Fantasy Football 2021 Team Previews: Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Preview 2021

All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Top 120

Dalvin Cook, RB (ADP: 2): Cook is one of the best RBs in football. He’s so good, it’s almost boring talking about him. He rushed for a career-high 1,557 yards last season with 17 total touchdowns, and he did all that in 14 games. Injury is a bit of a concern, as Cook has never made it through a full season, but he’s so incredibly efficient and dominant that you’ll gladly take 14 games from him. This ADP is absolutely fine, and exactly where I would take him.

**Justin Jefferson, WR (ADP: 23): Jefferson more than filled the void left by Stefon Diggs, posting one of the finest rookie receiver seasons of all time. He finished with 88 catches, 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns, and, even more impressively, he did this after not starting the first two games and playing in an offense that threw the sixth-fewest passes in the NFL. Jefferson’s a star; he ranked as PFF’s No. 2 receiver behind only Davante Adams, tied with A.J. Brown, and posted the seventh-highest WR DVOA (25.5%), and finished third in Defense Adjusted Yards Above Replacement (DYAR) with 373. The offense is going to continue to revolve around Cook, but at 15.9 yards per reception, Jefferson’s efficiency and big play ability will allow him to thrive as a WR1 for your team even if Minnesota throws the fewest passes in football in 2021. And with a receiver like this, they won’t.

Adam Thielen, WR (ADP: 46): Thielen was a star last season, but unlike Jefferson, I’m not convinced he can maintain his current value. While Thielen is absolutely a quality receiver, his excellence didn’t mirror his 2018 success, when he had over 1,300 receiving yards and 113 receptions. Jefferson was the clear-cut WR1 last year, and Thielen caught 74 passes for 925 yards. Thielen did score 14 touchdowns, and even though that’s a skill he’s shown for several years, 14 is unsustainable. Touchdowns are a notoriously fickle stat, and if they drop, while his reception and yardage pace remain the same, he’ll be a merely good fantasy receiver. That can help your team, but it’s not a value at No. 46 overall. I like the player, I do not like the ADP.

Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)

Irv Smith Jr., TE (ADP: 140): Smith Jr. has a bit of buzz, and I honestly don’t get it. He did score five touchdowns in his sophomore season, but he actually caught six fewer passes than he did as a rookie, and he finished with 365 yards in 13 games (seven starts). Kyle Rudolph is gone, which should open up a path for a bit more volume, but with Cook, Jefferson and Thielen all as elite fantasy producers, there’s just no more room for anyone significant, and certainly not in an offense with low passing volume. He’s not particularly expensive – he’s currently the 15th TE off the board – but there are plenty of other lottery tickets I’d prefer.

Kirk Cousins, QB (ADP: 141): I’ll just say it, I like Kirk Cousins. Yeah, rushing QBs are all the rage, and yeah, Cousins isn’t helping you on that front. And yes, this is a run-heavy offense in a division with tough Packers and Bears defenses. Despite all that, Cousins still manages to make good use of his high-end receivers and efficiently deliver fantasy production. We mentioned earlier that the Vikings threw the sixth-fewest passes in football last year; Cousins still posted 4,265 yards and 35 touchdowns. As the QB17 off the board, he’ll be a $1 player in auctions and a late, late round option in snake drafts, and he’s exactly the kind of guy I’d be happy to go with if I’ve decided to punt on high-end players at the position. Cousins is a perfect play in great matchups, because his blowup games are massive. He had eight games with three touchdown passes, including a stretch of three straight vs. Dallas, Carolina and Jacksonville (see…matchups!), and he passed for 300+ yards in five of them.

Alexander Mattison, RB (ADP: 143): Mattison is annually someone I urge Cook owners to draft. He’s a talented RB in his own right, and while he’s valueless as long as Cook is on the field, he’d immediately be a high usage, three-down back if Cook gets hurt. And Cook always gets hurt, at least for a little while. This ADP is slightly high for a pure handcuff, but I suspect you can get away with waiting on him, as he won’t have any standalone value, and therefore non-Cook owners are unlikely to be interested on draft day.

Sleeper Class (200 & later)

Defense/Special Teams (ADP: 198)

The Vikings should be a middling fantasy D/ST overall, but they get a slight boost with four matchups vs. the Lions and Bears. They also have some defensive playmakers, specifically Patrick Peterson and Anthony Barr, so there should be some boom games.