Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 7

Week 7 – @ Detroit – W 28-19

QB: Bridgewater a good game but line continues to struggle in protection.  Is extremely accurate when he gets time.  Team needs to figure out how to keep him up.

RB: Peterson a good game and is still the best pure runner in the league.  Line did nothing for him as most of his yards came on one play.

WR: Diggs another big game and made incredible catch on TD.  Looks legit and is definitely the Charles Johnson of this season for this team.  Wallace hald in check but will be fine as Diggs opens things up for him.

TE: Rudolph a TD but little else.  Worth the gamble most weeks but it appears his ceiling is incredibly low.  Will probably have to block more and more if line play doesn’t get better quick.

OL: Awful.  Couldn’t run block and protection was awful.  Would be a very explosive offense if this was even a decent unit instead of a terrible one.

Def: Pass rush dominated.  Was crushing O line.  Wasn’t great against the run or in coverage.  Was getting beat for 50/50 balls by great receivers.  Gave up good games to #1 WR and TE.

Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 6

Week 6 – vs KC – W 16-10

QB: Bridgewater not great and continues to make a few too many bad decisions because O line can’t hold up.  Just isn’t making adjustments to pressure and doesn’t seem to see it coming.

RB: Peterson held in check by elite run D.  Average numbers and was lucky to get that.  Will be fine against weaker opponents but needs supporting cast to take some pressure off.

WR: Diggs looked like Johnson from last season and might be a good play.  Doesn’t look like a superstar but could probably be a nice PPR option.  Wallace held to little but Diggs might take some attention away.  Should be fine.

TE: Rudolph a TD but nearly nothing else.  Will probably get stuck blocking more if line doesn’t protect QB better.

OL: Bad game against tough defensive front.  Did zero for run game and still isn’t protecting QB well.  Is the Achilles heel of this team.

Def: Played pretty well.  Contained run game to little.  Hit with a few longish passes but still made plays.  Pass rush wasn’t great.  Gave up good games to TE and #2 WR.

Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 3

Week 3 – vs SD – W 31-14

QB: Teddy didn’t have to do much as ground game dominated.  Made a few bad decisions and throws and needs to clean that up.  Doesn’t look as good as last season just yet.  Still believe it will come.

RB: Peterson a monster game and just couldn’t be stopped.  Just can’t emphasize how much he stands out versus every other back in the league in terms of running skills.  Simply amazing.

WR: Wallace average while Johnson did nearly nothing.  Running game dominated but they called a lot of plays where throws went to back ups.  Hard to make sense of this passing attack right now.

TE:  Rudolph did little but not worried.  Game flow.

OL:  Strong game for the run as they were doing just enough to free RB.  Solid on limited pass protection.

Def: A little below average against the run.  Lead kept that from getting ugly.  Blitz was really good against the pass.  Still couldn’t stop it but a lot came against prevent.  Gave up monster to #1 WR.  Average games everywhere else.

Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs Detroit – W 26-16

QB: Bridgewater didn’t have to do much as running game dominated.  Looked really good on limited attempts and made some incredible throws into good coverage.  Looks great but might end up with paltry numbers because of run game at season’s end.

RB: Peterson fumbled 3 times but still had huge game and is still the best pure runner in the league.  Makes guys look so silly in the open field.  Unstoppable if he gets even a small amount of blocking.

WR: Limited by game flow.  Wallace an average game while Johnson did little.  After this game, these guys are relegated to good plays ONLY when the match up looks like a shootout.  If they are able to dominate on the ground, the WRs will get nothing.

TE: Rudolph a nice TD grab and a good game.  Is definitely in the upper echelon of TEs as long as he stays on the field.

OL: Looked good and helped run game dominate.  Have to hope this is what they can do instead of the week 1 debacle.

Def: Bottled up the run game and contained the passing game to shorter stuff.  Pass rush looked very good.  Got in QB’s face all game.  Coverage was good but receivers made some plays.  Gave up good games to WRs and TE.

Grading My Week 1 Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups

Nailed a few of these in the difficult-to-judge first week of the NFL fantasy season.  Not a bad start at all.  As with last season, I’ll be using the standard projections and scoring found at espn.com for these ratings.  Let’s see how I did!

20-50% owned tier

Pickup of the Week – QB Marcus Mariota – Projected: 16th among QB – Finished: 3rd – Grade: A++

Didn’t need many throws to put up monster numbers against the terrible Bucs D.  Not completely sold on him yet since this came against Tampa and a lot of work was done after the catch for him.  But there’s no doubt about his accuracy and his arm.  He looks great and I get the feeling he will be able to play well against tougher match ups.

