MINNEAPOLIS -- After the Minnesota Vikings hired offensive coordinator Norv Turner in January 2014, it stood to reason there were few players who would benefit more than tight end Kyle Rudolph. The former second-round pick was entering a scheme that had historically allowed tight ends to put up big numbers, and the Vikings gave Rudolph a five-year contract extension last August as something of a good-faith deposit on the big years he was likely to have.

Those big numbers haven't come yet, first because of a sports hernia that caused Rudolph to miss half the 2014 season. This year, it's been because of an offensive line that's required more of Rudolph's help than usual. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he's been targeted on only 18.1 percent of his pass routes, which makes him the 22nd-most-frequently targeted tight end in the game. In other words, the game's eighth-highest-paid tight end is getting targeted about 3 percent less than the league average for his position.

Kyle Rudolph has TD catches in consecutive games, but it's his blocking the Vikings have been relying upon to help a work-in-progress offensive line. AP Photo/Jose Juarez

Why is that happening? Allow Turner to explain.

"We’ve got a rookie [T.J. Clemmings] playing right tackle and every week it seems like we’re playing the best pass-rusher in the league," Turner said. "We’ve got another really good one this week. We can’t leave our linemen hanging and leave them out there by themselves. When you’re playing three wide receivers as much as we are, the tight end isn’t as big of a part on a lot of the routes. Right now, his contribution a lot of the time is making sure we’re solid there at the right tackle and then continuing on into his route. If you have to hit a guy or help or bang a guy, some of your routes get compromised, but we’re having success getting the ball to the other guys and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish."

Rudolph has been better as a pass-blocker in recent weeks, though it certainly isn't his forté. But at the moment, the Vikings have little choice but to have him chip pass-rushers before starting his routes. At times, that can work, as it did on Rudolph's 1-yard touchdown grab in Week 7, but it's generally not going to allow him to get open down the middle of the field the way Turner's tight ends have done in the past. Rudolph's numbers through six games -- 18 catches, 123 yards, three touchdowns -- aren't disappointing, but they're certainly not the kind of eye-popping stats his predecessors in Turner's offense have been able to compile. The Vikings don't sound unhappy with the way Rudolph is playing, but given what they're asking him to do, it might be a while before his role in the passing game is fully realized.