Irv Smith Jr. Fantasy Football Week 16 Scouting Report

Irv Smith Jr.
TE
, Houston Texans

Age: 26
Weight: 240 lbs
Height: 6' 2"
College:

ADP:
Depth Chart Ranking: 4

Pts	RecYds	RecTD	Rec	RuYds
0	0	0	0	0

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Scouting report

by Spencer Babbitt

· Oct 13, 2022 · 12:30 PM EDT

MIN TE Irv Smith Jr. - Week 6 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 6 at Miami Dolphins
Irv Smith Jr. is seeing steady targets as an ancillary option for Kirk Cousins. Smith has seen five or more targets in three out of Minnesota's five games this season. However, he has yet to do much with them as he has not exceeded 42 yards in a game on the season and only has one touchdown so far. Smith has seen four red zone targets in five games which bodes well for him in the touchdown department, but he cannot be considered anything more than a TE2 until we see him be a bigger part of the offense behind Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.

by Spencer Babbitt

· Oct 06, 2022 · 7:16 PM EDT

MIN TE Irv Smith Jr. - Week 5 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 5 vs. Chicago Bears
Irv Smith Jr. logged another four targets on Sunday but only managed to collect 23 yards on three catches as he works well behind Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and K.J. Osborn in the passing game. Smith is not totally without a pass catching role in Minnesota but his low position in the target hierarchy gives him a scary floor. The Bears present a good matchup for the Vikings offense, but Smith is difficult to trust as a fantasy starter as he will almost certainly need to find the end zone to turn in a productive start.

by Spencer Babbitt

· Sep 30, 2022 · 1:00 PM EDT

MIN TE Irv Smith Jr. - Week 4 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 4 vs. New Orleans Saints (London)
Irv Smith Jr.'s 16 targets through three weeks is not a number than stands out on its own, but in the past two weeks Smith has seen eight and six targets, respectively, with a touchdown and is currently 10th amongst TEs in air yards on the season. Given the desolate state of the position outside of the top options, any tight end regularly seeing 5+ targets a game with red zone work is worthy of consideration as a streamer. Smith fits right into that spot this week against a Saints defense that is roughly league-average against TEs.

by Spencer Babbitt

· Sep 22, 2022 · 10:28 PM EDT

MIN TE Irv Smith Jr. - Week 3 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 3 vs. Detroit Lions
Irv Smith Jr. saw increased involvement in the Minnesota offense in Week 2 with another week of recovery from his preseason thumb injury and a negative game script requiring additional passing volume from Kirk Cousins. Smith's eight targets were actually second on the team behind Justin Jefferson's 12, and Smith was even schemed a short red zone touchdown early in the game. Any tight end garnering eight targets and red zone looks in an offense like Minnesota's is worth TE1 consideration and Smith is no exception heading into a great Week 3 matchup against a weak Lions defense.

by Spencer Babbitt

· Sep 16, 2022 · 12:16 AM EDT

MIN TE Irv Smith Jr. - Week 2 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 2 at Philadelphia Eagles
Irv Smith Jr. was left fighting for scraps behind Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and K.J. Osborn in Week 1 as he only registered two targets, both of which he failed to convert into receptions. The Vikings offense looked impressive against Green Bay, but until Smith works his way into a larger role and more targets from Kirk Cousins or someone suffers an injury, he is not playable in fantasy outside of the deepest of leagues.

by Spencer Babbitt

· Sep 06, 2022 · 11:03 PM EDT

MIN TE Irv Smith Jr. - Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 1 vs. Green Bay Packers
Irv Smith Jr. suffered an injury to his thumb during training camp, but he has been ramping up his practice participation in recent days in anticipation of playing Week 1. If active, Smith should instantly take over the TE depth chart in Minnesota and profiles as a near every-snap player. Like many tight ends drafted after the upper tiers, Smith will likely be a touchdown-dependent fantasy option on a weekly basis, but he has intriguing physical tools and little target competition outside of Justin Jefferson and the rapidly-aging Adam Thielen. Check the injury reports later in the week to make sure Smith is trending toward playing, but if he is active he makes for a good streamer on the TE1 borderline.

by Spencer Babbitt

· Jul 18, 2022 · 2:49 PM EDT

MIN TE Irv Smith Jr. - 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook

2022 Fantasy Upside
A popular breakout candidate in 2021, Irv Smith Jr. ended up suffering a season-ending knee injury leading up to Week 1 and did not get a chance to show his skills without Kyle Rudolph in the picture. Now Rudolph and Tyler Conklin have both left town, leaving Smith as the player projected to play the vast majority of TE snaps in Minnesota. Smith is a good athlete (he ran a 4.63 40-yard dash and posted a 71st percentile speed score entering the league), and showed flashes of his potential playing a part-time role in 2020 when he logged 12.2 yards per reception and five touchdowns. Given the current situation in Minnesota, Smith could finish amongst the leaders at TE in snap share and his target competition after Justin Jefferson is 30-year-old Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn. We haven't seen what Smith can do on a starter's workload yet, but the opportunity and talent are there for him to make serious noise in 2022.

2022 Fantasy Downside
Smith has an extremely limited track record as he's been a part-time player in both of the seasons he's been healthy for to this point in his career. He has yet to catch more than 36 balls or exceed 365 yards in a season. Smith will get more opportunity than ever before this season, but there is no guarantee he will take advantage of that. And while there is minimal TE competition, it is possible Smith and the other TEs take a backseat to Jefferson, Thielen, Osborn, and even RB Dalvin Cook in new Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's offensive system. Relying on Smith to be your TE1 requires having faith in both him as an unproven commodity, and the Vikings offense as a whole with a new Head Coach.

2022 Bottom Line
Smith is a very intriguing TE option in the later rounds of drafts. He has the physical profile of a player who could be a big-time receiving TE and will be the clear leader at that position on his team. TE always gets murky in the middle or later rounds, but Smith has multiple variables working in his favor that make him an exciting TE1 flier.