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Johnson said Rudolph is seeing more double teams in pattern than he did a season ago, and coach Leslie Frazier said the Lions "did some things in the red zone that game on Sunday to try to take him away."

Twice already this season, Rudolph hasn't been targeted at all in the first half. The Vikings have had internal discussions about giving rookie fourth-round draft pick Rhett Ellison more time inline and detaching Rudolph, depending on the game plan.

That could yield more receiving opportunities for a player who probably ranks as the Vikings' second best pass-catching threat behind Percy Harvin, depending how recently unsuspended split end Jerome Simpson's role evolves.

"Hopefully, we'll eventually get to that point," Rudolph said. "I caught a couple balls across the middle of the field on different plays. I think bringing Jerome back, having to respect his speed over the top, hopefully will open that up for us."

In the meantime, Rudolph knows offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave will keep calling his number early and often in the running game.

And when the Vikings get near the goal line, no matter how defenses try to take Rudolph away, there's a good chance they'll be looking for No. 82.

"Sometimes, we're trying to get the run established and it's not a big emphasis on getting him the ball right away," Johnson said. "But we know he's always a part of our passing attack each and every week. It's just a matter of when those calls get dialed up."

Juice wrote:Well, it should be a priority to get him involved early and often this Sunday. I don't know if this has been mentioned in another thread, but I just checked TE's vs. Titans D on my fantasy page and they've given up a staggering 39 Receptions for 396 Yards and 7 TDs in 4 games.