Josh Oliver's role will be vital in Addison's absence
The Vikings TE is set to play an even bigger role in their offense with the receiver position in flux
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — Some good news for Kevin O’Connell’s offense came out on Sunday afternoon when ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the team is “optimistic” that Jalen Nailor will be able to suit up Week 1 versus the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Add that with the acquisition of veteran receiver Adam Thielen and the Minnesota Vikings have a complete group of weapons despite the absence of Jordan Addison, who will miss the first three weeks with a suspension.
But even with the receiving corps looking closer to full strength, tight end Josh Oliver’s role in the offense should still be increased. It’s unclear whether Nailor will be at 100% and Thielen is trying to master the offense and get on the same page with JJ McCarthy in less than two weeks. Expect that TE2 is going to be on the field early and often.
It has been the story of Oliver in Minnesota that he is very important, yet rarely discussed. Even from Day 1.
After tearing down major parts of their roster prior to free agency in 2023, the Vikings entered free agency with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah having his first real opportunity to make his mark. Which big-name free agent will he chase after in order to begin painting a roster picture of his own?
When the “legal tampering” period opened, the Vikings came in quickly with their first swing: Tight end Josh Oliver, three-years, $21 million.
Huh? A blocking tight end? For how much? He wasn’t even on Gregg Rosenthal’s top 101 free agents list at NFL.com.
While it didn’t seem like the most splashy or hyper-analytical decision at the time, the former Jaguar and Raven has been worth the impressive contract that they gave him. In 2024, he ranked as the No. 1 run blocking tight end in the NFL per PFF and he was on the field for the 11th most run blocking snaps. Oliver also caught 22 passes on 26 targets for 258 yards and three touchdowns.
You might be thinking: If Oliver was so good at run blocking, why didn’t the Vikings have a dominating run game last season? well, to his areas of the field, they did. Per PFF, when Aaron Jones ran outside to the left, he averaged 5.5 yards per carry and when he ran outside to the right, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry. His longest run of the year, a 41-yarder against Detroit, featured Oliver moving the Lions’ edge rusher to create a massive hole. Ten of Jones’ 24 runs of more than 10 yards were running outside the tackles.
Those numbers are good but quantifying the actual impact of having a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end who blocks people out of existence and has impressive hands is not easy to do on paper. The best way to understand the value of Josh Oliver is by asking his teammates and coaches.
For head coach Kevin O’Connell, that starts with a deep-in-the-weeds point about play-action passing.
“I think when you have a guy like T.J. [Hockenson], sometimes it's easy to just kind of list your depth chart at tight end, but really, [Oliver] is such a featured player with how we want to run and pass,” O’Connell said. “When he's in there, he gives us the ability to run play-action protections that some teams, quite honestly, can't run because they've featured a weapon in the passing game so much at the tight end position that they kind of just look the other way on some of the true nature of the position.”
Not only can the Vikings trust Oliver with facing an edge rusher if needed but he also acts as a tendency breaker. He was on the field for 302 run plays, 52 pass blocking plays and 194 plays where he ran a route. If teams lean too much into the Vikings running game with Oliver in the lineup, they get hit with play-actions.
Last year when the Vikings ran play-action passes, quarterback Sam Darnold posted a 129.4 quarterback rating, second best in the NFL. The play-action game will also be enormous for JJ McCarthy, who exceled as a play-action passer in college.
“Run game, blocking, physicality, pass protection, those guys can draw some really tough matchups in the play-action game,” O’Connell continued. “That's why not everybody can do it at a high clip, but Josh allows us to play offense the way we want to play.”
In a world where most edge rushers and tight ends are built for more speed than power, Oliver has the advantage as a hulking tight end versus most pass rushers. Vikings Pro Bowl outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard is used to facing guys that weigh 230 pounds when he’s 1-on-1 with tight ends. He almost always wins that battle but it’s much different in practice versus Oliver.
“I haven’t faced any tight ends that can block like him,” Greenard said. “To go out there and block the best guy like it’s nothing, I mean, he’s bigger than half of the edge guys. He’s bigger than me. He loves the contact, he loves the physicality, whatever he can do to help the team…He’s that unsung hero. He got paid for a reason but everybody loves JO because he does his job 110%.”
