10. Kirk Cousins (new)
In his debut with the Minnesota Vikings, Cousins didn’t light up the stat sheet with a ton of yards or a handful of touchdowns. However, what he did effectively distributing the ball to open receivers while being under a lot of pressure from his right side.
Seven different pass catchers got involved, distributing 244 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions against the tough 49ers defense. His first game in purple and gold was effective and featured some great throws into tight windows, giving hope he can be the quarterback the Vikings need him to be.
9. Dalvin Cook (Up 1 spot)
After getting almost no action in the preseason, all eyes were on Dalvin Cook to see how his acceleration and cuts would be in the season opener. It didn’t take long for all those doubts to be put to rest.
Cook ran the ball 16 times for 40 yards and added six catches for 55 yards. However, those numbers don’t do his performance justice. He was consistently making defenders miss and running through tackles, despite having one fumble on an exceptionally powerful run.
Once all the rust is off, he will be a very scary player who can do a lot of damage.
8. Sheldon Richardson (new)
While the defense as a whole looked amazing against San Francisco, the debut of Richardson made a huge impact on the game in the trenches. Much of the focus of this game was on Cousins and Garoppolo, but it’s hard to win a game when a player is dominating.
Richardson was second on the team in tackles with six while four of them were solo. One of those takedowns was a sack, which he got half credit for. But what doesn’t land on stat sheets are disruptions, where the defensive tackle was often seen clogging up the middle or getting in the face of the 49ers quarterback, forcing bad throws.