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Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Fantasy Football News 2023

Most Recent Fantasy Football News & Updates

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins managed only 12-of-23 passing for 105 yards in Sunday's beatdown at the hands of the Cowboys. He took 7 sacks and lost a fumble in the 40-3 defeat, giving way to Nick Mullens for late mop-up duty. TE T.J. Hockenson led Minnesota pass-catchers with just 5 catches and 34 yards. WR Justin Jefferson checked in just behind with a 3-33 line on 5 targets. WRs Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn were the only other Vikings to catch more than 1 pass. (They each caught 2.) Minnesota gets challenging matchups the next 2 weeks as well, against the Patriots and Jets. The 1st of those comes on Thanksgiving night.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is dealing with a "mild" case of turf toe, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Jefferson was limited in practice this week and "will need to be managed going forward," per Pelissero. But the injury "isn't expected to impact the Vikings' superstar receiver much" in today's game vs. the Cowboys. Turf toe can be a debilitating injury, so this is certainly worth keeping a close eye on. But Jefferson should stay glued into Week 11 fantasy lineups.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (toe) is not listed on the final Week 11 injury report. He was limited in the first 2 practices of the week but was a full-go on Friday. Jefferson should be ready for his usual role vs. the Cowboys this weekend.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (toe) remained limited in Thursday's practice. We've still heard no concern about his availability for this weekend's game vs. the Cowboys, but Jefferson's status is worth checking back on tomorrow.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (toe) was limited in Wednesday's practice. We don't have any other information on the toe issue, but we'd have likely heard something by now if it was serious. Jefferson can stay penciled into Week 11 fantasy lineups. We'll get another update on his status tomorrow.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson went off in Week 10, parlaying 16 targets into 10 grabs, 193 yards and 1 score. He nearly added a 2nd score but was stopped just shy of the goal line late in the 4th. Kirk Cousins really let loose in this one, allowing Jefferson to make some excellent contested catches against a thin Buffalo defense. The Pro Bowl WR has now hit 98 yards in 6 straight. He’s the #1 WR rest-of-way.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins was up and down in Week 11, posting 357 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks at Buffalo. He was bailed out by Justin Jefferson on several throws, including one that’s a candidate for catch of the year. We’d only put 1 INT on Cousins’ shoulder, but his decision-making (and ball placement) remained inconsistent from throw to throw. His lone score went to Jefferson, while the duo came close to hooking up for another. Through 9 games, Cousins now sits as the QB10 overall. He’ll be tested this week against Dallas — especially with LT Christian Darrisaw (concussion) looking iffy to play.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook recorded 14 carries, 119 yards and 1 TD in Week 11. Cook dashed 81 yards to the end zone on one attempt, his longest career run. Outside of that, however, he averaged only 2.92 YPC. And this was against a softer Bills defense missing several key starters. Cook lost a goal line TD to FB C.J. Ham, but he at least managed 3 catches for 27 yards. He’s now seen 17 targets over the past 3 weeks. Week 11 brings a Cowboys defense that was just torn up by Aaron Jones.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook managed just 47 yards on 17 carries (2.8 per rush) in Sunday's win over the Commanders. He saved his fantasy football line with a 12-yard TD among his 2 receptions on 6 targets. Cook dominated backfield work, though, and remains a weekly starter. Week 10 pits him against a Buffalo defense that has gone softer against the run the past 2 games.

New Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson led the team with 9 receptions Sunday in his 1st game since the trade. He caught all 9 of his targets (2nd on the team) for 70 yards. Only WR Justin Jefferson drew more looks, catching 7 of 13 for 115 yards and a TD. WR Adam Thielen garnered 7 targets and tallied 3 receptions for 67 yards. QB Kirk Cousins totaled 265 yards on a lackluster 22-of-40 (55%) passing. Minnesota heads to Buffalo next Sunday for 1 of the league's toughest passing matchups.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson is expected to be a "key part" of the offense against the Commanders today, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Hockenson, of course, was just traded to Minnesota on Tuesday. He "worked extra hours to get up to speed on the game plan," per Fowler. "Team plans to get him in there as much as it can, given the time constraints of the week." We'd still be surprised if Hockenson played a full slate of snaps today. But it's certainly possible that he's targeted at a high rate when he's on the field. Consider him a risk/reward Week 9 fantasy play.

The Lions are trading TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings, along with a 2023 4th-round pick and a 2024 conditional 4th-round pick, in exchange for a 2023 2nd-round pick and 2024 3rd-round pick, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. It's surprising for a few reasons, most notably because it's an intra-division trade and involves a former 1st-round pick still on his rookie deal. Hockenson counts just $6.5 million against this year's salary cap and has a $9.3 million 5th-year option for 2023. He's been slightly underwhelming through 3+ NFL seasons considering he was the 8th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. But Hockenson's 44.0 receiving yards per game since 2019 rank 10th among TEs. He's averaged a career-best 56.4 yards per game so far this year and ranks 7th among 31 qualifying TEs in Pro Football Focus' 2022 receiving grades. Minnesota is an OK spot for Hockenson's rest-of-season fantasy value. He'll obviously be behind WR Justin Jefferson in the pecking order but could challenge WR Adam Thielen for the #2 spot. And the Vikings have been a pass-leaning offense this year, ranking 7th at 38.0 pass attempts per game. (The Lions rank 15th at 35.7.). Hockenson will face negative fantasy-scoring matchups the next 2 weeks vs. Washington and Buffalo, but the schedule looks nice after that. Detroit, meanwhile, is left with TEs Brock Wright and James Mitchell. Wright is the preferred add but is probably only worth a look in TE-premium leagues like the FFPC. RB D'Andre Swift and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown should pick up more targets with Hockenson gone.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins posted 232 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday’s win over Arizona. Cousins added a rushing TD from 17 yards out — his longest such score since 2016. He connected with K.J. Osborn and Johnny Mundt for a pair of goal line TDs, with Osborn’s catch coming on a beautifully placed ball. Cousins recorded the useful line despite a (stud-adjusted) so-so day from Justin Jefferson (6-98). We also saw Adam Thielen get shaken up on a play, but he ultimately returned to the field. Cousins figures to remain a top-12 option this week against Washington. After that, though, he gets tough draws at Buffalo and vs. Dallas.

Cardinals CB Byron Murphy (back) is active for today's game against the Vikings.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) is not listed on the final Week 8 injury report. He was a full-go in Friday’s practice and should be ready for his usual role on Sunday vs. Miami.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. He should be fine for this weekend's plus matchup vs. the Dolphins, but we'll see how Hockenson is listed on tomorrow's final injury report.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. He's made a habit of sitting out on Wednesday this year, so we're not worried about his Week 8 status at this point. We'll update Hockenson's status again tomorrow, ahead of Sunday's game vs. Miami.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook posted 77 yards and 1 score on 13 carries against the Dolphins in Week 6. The light workload was due in part to the Vikings running only 50 plays. Cook nearly busted, too, before he broke off a 53-yard TD run late in the 4th quarter. The veteran has now recorded 76+ rushing yards in 5 of 6 games this season. Just note that his receiving role remains light, as he garnered only 1 target. Cook owns only 5 catches over the past month. Next up is a Week 7 bye.

Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (shoulder) is active for today’s game vs. the Dolphins. He was limited in practice all week and listed as questionable, but we never heard much concern about his status. Mattison should be ready for his usual role today. He played a season-high 43% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps last week.

Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (shoulder) is expected to play vs. the Dolphins today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Mattison is listed as questionable but should be ready for his usual #2 RB duties behind Dalvin Cook.

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