Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Vikings To Draft And Fade In 2024

After going through a roster shakeup, the Vikings have some new faces coming in and old faces in new roles.
fantasy football

With the Minnesota Vikings in a transitional period heading into the 2024 season, there’s a lot of uncertainty not just from real football but in the land of fantasy football as well. Some new faces in important positions will certainly have an impact not only on the more prominent players but on, the younger and more promising players as well. In this article, I’m considering both re-draft and dynasty leagues and will include guys more well-known and younger players who could step up unexpectedly this season.

Vikings to Draft and Fade in Fantasy Football

Draft- Jordan Addison

Multiple reports have come out since the start of OTA’s about how the second-year receiver looks as good as anyone could’ve hoped at this point of the offseason. Underdog has him rated as the 49th receiver with concerns about how he performed with Justin Jefferson on the field, as well as scoring more touchdowns that juiced his fantasy points more than the usage would indicate. Jordan Addison was planned to be the wide receiver two in this offense and had to quickly adapt after Jefferson went down. With Kirk Cousins healthy and no Jefferson, Addison had his two best games of the year, which fits some concerns people may have. While he isn’t Cousins, new quarterback Sam Darnold can be aggressive to a fault and will push the ball down the field enough for Addison to get his fair share of targets. Addison went through a large portion of the year dealing with being the focus of a defense’s game plan, not because he was just the next guy up after Jefferson’s injury, but because the Vikings treated him like a number one guy. According to Fantasypros, Addison was tied for 10th in the league in red zone targets at the receiver position and caught about half of those targets, meaning his touchdown numbers aren’t fluky to me. In a second year he’ll be in an offense with a (hopefully) healthy Jefferson as well as being the bonafide number two receiving option until T.J. Hockenson comes back from his knee injury, Addison could be a value pickup as a flex option or backup spot-starting role. He won’t win you a league, but he’ll be a great piece of your roster at the right price.

Fade- Aaron Jones

There’s no denying Aaron Jones’ talent when he’s able to get a starting-caliber workload. He’s produced at a high level for years, but what scares me away is how I believe he’ll be used in Minnesota. With Ty Chandler (we’ll get to him next!) almost certainly taking snaps away from him, the ceiling on Jones isn’t very high. The Vikings didn’t run the ball well in 2023, coming in at 25th in rushing EPA, although Jones should help with that. Jones has all the talent in the world, but you can’t bring up drafting him without the injuries. What personally scares me more about Jones is how he had injuries in multiple places last year, on both his hamstring and knee. If you want to take a risk on a flex option and see Jones falling down the board, I can see it working out. The Packers offense completely transformed when Jones came back from his injuries and that isn’t a coincidence, he’s a game changer. I just see more scenarios where either the run game doesn’t improve very much, Chandler takes a chunk of the snaps, or Jones can’t stay on the field and produce like he could a couple of years ago.

Draft- Ty Chandler

When Chandler took over for Alexander Mattison in week 15 and kept the starting job until the end of the season, the Vikings were 14th in rushing EPA. In a small sample size, Chandler took over the leading role in the backfield and provided a spark that had been missing in the run game for so long. When looking at guys around Chandler’s ADP (Jaylen Wright, Zach Charbonnet, and Marshawn Lloyd all ahead of him), Chandler is far more proven than those guys and in a more likely spot to see playing time. If Jones is forced to miss a game or two, there’s no question who’s taking a majority of those starting snaps. He’s in the unique spot of being good enough to spot-start but not good enough to be the main starter, with the guy in front of him having injury concerns. As a late-round roster filler, Chandler has a chance to be a massive hit with such little downside.

Fade- All the Tight Ends

With so much unknown about Hockenson’s injury, at this point, it would be an aggressive play to draft and stash him on your roster, even at an ADP in the 150’s, according to Underdog. There isn’t one receiving threat at tight end that stands out as a guy who will come in and take over at that spot and start raking in fantasy points, all the guys that are rostered and expected to start are blocking specialists. These tight ends shouldn’t even be on your radar (except Hockenson, if you want to be uber-aggressive) come draft day. If your post-draft has you weak at tight end or you’re dealing with some injuries, Robert Tonyan has turned some heads in OTA’s thus far. This is an ocean-deep pull, I know, but I can picture him being on those waiver-wire articles after a couple of weeks in. Not someone to draft, but to have as a “break glass in case of emergency” last resort.

Main Image: Brad Rempel – USA Today Sports

Alex Anger

Alex Anger

Alex Anger is a journalism student at Arizona State with a passionate love for sports, specifically football. Being from Minnesota Alex is a Vikings fan, but wants to give readers an unbiased opinion on all things football from all around the league. Alex, like many football fans alike, is an expert at watching redzone.

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