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 TE Irv Smith suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the Cardinals, insider Chris Tomasson reports. Smith is getting an MRI on Monday to get a better look at the damage, but he figures to miss multiple games. He's droppable in standard-sized fantasy leagues. Smith's absence leaves lead TE duties to Johnny Mundt, who owns just 22 career catches, with 12 of them coming this season. We should see more volume funneled to WRs Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn with Smith out.
Vikings WR Adam Thielen found the end zone in a Week 6 win over Miami. While his 36 yards underwhelmed, he tied Justin Jefferson for the team-lead in targets (8). Thielen’s score — his 2nd of the season — came from 2 yards out when he shook free from CB Xavien Howard. Through 6 games, Thielen’s up to 29 catches, 284 yards and 2 TDs. He draws a nice matchup with Arizona following a Week 7 bye.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson enjoyed another big game in Sunday's win over the Bears. He racked up a 12-154 receiving line on 13 targets. No other Viking drew more than 7 looks or caught more than 5 passes. WR Adam Thielen checked in 2nd with 7 targets but caught just 4 for 27 yards. K.J. Osborn caught all 5 of his targets (for 41 yards) to finish 2nd on the team in receptions.
After a pair of down weeks, Vikings WR Justin Jefferson racked up 10 catches for 147 yards in Sunday's win over the Saints in London. He added a 3-yard rushing score as well. Jefferson's 13 targets stood 4 ahead of Adam Thielen and 9 ahead of #3 Irv Smith. Thielen caught 8 balls for 72 yards. Smith contributed 23 yards on 3 catches. Dalvin Cook was the only other Viking with more than 1 reception.
The Eagles and Lions used a steady dose of double teams to limit Vikings WR Justin Jefferson to a combined 9 catches and 62 scoreless yards over the past 2 weeks. HC Kevin O'Connell is determined to get Jefferson going again. "I have to do a better job of giving Justin different aspects of lining up in different spots, different personnel groupings, whatever I need to do to help him," O'Connell said. WRs Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn delivered TDs on more advantageous matchups in Week 3. The pendulum will swing back in Jefferson's direction soon. We're not worried about his rest-of-season fantasy outlook.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson drew 12 targets in Monday night's loss to the Eagles -- 4 more than his nearest teammate -- but caught just 6 of them for 48 yards. Jefferson had no gain of more than 11 yards, on a night where Eagles CB Darius Slay locked him up. WR Adam Thielen added 4-52 receiving on 7 targets, while WR K.J. Osborn drew just 2 looks.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson torched the Packers for 184 yards and 2 TDs on 9 catches in HC Kevin O'Connell's debut. Jefferson was clearly the focal point of the offense, garnering a 34% target share and lining up all over the field. Per ESPN, Jefferson took 41 snaps on the outside, 12 in the slot, 1 in the backfield and 1 inline. He racked up 93 yards from the outside and 91 from the slot. He also went in motion on 7 snaps. "I definitely like the motioning and just seeing the whole field," Jefferson said. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it a lot more." Jefferson will be battling for the WR lead in fantasy points all season.
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.
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.
The Vikings have fired HC Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman, NFL Network reports. It ends an 8-year run for Zimmer and a 16-year run for Spielman in Minnesota. Zimmer's tenure brought just 3 seasons of double-digit wins and 2 playoff victories. We'll see who the Vikings hire to run the show going forward.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has been activated from the COVID list. He's expected to start Sunday's finale vs. the Bears, despite Minnesota having nothing to play for. Cousins isn't an exciting fantasy option, but his return is excellent news for WR Justin Jefferson and the rest of the Vikings' skill-position players.
Vikings WR Adam Thielen will miss at least the rest of the regular season after undergoing ankle surgery on Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Chad Graff. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero adds that Thielen is expected to be sidelined for about a month, so Minnesota would need to make a deep playoff run if Thielen is going to play again before the 2022 season. K.J. Osborn will step in as the Vikings' #2 WR -- and WR Justin Jefferson will dominate targets -- for as long as Thielen is out.
Vikings WRs Justin Jefferson (ankle) and Adam Thielen (foot) aren't listed on the final injury report. Both guys got some time off in practice earlier this week but should be ready to play their usual roles vs. the Panthers on Sunday.
Vikings WRs Justin Jefferson (ankle) and Adam Thielen (foot) missed their 2nd straight practices on Thursday. We haven't heard any concern about their availability for this weekend's game vs. the Panthers, but make sure to check back tomorrow afternoon for another update.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson returned to practice on Monday, just 10 days after spraining the AC joint in his shoulder. It sounds like he was limited, but just the fact that he was out there is confirmation that he'll be good to go come Week 1.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is considered "day-to-day" after hurting his left shoulder in Friday's practice, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "Tests came out as good as possible," Rapoport adds. "All positive news." It sounds like we should fully expect Jefferson to be ready to go come Week 1.
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