Vikings Snap Counts vs. Packers: Irv Smith Jr. Eased Back Into Action

What else did we learn from the Vikings' playing time distribution during week one?

Presented without context, here's a quote from Kevin O'Connell after the Vikings' season-opening victory over the Packers:

"I can't stress enough, I would not over-analyze snap counts and when we use guys, when we don't, because I feel so good about our entire unit that there's going to be some real ebbs and flows to just how we see best utilizing our personnel."

Sorry, Kevin. These snaps counts are going to get analyzed, whether you like it or not.

It's only one week, and like O'Connell said, things can change going forward. But that doesn't mean we can't make some notable observations from the way the Vikings allocated playing time on both sides of the ball on Sunday.

Let's start with the offense.

Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Green Bay (out of 62)

• QB Kirk Cousins: 62
• RT Brian O'Neill: 62
• RG Ed Ingram: 62
• LG Ezra Cleveland: 62
• C Garrett Bradbury: 62
• LT Christian Darrisaw: 61
• WR Adam Thielen: 59
• WR Justin Jefferson: 57
• RB Dalvin Cook: 48
• WR K.J. Osborn: 42
• TE Johnny Mundt: 40
• TE Irv Smith Jr: 19
• TE Ben Ellefson: 17
• RB Alexander Mattison: 14
• FB C.J. Ham: 14
• LT Blake Brandel: 1

The most notable position here, by far, is tight end. Irv Smith Jr. is expected to be the Vikings' top TE this season, but he played less than half as many snaps as Johnny Mundt and only two more than Ben Ellefson. Smith, who had thumb surgery on August 2nd and missed most of training camp, wasn't listed on the injury report heading into the game. Still, it's not shocking that the Vikings may have wanted to ease him back into action. He also missed all of last season with a knee injury.

"I missed a lot of camp," said Smith, who added that he felt great in his return to action. "We didn't want to kind of rush me into things too much. Just wanted to get a feel and keep building on it."

What's interesting is that when I asked O'Connell if the plan was to bring Smith along slowly, he went in a different direction with his answer.

"No, I think for me, today, it really wasn't," he said. "It was just a matter of our 21 (personnel) grouping, how those groups played out for this game. It was one of those things where we really wanted to activate some things with C.J. (Ham), use 21 personnel to our advantage, especially early, try to see how we were going to get matched. They've got a lot of different personnel groupings, so 21 versus two tight ends in there with Irv and maybe another tight end, maybe you get a different look. We wanted to kind of clear up the picture when we could, and then obviously activate some things from 11 personnel, which we're always going to do."

It's a bit of an odd answer from O'Connell. Ham only played 14 snaps, so it's not like the use of 21 personnel (two backs, one TE) was a big reason Smith didn't play more. And his answer doesn't address why Mundt, not Smith, was usually the one on the field when the Vikings were in 11 personnel (one back, one TE). 

The question now becomes whether or not Smith's usage jumps up towards Mundt's on Monday night in Philadelphia. I'm assuming it will because of Smith's abilities as a receiver, but it's also possible that the Vikings envision Mundt having a big role throughout this season. He's a great blocker who knows the offense well from his time with the Rams and set a career high with three catches against the Packers.

I'll also be curious to see if Jalen Reagor plays any offensive snaps against his former team. The Vikings only used three receivers on Sunday.

Nothing else stands out too much from the offensive snap counts. The Vikings mixed Ham and Mattison in at times, and Darrisaw missed a single snap after getting banged up on a play.

Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Green Bay (out of 61)

• S Camryn Bynum: 61
• S Harrison Smith: 61
• CB Patrick Peterson: 61
• LB Eric Kendricks: 61
• LB Jordan Hicks: 59
• CB Cameron Dantzler: 55
• SCB Chandon Sullivan: 49
• OLB Danielle Hunter: 48
• OLB Za'Darius Smith: 45
• DT Dalvin Tomlinson: 39
• DT Harrison Phillips: 36
• DT Jonathan Bullard: 29
• OLB D.J. Wonnum: 21
• DT James Lynch: 16
• OLB Patrick Jones II: 14
• DT Ross Blacklock: 10
• CB Akayleb Evans: 6

Dantzler would've been the fifth every-down player if he hadn't missed six snaps due to cramps. The rookie Evans got his first taste of regular season action during that time, proving to be ahead of Kris Boyd on the depth chart. Andrew Booth Jr. will also be in the backup mix when he returns from injury.

We can expect the two safeties, two outside cornerbacks, and two inside linebackers to play almost every snap. It'll be interesting to see how rookie safety Lewis Cine is used if he makes his debut against the Eagles, which the Vikings are expecting.

What stands out here is the way the Vikings used a full rotation up front, both on the defensive line and at outside linebacker. Nine different players saw snaps at one of those two positions. That approach should help keep everyone fresh. I wonder if Blacklock, who was recently acquired in a trade, will eat into Bullard and Lynch's snaps a bit more going forward. He had two pressures on just ten snaps against the Packers.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.