Josh Oliver
Minnesota VikingsJosh Oliver has 3 catches, 46 receiving yards and 0 touchdowns in 2 games for the Minnesota Vikings this season through Week 8, 3.8 PPR points a game (updated November 4, 2026).
Model Score by season
Down 5.1 from last season.
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
An elite blocking tight end paid like a specialist.
The case for
- $36M Vikings contract as the elite blocking TE next to T.J. Hockenson establishes the rare specialty-position market value class.
- San Jose State Mountain West 3rd-round origin plus seven years of NFL development gives him real journeyman veteran value.
The worry
- Career STTM range typically tier 8 (blocking-TE role doesn't generate receiving production) confirms the specialty-position ceiling.
- $10M 2026 cap hit on a specialty blocking-TE creates moderate contract-value risk.
What to watch: Whether Oliver holds the structural blocking-TE role for the full 2026 Vikings season or whether the role compresses to swing depth.
Full take and bio
$36M Vikings contract as the elite blocking TE next to T.J. Hockenson puts Oliver in the rare specialty-position market value class. The San Jose State Mountain West 3rd-round origin plus the structural Vikings blocking-TE role create the structural market value. The 2026 question is whether Oliver holds the structural blocking-TE role or whether Minnesota explores a draft replacement.
Oliver came out of San Jose State as the Jacksonville Jaguars' 3rd-round pick (69th overall) in 2019. He bounced through the Jaguars and Ravens as a blocking TE before signing a three-year, $21M deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. He extended that deal to a three-year, $36M contract in 2025 to lock in the elite blocking TE role next to T.J. Hockenson.
Comps
The players whose size, testing and production looked most like his at the same point in their careers. The percent is how close.
Plays like: Harrison Bryant, Ben Patrick, Virgil Green. Built like: Aaron Walker, Jared Wiley, Hayden Hurst.
Josh Oliver Injury StatusIR
Josh Oliver is listed on injured reserve (Biceps), reported Sep 30, with a return date of Jan 17. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
This season · 2 games
3.8 fantasy points a game, 8 PPR on the season. Every game on the Game Log, every season on Career. Advanced numbers are EPA and Next Gen Stats.
Contract2026 cap
Every year of the deal, the dead money and what a cut or trade saves on the Contract tab.
Draft & College
Round 3, pick 69 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, out of San José State (Mountain West). He went well ahead of consensus.
In college, 2015-2018, 26 games: 95 rec, 1,071 yds, 6 TD, 11.3 yds/rec. Coming out: 4.63s 40 yd, 22 reps bench, 34" vertical, 117" broad, 7.21s 3-cone, 4.47s shuttle.
Recruited
Class of 2015 · Tight end · High school: Paso Robles, CA
His full list of offers is not on our record yet; offers for the 2015 class are still being added.