, really long arms, huge hands, he's strong, he's got all those things going for him."
The point is that being a very good blocker doesn't mean that's all that Oliver can and will do this season. The more he can offer as a yet another receiving threat when he runs routes, the more versatile and dangerous the Vikings' offense becomes.
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