Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Bears placed WR N’Keal Harry on IR. Harry will now miss at least 4 games with his ankle injury. Even in deep formats, the former Patriot is well off the fantasy radar.

Dolphins WR Trent Sherfield started ahead of WR Cedrick Wilson in Saturday night's preseason finale against the Eagles. Sherfield opened the game opposite Tyreek Hill, with Jaylen Waddle inactive. Wilson didn't enter the game until after Hill left. That points to Sherfield -- who played under HC Mike McDaniel in San Francisco -- leading the race to be #3 WR, despite Wilson getting significant money in free agency. The role gains some importance as Waddle deals with an unspecified injury. We'll see about Waddle's status as Week 1 approaches. Neither Sherfield nor Wilson should factor into most fantasy football drafts. But Sherfield could be a sneaky late addition to best-ball tournament lineups.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold suffered a nasty looking left ankle injury in Friday night's preseason game vs. the Bills. He was quickly ruled out for the game. We'll pass along an update on Darnold when we get one, but this had the look of a long-term injury. Darnold, of course, had already lost the starting job to QB Baker Mayfield.

Update: It's a high-ankle sprain, per multiple reports.

Bears WR N'Keal Harry will have tightrope surgery today for his recent high-ankle sprain, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Harry is expected to miss 8 weeks. We'll see what the Chicago WR corps looks like when he returns, but this'll obviously make it tough for him carve out a role.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Bears WR N’Keal Harry sustained an ankle injury in Saturday’s practice that “appears severe.” Recently acquired from New England, Harry had landed in a fine spot to rehab his NFL value. We’ll hope for the best here, but Harry’s certainly off the redraft radar at the moment. Chicago remains paper thin at WR behind Darnell Mooney.

UPDATE: Harry suffered a high-ankle sprain and is expected to miss about 6 weeks, per Ian Rapoport.

The Patriots have traded WR N'Keal Harry to the Bears for a conditional 7th-round pick in 2024. This is clearly a signal of New England giving up on the WR rather than Chicago going to get him. Harry gets a fresh start in a WR-needy situation. We still wouldn't bet on fantasy relevance going forward, though.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson said he's "so excited" about new HC Kevin O'Connell's offense. "Our offensive style, it's not a run-first offense anymore," Jefferson said. "Just us being able to put different people in different positions and distribute the ball, really." We actually wouldn't describe last year's Vikings as "run first" considering they ranked 11th in pass attempts. But they finished 18th in situation-neutral pass rate, so there's room for at least a moderate climb in passing volume this season. Jefferson is a locked-in top 3 fantasy WR.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson expects to be used more creatively this season in new OC Ben Johnson's scheme. Johnson was Hockenson's position coach the past 2 years. "Ben has seen me do routes that most guys or coordinators wouldn't think that a tight end could do," Hockenson said. "Splitting me out, running a comeback, splitting me out and running things that really only wide receivers do. He's seen me run it and he's seen me run it well. Just being able to have that in his head – we're already seeing it now (with me) being split out and doing some things and showing what we got." QB Jared Goff likes what he's seen with Hockenson's usage so far this offseason. "T.J. is a unique player and somebody that we need to take advantage of his full skill set," Goff said. "No one knows him better than Ben, so having him in that (OC) spot to make those decisions and draw things up is helpful. But he's doing a great job creatively with T.J." Hockenson is a safe pick in mid-range TE1 territory and might still have untapped upside beyond that.

According to beat writer Jonathan Alexander, Panthers QB Sam Darnold “seems primed" to start the season opener vs. Cleveland. Alexander points to Darnold's experience and performance at OTAs thus far as supporting evidence. While Darnold’s a near lock to start Week 1, the smart money is on rookie Matt Corral taking over at some point in 2022.

Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com expects RBs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to have a “big role” in the passing game. Jones saw 65 targets in 2021; Dillion handled 37. While Green Bay added several bodies to the WR corps, there’s uncertainty regarding how they’ll replace 224 targets left by Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Current projections have Jones for a career-high in catches.

