He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft.

[2] As a junior, he caught 30 passes for 400 yards and seven touchdowns en route to earning first-team All-city and All-conference honors.

[3][4] He was placed on the Scout.com All-America first-team and was the lone tight end among the 11 finalists for the high school Maxwell Award.

Following his senior season, Rudolph was invited to play in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl held in San Antonio, Texas.

[10] The following week, he hauled in three passes for 32 yards, with a long of 19, while also recording the first touchdown catch of his career in the Irish' 38–21 win over Purdue.

[11] In week 5, he registered season-highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (70) and added his second and final touchdown of the season versus Stanford.

[12] He hauled in two catches for 26 yards against Pittsburgh, setting a new school record for receptions by a freshman tight end in a single season during the game.

[13] In week 11, he established a school record for single-season receiving yards by a freshman tight end during the game against Syracuse.

[8] As a sophomore in 2009, Rudolph participated in only ten games with nine starts, missing three due to a shoulder injury and totaling 275:59 of playing time while making 57 special-teams appearances.

[19] He nabbed touchdown catches in back-to-back weeks against Purdue and Washington, with the first coming against the Boilermakers when there were only 24 seconds remaining in the game on a fourth-and-goal situation that sealed Notre Dame's win; the second touchdown reception against Washington came with less than two minutes remaining in regulation and gave the Irish the lead.

[32] His first career touchdown came on a 1-yard pass from fellow rookie quarterback Christian Ponder against the Oakland Raiders on November 20.

Rudolph finished the year with 493 receiving yards and a career-high nine touchdowns, the second-most by a Vikings tight end in a season in team history.

[43] Rudolph was selected for his first Pro Bowl in his career at the conclusion of the season as a replacement for Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez.

[48] He opened the season with a seven-yard touchdown reception from Matt Cassel in the Vikings' blowout win over the St. Louis Rams on September 7.

[54] Due to a weak Vikings' offensive line, Rudolph was asked to block often and helped clear the way for Adrian Peterson to lead the NFL in rushing with 1,485 yards on the ground.

[56] Rudolph set a single-game career high with 106 yards receiving against the Green Bay Packers on November 22, including a career-long 47-yard touchdown.

[59] In the Wild Card Round loss against the Seattle Seahawks, he moved the chains with a 24-yard reception late in the fourth quarter that led to the infamous Blair Walsh' missed field goal.

[60] In Week 2 of the regular season, Rudolph caught a touchdown pass in the end zone, (the first for Sam Bradford as a Viking) in the 17–14 win over the Green Bay Packers.

[63] In Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Rudolph hauled in his sixth touchdown of the season and 28th of his career, placing him in a tie with Vikings legend Steve Jordan for the most by a tight end in franchise history.

[64] In Week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Rudolph saw 15 passes thrown his way, hauling in 11 for 117 yards (including a touchdown) to set the franchise record for most receptions in a season for a tight end with 83.

[68] He had a 25-yard touchdown reception on the first drive of the game, which proved to be the Vikings only score as they went on to lose 38–7 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

[75] In Week 11 against the Denver Broncos, Rudolph caught five passes for a season high 67 yards and a touchdown in the 27–23 comeback win.

[77] In the NFC Wild Card Round against the New Orleans Saints, Rudolph caught four passes for 31 yards, including the game-winning touchdown in overtime, during the 26–20 win.

Rudolph began working as a Big Ten analyst for Peacock, and co-hosts a Sunday night show on Fox Sports Radio starting in the fall of 2023.