2012 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Minnesota Vikings Tight End Kyle Rudolph

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a disappointing 2011 season in which they finished with a 3-13 record and ranked 28th overall in the passing game while playing most of the season with a rookie quarterback in Christian Ponder. Now, the Vikings hope another rookie from last year can emerge as one of the top 2012 fantasy football sleepers for the upcoming season and provide Ponder with another weapon in the passing game–Kyle Rudolph.

Minnesota has plans to get Rudolph more involved in the passing game for the 2012 season and many believe he could even emerge as the team’s second-best option. In fact, there are some fantasy owners that believe Rudolph could be in for a breakout season–kind of like Rob Gronkowski did with the New England Patriots last season.

Sure, that may seem like a bold statement, but when looking at the options in the Vikings’ passing game–it may not be crazy to think about. While Percy Harvin is the team’s top option, Minnesota doesn’t have a solid No. 2 option at wideout–which is why the team hopes Rudolph can take advantage of the opportunity.

Despite appearing in 15 games during his rookie season, Rudolph only recorded 26 catches for 249 yards and three touchdowns in 2011. However, from a fantasy perspective, Rudolph should have no trouble surpassing those numbers during his sophomore season–especially if the Vikings already have plans to make him more useful in the passing game.

In other words–it may not be a bad idea for fantasy owners to select Rudolph as a backup option if he’s available in the later rounds.