The Vikings selected RB Ty Chandler in Round 5 of the NFL Draft. A 5th-year senior, Chandler transferred from Tennessee to North Carolina last year. “Ty Chandler came to Carolina with loads of potential and we thought he'd have a tremendous year," HC Mack Brown said. "That's exactly what he did. He grew into the offense with his combination of speed and quickness, and was extremely productive for us. Ty was also great in the locker room as an experienced presence and went on to be voted captain by his teammates.” Chandler does bring top-end, 4.38 speed — but he’s on the smallish side at 204 pounds. He also turns 24 prior to Week 1. He’ll likely start out as a practice squad guy with the Vikings likely to stick with Alexander Mattison and Kene Nwangwu behind Dalvin Cook.

The Vikings grabbed LB Brian Asamoah early in Round 3 of the NFL Draft. Asamoah is smallish at 6'0, 226 pounds, though that's closer to the norm by current NFL standards. He tested well leading up to the draft (74th percentile speed score) after solid college production. Asamoah is likely at least a year away from the opportunity for real playing time in Minnesota, though, with Eric Kendricks and free-agent addition Jordan Hicks in the way.

The Vikings selected CB Andrew Booth in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. Booth might have slid in the draft for injury concerns, but his most recent issue was just a sports hernia. His college numbers don’t point to huge IDP upside in the NFL: 68 total tackles, 5 INTs and 9 passes defensed across 3 seasons. Booth goes to a Minnesota secondary that presents immediate opportunity to compete for a starting gig.

The Vikings spent the final pick of Round 1 on Georgia S Lewis Cine. NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah lauded Cine's physicality but called him inconsistent in coverage. Cine did get his hands on 9 passes in his final Bulldogs season but totaled just 2 INTs across his 3 campaigns. He could be in for immediate starting duty with Harrison Smith the only incumbent safety starter in Minnesota.

Former Rams OC and new Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell wants to use WR Justin Jefferson in a role similar to the one Cooper Kupp played last year. “The one thing about Cooper Kupp this past season is he lined up in a lot of different spots. It was hard for defenses to really know where he was," O'Connell said. "I see that with Justin. I see an incredible, incredible skillset, but I also see a player we can move around. We can make it hard for defenses to know where he’s going to be. He doesn’t have to line up in the same spot all the time. He doesn’t have to run the same type of routes all the time. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands. He’s willing in the run game. This guy’s a special, special player." It's no surprise that O'Connell will make Jefferson the focal point of his passing game. But it's exciting to hear about a more diverse role -- especially considering the season Kupp just had.

The Vikings are expected to name Rams OC Kevin O'Connell their new HC, according to multiple reports. The move can't be made official until after the Super Bowl. The 36-year-old O'Connell was a 3rd-round pick of the Patriots back in 2008. He washed out of the league after just 5 seasons and took his first coaching job with the Browns in 2015 under OC John DeFilippo. O'Connell worked for HC Chip Kelly in San Francisco in 2016 before spending the next 3 seasons in Washington, earning the OC title in 2019. He's spent the past 2 seasons as Rams OC, although HC Sean McVay has called the plays.

Packers RB Aaron Jones (knee) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Lions. He’d likely be playing if this game meant anything to Green Bay and should be back for the playoffs. All of the Packers’ other regulars on offense are active, although it’s unclear how much guys like Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams will play.

The Packers list RB Aaron Jones (knee) as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Lions. That should be reason enough for him to sit out this meaningless finale. We'll get Green Bay's inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold will start this weekend's game vs. the Saints, HC Matt Rhule said Wednesday. Rhule added that QB Cam Newton "will be ready," but it's unclear if he'll play at all. Darnold, of course, isn't a recommended fantasy play even if he's out there for 100% of the snaps.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold could play a "substantial amount" vs. the Bucs today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. QB Cam Newton will get the start but Darnold is expected to enter "within a few series," per Rapoport. "Playing time will be determined based on the success Darnold is having." This is obviously a situation to avoid in Week 16 fantasy lineups. Rapoport adds that Darnold could cement himself as the starter for the final 2 games of the season based on his performance today.