2014 Review

The Vikings started out their 2014 season with veteran and former quarterback Matt Cassel under center. It didn’t take long before Cassel was sidelined and rookie Teddy Bridgewater became the team’s starter. Playing in 13 games, Bridgewater totaled 2,919 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 209 yards and scored one rushing touchdown.

He ended up ranking 22nd among his fellow fantasy quarterbacks and really only made a sufficient fantasy option during a few key games in the season. Fortunately, Bridgewater ended his rookie campaign on an upswing. He completed 71.1 percent of his passes, which was the highest of any quarterbacks during the last five games of the season. For this he makes a promising fantasy prospect moving forward.

A comittee of running backs led the ground attack in 2014 due to the vast hole left by the suspension of Adrian Peterson. Matt Asiata led in fantasy points and finished the season as the 16th ranked running back. He produced nine touchdowns off of 570 rushing yards. Asiata was joined at times by Jerick McKinnon, who was not a reliable fantasy option most weeks.

As far as the Vikings’ fantasy receivers, Cordarrelle Patterson was all the hype to draft last season. He surely burned all who plucked him early off the draft boards as a trusty WR2. It didn’t take long before Patterson became irrelevant and found himself landing to the waivers amidst other 2014 fantasy busts.

Former Vikings wideout Greg Jennings ranked highest among the team’s paltry crew. However, this isn’t saying much considering Jennings ended the season with 742 yards and six touchdowns which ranked him 39th in wide receiver fantasy points.

Second-year receiver Charles Johnson finished the year strong with 475 receiving yards and two touchdowns. While he wasn’t a recommended fantasy option last year, he showed us a bit of promise for what might be in store this season.

When it came to the Vikings’ tight end position, Kyle Rudolph once again disappointed his fantasy owners by becoming injured for a second season in a row. He played in nine games in 2014 and totaled just 231 yards and two touchdowns.

Veteran Additions

The Vikings signed on wide receiver, Mike Wallace, lofty price tag and all over the offseason. Wallace should slip right into the No. 1 receiving role for the Vikings and could do some damage playing opposite Bridgewater. It is noted that Wallace and Bridgewater were developing a nice chemistry during the team’s OTA’s and minicamp.

With Bridgewater improving, a speedy weapon like Wallace in the backfield could present some trouble for opposing defenders making him a solid flex/WR2 option moving forth.

We could probably mention Peterson in this category. He was suspended last year but never left, and reports over the offseason that he wanted to be traded, etc. finally got put to rest. Peterson seems happy to remain in Minnesota and should be back on course to put up the monster RB1 numbers he has done so in the past. This makes Asiata and McKinnon late-round handcuff stashes due to how dominant Peterson should be on the ground this season.

NFL Draft

None.

Potential Breakout Star

Johnson could surprise those fantasy owners who wait to later in rounds to draft him. While defenses focus on shutting down Wallace, Johnson should see increased targets this season. He was already becoming Bridgewater’s favorite go-to guy during the latter part of the 2014 season where he totaled 47 targets from the rookie during the last seven weeks of the year.

Potential Disappointment

Rudolph has disappointed his fantasy drafters for two years in a row. It is risky to take a chance with the tight end that has earned an “injury-prone” status. Additionally, Rudolph has never topped 500 receiving yards in his four-year career. He stands out for his 2012 performance where he tallied 493 yards and nine touchdowns in 16 games. Those numbers haven’t been touched due to the fact the guy can’t stay healthy.

Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere for a tight end especially now that Peterson is back.