Greenard said that facing a player with Oliver’s relentlessness adds up over time.
“It weighs on you later in games…his aggressiveness and how he wants to finish blocks,” Greenard said. “That’s the main thing between him and other tight ends: He finishes blocks through the whistle. That’s unheard of with tight ends who just want to get in there when he has to and then run a route. When [Oliver] is in the dirty work, he’s doing that dirty work and I respect the hell out of him.”
Blake Cashman explained that one of the biggest challenges for a linebacker in the run game is to be able to shed blocks in order to make the tackle. Oliver makes that extremely difficult.
“He’s very controlled,” Cashman said. “As he comes to block you, he’s always got a good base and he runs his feet. I think his hand strength is underestimated. If he gets his hands inside, it’s really hard to get off.”
The ironic thing about Oliver dominating as a run blocker is that he was known as a pass-catching tight end when he entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick in 2019.
His NFL.com draft profile said: “Run blocking will need work before he can handle NFL in-line duties. Inconsistent footwork into and after engagement impacts ability to finish. Plays with narrow base and inconsistent hand usage as drive-blocker. Doesn't gather and come to balance as move-blocker. Too many complete whiffs on blocks across formation.”
How did he go from having all those issues in the run game to one of the league’s best players at that job?
“You hear the outside noise [about being a pass catcher] and you get a chip on your shoulder,” Oliver said after practice on Monday. “At the end of the day, you want to be the best football player you can be. You have to be able to do what the team calls upon you to do. When I went to Baltimore, that was a big thing that the team called me to do and I fit in that role. Ever since then I feel like I’ve flourished in that role.”
But how does someone actually improve their run blocking that significantly?
“A lot of work in the dark,” Oliver said. “You’re over there striking bags and working on footwork. The little things that go unnoticed but you have to be meticulous about different parts of the run game.”
Josh Oliver may be a run blocker first these days but the pass-catching prospect is still in there. He has caught 80% of the passes thrown his way over the last two years and has had some TE1 type games, including a five-catch performance versus the Colts last season.
Safety Josh Metellus described trying to cover him as “terrible.”
“I was covering him and he just put his arm on my back and with most guys I’m right there but with him I’m [flying] five yards. Either I do a 360 or I’m five yards away,” Metellus said. “He’s so strong at the point of attack but he moves really well so he gets you off balance. It’s like, why is he moving this fast?”
When he does catch the ball, tackling him is not an enjoyable endeavor.
“Post safeties see Josh down the seam, that’s not good,” Metellus said. “You can tackle him but you’re not going to get up feeling like you made the play.”
You would think that a guy like Oliver, as hulking as he may be, wouldn’t be able to create after the catch but he was sixth last season in YAC per reception (min. 25 targets) and 11th in yards per catch.
Where it gets really deep in terms of football details with Oliver’s impact is special teams.
“You don't really have to double with this guy,” Daniels said. “He can take on the best whoever the best cover team is, he's got the ability and the great feet to play with in space, the match mirror, speed bodies, bigger bodies, and that's really what you love the most about Josh, just that versatility that he has just in terms of being able to match up on what you might consider to be a mismatched body type form.”
As the 2025 Vikings look for their identity in a few areas — whether it be with JJ McCarthy under center, different receivers in the mix or on special teams in a year with more kick returns expected — Oliver will be a significant part of it, even if he doesn’t get very much shine.
If Jackson is any good at guard, every one of the Viking running backs should do well behind that left front of Oliver, Darisaw and Jackson. If defenses load up their right side, look out. I can't wait.
He’s a solid player and I’m sure they’ll be able use him this year to help protect against Parsons, but I’ve always felt like he could be used just a little bit more in the passing game. I think KOC gets a little too focused on smashing the strengths of the offense at times when he could sneak or or two more designed dump passes to Ham or Oliver where they are completely uncovered. I don’t even know that you need to do that with Oliver. He seems to catch the ball pretty damn well when they give him an opportunity. 22 catches a year just seems a little low to me for what he offers.