Vikings beat writer Sam Ekstrom writes that TE Irv Smith “looked pretty agile” during minicamp drills. Ekstrom also observed Smith running at close to full speed. Last preseason, the 23-year-old sustained a meniscus injury that cost him all of 2021. If Smith can regain pre-injury form, he’ll carry a TE1 ceiling into a contract year. HC Kevin O'Connell recently added some fuel to the hype train by calling Smith "a major part" of the offense.

Vikings TE Irv Smith "looked like a full participant" in last week's minicamp, according to The Athletic's Chad Graff. Smith was limited in OTAs coming off last August's meniscus tear, but it doesn't look like that injury will be an issue as we roll into training camp. Smith has some breakout potential in new HC Kevin O'Connell's offense.

New Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell is excited about TE Irv Smith's potential in his offense. "I've said this before, going back and watching some of his tape even before the injury, I know there was a lot of folks excited about him last fall before that injury happened," O'Connell said. "Some of the success he's had -- both with how we're going to use him and ultimately where he is at in his career -- he's ready to absorb all of this and be in a position to go play fast, go play with a bunch of confidence that he's going to be a major part of what we do." Smith is still working his way back from August's meniscus injury, but the Vikings reportedly expect him to be at 100% for the start of training camp. After Minnesota failed to add a significant upgrade at WR behind Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, there's room for Smith to carve out a significant role this season.

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said TE Irv Smith is “right on schedule” in his recovery from an August meniscus tear. Smith, who called his 2021 injury a “freak” thing, added that the goal is to be 100% by training camp. Entering a contract-year, Smith will have a shot at a major role, especially with Tyler Conklin now in New York. Our early projections have him inside TE2 territory.

Vikings TE Irv Smith had surgery Wednesday morning to repair his injured meniscus. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that he has a 4-5 month recovery timeline, which almost certainly ends Smith's season. That leaves opportunity open at the position. HC Mike Zimmer talked up Tyler Conklin this summer. Conklin missed about half of August with a hamstring injury, but he has downplayed the severity and said he expects to be ready for the opener. He's our top choice among Minnesota TEs. The team also traded for Chris Herndon this week, of course. The former Jet comes with athletic upside but has disappointed since a standout rookie year. It's worth noting the Jets unloaded him for merely a move up from Round 6 to Round 4 in the 2022 draft. We'll see whether the Vikings look to add anything else over the next week and a half -- or in season if they're dissatisfied once the games begin.

Vikings HC Mike Zimmer said Monday that TE Irv Smith will have surgery this week to repair his meniscus injury. Unfortunately, he had no update on how long we should expect Smith to be out. "We'll just see where he's at," Zimmer said, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "A lot of times you can't really tell anything until you get in there. We really won't know until they get in there." We'll watch for updates after the surgery.