Notre Dame football: Top-10 draft picks of the Brian Kelly era

Notre Dame football: Top-10 draft picks of the Brian Kelly era

4. Kyle Rudolph

• Minnesota Vikings, 2011: Round 2, Pick 43

A year before the Vikings took Harrison Smith in the draft, they took tight end Kyle Rudolph. From there, Rudolph was one of the NFL’s best tight ends for the past decade. During that time, he’d make two Pro Bowls, in 2012 and 2017.

One of the things that has made Rudolph great is his versatility as a tight end, being able to block and catch. Still, if you only looked at his stats, you’d think Rudolph was a pure pass catcher. Through the first decade of his career, Rudolph has had 453 catches, for 4,488 yards, and 48 TDs.

In 2021, Rudolph will be playing with a new team for the first time in his career. He’ll be a New York Giant. The Giants are hoping his leadership on offense will make up for issues they’ve been having on that side of the ball, and will help Daniel Jones developing without the need to draft a tight end.