Vikings Fantasy Football Recap: Week 1 vs the Packers

The Rest

The Vikings can thank Justin Jefferson for making life easy in Week 1. His monstrous explosion set up everyone else to coast through the game without exerting too much effort. With that said, here’s a rapid-fire on the other Vikings who will certainly make their mark later this year.

Irv Smith Jr. was quiet in his return to the field for the first time since 2020. This was likely by design as the Vikings might have opted to avoid thrusting him into a significant role right away. He is a risky asset that should only be in fantasy lineups in desperate situations until his role with the offense becomes more clear.

K.J. Osborn delivered when called upon. He should still have weekly performances worthy of a FLEX play, but the dominance of Jefferson could impact how many plays Osborn hears his number called. He should remain on the bench until the Vikings get into high-powered shootouts.

Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler are non-factors who will only carry value if an injury occurs. The new offensive strategy demonstrated a step away from a timeshare in the backfield.

Greg Joseph is worth consideration as a season-long answer to teams in need of a kicker. He’s proven to be dependable from all spots on the field, and Minnesota should have plenty of scoring opportunities throughout the year which may result in Joseph being a top-10 kicker for the second consecutive year.

The Vikings’ defense is a streaming option that deserves to be looked at as one of the safer decisions. The pass rush unit demonstrated a lot of promise with strong debuts from Za’Darius Smith and Jordan Hicks. Turnovers will start to roll in throughout the next few weeks against lower-caliber offenses and with more time for the new system to settle in.