Honorable Mentions

WR Marvin Jones – Projected 72nd among WR – Finished: T64th – Grade: D

Close but not quite on him.  He had a TD catch but the D made a great play and knocked it out of his hands.  He still made good runs after the catch on his receptions and I’m a big believer in Jones.  He’ll be on this list again almost assuredly.

TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Projected 22nd among TE – Finished: 2nd – Grade: A++

Wow!  This guy looked legit.  Granted, it came against one of the weaker defenses from last season but he still made some great plays in this one.  Deserves to be owned on all leagues and should be on his way to a top 10 TE season.

Minnesota Vikings Defense – Projected: 12th among Def – Finished: 17th – Grade: F

Well, Carlos Hyde is an absurdly good football player and now the world knows it.  Minnesota’s O did the D no favors but, when you can’t stop the run, you’re going to have a pretty bad fantasy game.  They did come close to returning the blocked FG for a TD that would have saved their fantasy stats.  But this team laid an egg and I would expect better things in the coming weeks.

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20% or less tier

Pickup of the Week – WR Corey Brown – Projected 75th among WR – Finished: T64th – Grade: D

Never got the deep throw I expected.  Did get one target around the end zone but was well covered and was overthrown.  He’s going to hit some deep plays but it will be a gamble when it happens.

Honorable Mentions

RB Benny Cunningham – Projected: 18th among RB – Finished: 19th – Grade: B+

Surprised at the projection by ESPN considering the match up but Cunningham looked great all-around in this one.  Was a really nice grab in PPR.  Such a talented player and hard to believe he’s a third stringer when everyone is healthy.

RB Khiry Robinson – Projected: 52nd among RB – Finished: 26th – Grade: A

Continues to look great when he gets touches and is making a lot of people wonder where Spiller will fit in this offense once he returns.  It will be a committee in New Orleans until someone else gets injured so enjoy these match ups when you get them.

WR Allen Hurns – Projected: 58th among WR – Finished: 41st – Grade: C+

Looked good even though the numbers weren’t great.  Came about a foot away from a TD but couldn’t stay in bounds after the catch.  If he gets that, he’d have been a top 20 play.  Close does not count for much in fantasy football…

Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups of Week 1 – Mariota and Brown

Good to be back to fantasy football and making crazy picks again.  All ownership percentages will be taken from CBS Sports this season as they are typically the highest so if you play on another site, these guys should be more readily available.  Also, I’ll be doing two groups of four players each this season.  One group will be players owned in 20-50% of leagues.  The second group will be the same as last season with players that are owned in less than 20% of leagues.  Week 1 is tough for these picks but still some good ones to go after.  Let’s pick ’em!

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20-50% owned tier

Pickup of the Week – QB Marcus Mariota – Owned: 42%

Gambling with the rookie but the match up against the Bucs is too good to pass up.  Remember the 5 TDs in the first half by Flacco against them last season?  Yeah, their passing D isn’t great and, while Mariota is not Flacco at this point, you have to believe the opportunity is there for a big game.  And add in the potential rushing numbers Mariota might tack on and you could be looking at a top 10 finish for him this week.  The only question will be can his line protect him from the strong defensive front sported by the Bucs.  I think they’ll do enough for him to have a solid start to his promising career.  (Projection: 240-2, 45-1)

Honorable Mentions

WR Marvin Jones – Owned: 32% – Probably a little too much of a forgotten man at this point but shouldn’t be for long.  If he’s fully healthy, he’s got top 20 potential, easily, and should get off to a good start at Oakland as they might focus too much on stopping Hill and Green.  I have a feeling I won’t be able to put him on this list much longer.  (85-1)

TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Owned: 43% – Just loved the talent he showed in his very short time on the field last season.  Now, he gets a clean bill of health, another season wiser, an improvement at QB (hopefully), and a layup for a defense to play against in Week 1 in Tennessee.  Add in a banged up Mike Evans and Seferian-Jenkins looks primed for a visit to the end zone this week.  (65-1)

Minnesota Vikings Defense – Owned: 29% – A lot of young and hungry lions on this D and they get the team that, personnel-wise, went through the most disastrous off-season in recent memory in the 49ers.  Unless Kaepernick took a major step forward in his development since last year, the Vikings D could be feasting in week 1.  (12 points)

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20% or less tier

Pickup of the Week – WR Corey Brown – Owned: 7%

Swinging for the fences with this home run hitter in week 1.  I liked his ability to get downfield last season and I think he catches at least one bomb this week against the Jags.  I wouldn’t except him to get much more as Ginn and Olsen will likely get the volume.  But don’t be surprised to see a 50+ yard TD out of this guy as he’s very capable of that.  The Jags defense is scarier than most people give them credit for but more so against the run than the pass.  Newton should find Brown and start his fantasy season off with a bang. (4-80-1)

