Charles Johnson Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Panthers reached a deal late Friday with former Vikings WR Charles Johnson. That gives Carolina both of the NFL's players by that name -- the other plays DE -- as well as a speed receiver to fill Ted Ginn's vacated role. Johnson, of course, failed to deliver much fantasy relevance in Minnesota and will slot behind at least Kelvin Benjamin and TE Greg Olsen in Carolina. He'll likely fit behind WR Devin Funchess as well and will need to compete with fellow free-agent addition Russell Shepard -- plus whoever else arrives this offseason. Don't bet on fantasy impact from Johnson with the Panthers

Vikings WR Stefon Diggs (hip) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Bears. He'll be held out after playing at less than 100% for much of the season. WR Laquon Treadwell (ankle) is also doubtful, and WR Charles Johnson (knee) is questionable. WR Adam Thielen and TE Kyle Rudolph should dominate Minnesota's targets.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (quad) is active for today’s opener against the Titans. He’s expected to start alongside Stefon Diggs but shouldn’t be in fantasy lineups.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (quad) is questionable for Sunday’s opener against the Titans after a limited week of practice. He shouldn’t be in fantasy lineups, but his absence would give rookie WR Laquon Treadwell a shot to make a case for a starting job.

Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater suffered a "significant" injury to his left knee in practice Tuesday, HC Mike Zimmer told the media late Tuesday afternoon. Zimmer said the team didn't know the extent of the injury yet but that Bridgewater's hope for playing this season "doesn't look good right now." Shaun Hill steps in as the starter for however long Bridgewater will miss. The 36-year-old obviously means a step down from the 3rd-year starter, but Hill has started 6+ games in 3 other seasons and fared OK. He needs only to be decent in a Vikings offense that leans heavily on the running game and gains support from an ascending defense. Going from Bridgewater to Hill dings the upside for WRs Stefon Diggs, Charles Johnson and Laquon Treadwell a bit. We've knocked them down our WR rankings, but none was an early-round option to begin with. A sluggish pass offense could also hurt RB Adrian Peterson by allowing defenses to stack the box more -- like we saw with Rams opponents vs. Todd Gurley late last year. But Peterson already saw plenty of that in 2015. He's still a fine pick anywhere in the 1st half of Round 2.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson started Friday night's preseason opener and grabbed a 49-yard TD catch from Teddy Bridgewater against the Bengals. It's time to at least consider Johnson as a late-round flier in fantasy football drafts. He let owners down big time in 2015, but there's almost no risk to picking Johnson in the final few rounds of your draft. We'll see if rookie WR Laquon Treadwell can make a play for the starting job opposite Stefon Diggs.

1500 ESPN's Bo Mitchell believes Vikings WR Charles Johnson "is in line to start in Tennessee in Week 1." That'd be alongside Stefon Diggs and ahead of Laquon Treadwell. Johnson has been working with the starters in training camp so far, while reviews on Treadwell's play have been mixed. He'll be "phased in over time," according to Mitchell. We're still not ruling out the possibility of Treadwell beating out Johnson for the Week 1 starting job, but fantasy owners can't be counting on him as an early-season asset. Johnson remains just a late-round flier after flopping in his starting shot last year.

Vikings WR Stefon Diggs "hobbled to the sideline" with a "banged up left knee" after his final catch in Sunday's win over the Bears, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We haven't seen anything further on the issue, and Diggs described it after the game as getting "shook up." We're not worried about the situation at this point, but we'll watch for any further info this week. Charles Johnson entered for a 35-yard catch to set up the game-winning FG, but Diggs again led the Vikings with 6 receptions for 95 yards and a TD.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (ribs) is active for today’s game against the Lions. He’s expected to play behind WRs Mike Wallace and Stefon Diggs and isn’t a viable Week 7 fantasy starter.

Vikings insider Ben Goessling is "told" WR Stefon Diggs will start Sunday's game against the Lions, despite the return of WR Charles Johnson.  Diggs earned it with 13 catches for 216 yards over Minnesota's last 2 games.  Johnson could still steal a few looks, but Diggs is on the WR3 radar in a plus matchup.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (ribs) put in a full week of practice and is probable for Sunday’s game against the Lions. He reportedly split 1st-team reps with WR Stefon Diggs in practice this week. Diggs remains the superior Week 7 fantasy play, but Johnson’s return adds some risk.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (ribs) put in full practices on Wednesday and Thursday.  He's set to return after missing the last 2 games.  Johnson was disappointing in 3 games before going down and is now contending with the emergence of rookie Stefon Diggs.  Johnson shouldn't be in Week 7 fantasy lineups, but we'll keep a close eye on how snaps and targets are divvied in this WR corps.

Vikings HC Mike Zimmer refused to name WR Stefon Diggs a starter on Monday, but he didn't deny it either.  “You don’t lose your starting job because of injury but you lose your starting job because of performance," Zimmer said, referring to WR Charles Johnson's recent absence. “But, no, I have not decided that yet."  Johnson mustered just 6 balls for 46 yards in Minnesota's first 3 games.  Diggs has racked up 13 grabs for 216 yards over the last 2.  We'll see how the snaps and targets are divvied when Johnson returns, likely this coming week.  But Diggs is worth rostering in all fantasy leagues.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (ribs) is inactive for today’s game against the Chiefs. Jarius Wright and Stefon Diggs will play behind #1 WR Mike Wallace.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (ribs) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. He was able to put in 3 limited practices and appears on track to play. Johnson can’t be trusted in season-long lineups but is an interesting, cheap DFS tournament option in a plus matchup.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (ribs) returned to practice on Wednesday.  He's dealing with a rib cartilage issue, per insider Adam Caplan, which is painful to play through.  We'll keep an eye on his status over the next few days.  Between the rib injury and his slow start, though, Johnson will be tough to trust in Week 6 fantasy lineups -- despite a plus matchup against the Chiefs.

Vikings WR Charles Johnson (ribs) did not practice on Monday.  He went down in Week 3 and didn't play in Week 4.  Minnesota was off this past week, but it looks like Johnson is still in danger of missing Sunday's game against the Chiefs.  We'll have another update after the Vikings' 1st official practice of the week on Wednesday.