Until the arrival of Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings could be referred to collectively as a fantasy football wasteland. Currently, the team’s strengths (offensive line, defense) offer little in the way of helping you win your fantasy league, and the rest of the point-producing skill players still have a ways to go before you see multiple Vikings being drafted in the first five rounds. The obvious exclusion from this group, Peterson, was exceptional in 2007: 1341 yards and 13 total touchdowns in spite of missing three and a half games to injury. Tarvaris Jackson experienced the usual growing pains of a young signal-caller and never emerged as anything more than a desperate bye week option in standard leagues.
Chester Taylor was a necessary handcuff for Peterson owners, but only merited a spot in active lineups during the weeks AP needed to recover. Little can usually be expected from rookie wide receivers, but Sidney Rice showed flashes of his WR3 potential. The Minnesota Vikings Team Defense, however, could be found on many championship teams, ranking first against the run and placing in the top-10 in both sacks and fumbles recovered.
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Key Departures
Troy Williamson (WR) – The Vikings drafted Williamson in the first round of the 2005 draft with the intention of him becoming Daunte Culpepper’s primary downfield target. Instead of becoming a serviceable replacement for Randy Moss, however, Williamson has effectively turned into a modern-day James Jett. His granitic hands are now property of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Key Additions
Bernard Berrian (WR) – With no upgrades via the draft to speak of, at least the Vikings thought it wise to add an accomplished wideout to a generally unimpressive receiving corps. But Bernard has to be wondering what he has to do in order to play for a quarterback that has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in his career.
Jared Allen (DE) – Adding one of the NFL’s top five defensive ends to an already stout line signifies that the Vikings’ front office is seizing the moment in what looks to be a down year for the rest of the Norris Division. Although, I’m sure Minnesota wished Allen was around for when they still had to worry about Brett Favre twice a year. On second thought, Allen and Favre may be teammates in due time, according to Skip Bayless’ conspiracy theory. But at least we know that’s not going to happen, because Bayless is a rambling blockhead who wouldn’t have a job if not for his made-for-television voice.
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2008 Bruno Boys Crystal Ball
Tarvaris Jackson (QB) – Tarvaris Jackson is the transsexual of NFL quarterbacks. What could I possibly mean by that? He’s trapped inside the wrong body, essentially. Watch him run (or watch his T-Rex delivery), and it becomes apparent that the good Lord borrowed from the DNA pool that is typically reserved for running backs and wide receivers. YouTube seems to confirm my suspicion, as the majority of “Tarvaris Jackson highlights” are of the 6-foot-2 quarterback escaping blitzes and galloping into the opposition’s secondary. The Vikings’ coaching staff has offered Jackson their praise throughout the offseason, but I would venture to say that most of what you have heard to date is propaganda to bolster his confidence. In 2008, you can probably expect more of the interceptions and rushing yards he offered his owners last season, which reduces him to a bye week replacement in two-quarterback leagues.
Adrian Peterson (RB) – I avoid clichés like the plague (see, I dislike clichés so much that I use clichés to describe how much I like to avoid them), but the sky really is the limit for Adrian Peterson. His injury woes at Oklahoma caused some owners to hesitate on draft day, but there wasn’t much doubt surrounding his ability to carry the football around, and often times, through defenders. Although it would be more comforting to see AP adapt a running style that doesn’t lend itself to injury as easily, his explosiveness and ability to break off the long one should be too tempting for anyone to ignore this time around. It can be expected that opposing defenses will key on him from Week 1, but he should replicate last year’s 1300-yard campaign to go along with 14-16 touchdowns in a full season.
Bernard Berrian (WR) – Peg Bernard Berrian as an underrated overachiever. He very nearly compiled 1000 receiving yards last season, output that should be considered almost heroic in light of the Chicago Bears’ inept quarterback play. For forecasting purposes, I don’t think it’s too presumptuous to equate Tarvaris Jackson with Rex Grossman. That said, a reasonable outlook would be a repeat of his 2007 season with possibly one or two more touchdowns thrown in with the expectation that the Vikings will spend more time in the red zone than the Bears ever thought to last season. Berrian will not come into the season with much draft hype, so you will have the chance to grab him as a solid WR3 in the middle rounds of your draft.
Sidney Rice (WR) – It’s honestly surprising that the Vikings had enough confidence to draft another South Carolina receiver after Troy Williamson, but that’s what they did last year when they made Rice their first-round selection. I think we can conclude that the Vikings’ brass are suckers for speed, which is not a bad thing if you can make it play at the NFL level. The only problem is that they haven’t produced a wide receiver worth owning in fantasy leagues since Randy Moss donned the purple garb. It’s unfair to say that Rice is Troy Williamson Pt. Deux, but it was hard enough to recommend Bernard Berrian for your draft day plans, much less the Vikings’ No. 2 receiver. Owners can still make room for Rice on their roster though, as Tarvaris Jackson should be more comfortable with his second-year receiver to produce a yardage uptick at the least.
Visanthe Shiancoe (TE) – Shiancoe is a lucky dude, for if it weren’t for his blocking proficiency, he would likely find himself buried on some other team’s depth chart. He’d be poorer too, because I’m not sure how many other teams would offer a tight end $18.2 million over five years to block almost exclusively. Don’t bother rostering 300 receiving yards and a couple of scores until a bye week rolls around.
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Rookies to Watch
John David Booty (QB) – Although JDB won’t merit fantasy consideration unless both Jackson and Gus Frerotte are sidelined (or the Vikings somehow flounder in what looks to be the weakest division in the NFC this season), he will be an interesting guy to watch during the preseason. Booty is considered to be the prototypical quarterback for the west coast offense, so if he doesn’t succeed in Minnesota, there’s not much reason to think he’ll succeed elsewhere.
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Other Team Capsules
NFC WEST - ARI I STL I SF I SEA
NFC SOUTH - ATL I CAR I NO I TB
NFC NORTH - CHI I DET I GB I MIN
NFC EAST - DAL I NYG I PHI I WAS
AFC WEST - DEN I KC I OAK I SD
AFC SOUTH - HOU I IND I JAX I TEN
AFC NORTH - BAL I CIN I CLE I PIT
AFC EAST - BUF I MIA I NE I NYJ