Honorable Mentions

RB Benny Cunningham – Owned: 19% – Tough match up against the Seahawks but I don’t mind Cunningham in PPR this week.  He’s compact and elusive and has really nice hands.  Probably won’t do a ton on the ground but should be good as a receiver and might sneak one in.  (90 total yards-1)

RB Khiry Robinson – Owned: 11% – Pretty much the same story as Cunningham except he’ll not get the carries with Ingram around.  And who knows?  Maybe Brees will look his way on a short one in the red zone as he tries to replace his favorite target in Jimmy Graham.  Not confident of that but it’s not impossible… (60 total yards-1)

WR Allen Hurns – Owned: 18% – I like the ability of Marquise Lee more but he’s doubtful so Hurns gets a chance to repeat his week 1 magic from last season against the Panthers.  Certainly not expecting the same numbers but I’m hoping Bortles proves he’s better than I think and gets plenty of throws to Hurns.  He has good size and I think the defense might focus a little more on Robinson when red zone time comes letting Hurns snag one.  (5-70-1)

Minnesota Vikings Week 17 Fantasy Analysis

Week 17 – vs Chicago – W 13-9

QB: Teddy a solid game but team relied on run game a lot.  Decisions and accuracy continue to get better.  Won’t be a stud next season but should be a great #2.

RB: Asiata another good game and ran hard.  Did have a bad drop and definitely lacks elite ability.  Solid player but probably won’t be a starter next season unless injury occurs.

WR: Thielen a good game on basically one play.  Nothing to pay much attention to yet.  Johnson covered well and did little.  Jennings okay but will probably be more phased out next season.

TE: Rudolph DNP.  Ellison a few catches and looked pretty good.  Can’t be trusted for obvious reasons.

OL: Still not great.  Pass protection was shaky.  Run blocking wasn’t too bad against weak D.  Definitely needs upgrades in off-season.

Def: Run D was strong against elite RB.  Pass rush was okay.  Contained pass O to short plays.  Gave up decent games to RB and TE.  Held rest to little.

Minnesota Vikings Week 16 Fantasy Analysis

Week 16 – @ Miami – L 35-37

QB: Bridgewater another nice game despite a tipped INT.  Should have had a 3rd TD.  Moved well against good pass rush but still took some sacks because of blocking problems.

RB: Asiata a big game with 2 short TDs and a 2-pt convert.  Still just a power runner with not a ton of ability.  This team definitely should go after an upgrade.

WR: Jennings a good game with a nice TD grab.  Wright also got a TD and looked okay.  Johnson still looks like the best option on team right now despite low output in this one.

TE: Rudolph DNP.  Ford should have had TD on his only catch.  Think he is still a pretty good player with some upside.

OL: Not great, especially in pass protection.  Better as run blockers again but not dominating.

Def: Couldn’t stop O, especially later in the game.  Mostly avoided big plays but couldn’t stop 3rd downs.  Gave up huge games to QB, RB, and #1 WR.  Also big games to TEs.

Minnesota Vikings Week 15 Fantasy Analysis

Week 15 – @ Detroit – L 14-16

QB: Bridgewater looked very good except for one awful throw for a pick.  Getting time from his line and is starting to really get comfortable.  Could be a surprise next season.

RB: Asiata a good game doing a lot of damage receiving.  Runs powerfully but not a star player.  Does a lot with the ability he has.

WR: Johnson and Jennings good games again.  Johnson is really starting to look like a very good player and it looks like he’s in the starting lineup to stay for next season.

TE: Rudolph a solid game and made some good plays.  Will be good again if he gets healthy and stays that way.

OL: Continues getting better, especially in pass protection.  Had some trouble with elite D-line but played really well considering.

Def: Another strong game.  Contained really well and held O to few yards.  Pass rush was solid.  Gave up good game to RB and #2 WR.  Held rest in check.

Minnesota Vikings Week 14 Fantasy Analysis

Week 14 – vs NYJ – W 30-24

QB: Teddy looked great as protection was there.  Showed good poise and accuracy in this one.

RB: Asiata okay against elite run D.  Just no big play ability for him.  Speed isn’t there and he can’t seem to run over too many.

WR: Johnson and Wright both big games.  Johnson really looks great and will be hard to ignore on draft day.  Jennings a decent game but no big plays like the other WRs.

TE: Rudolph did little.  Probably needs some more time to build rapport with QB.

OL: Decent all-around game against elite D-line.  Wasn’t spectacular but wasn’t hurting too badly.

Def: Helped by bad QB.  Got run on for plenty and wasn’t stopping the run enough.  Wasn’t covering well either.  Gave up big game to #2 WR.  Decent games to #1 WR and RBs.  Held TEs to zero.