Outside of the playmaking defense and perhaps dome kicker, Ryan Longwell, you wouldn’t start a lot of Minnesota Vikings on your fantasy team. That may change next season as the Vikings try to improve on a team that nearly made the playoffs. The most glaring need is at wide receiver. Ironically Randy Moss will be a 2008 unrestricted free-agent, but re-uniting with the Purple doesn’t seem likely. Instead some of the early names that have been surfacing should still be intriguing to fantasy owners. D.J. Hackett, Bernard Berrian, and Bryant Johnson have the size and speed to stretch the defense and would alleviate pressure on youngster Sidney Rice.
Berrian would seem the least likely to come to the Vikings. Although the Bears are stingy with the money, they would hate to lose a playmaker to a division rival. Some reports however indicate Berrian does not want to play with the Bears unless the team upgrades the quarterback position and has already turned down a big dollar contract extension. The Vikings did shell out big money on Steve Hutchinson, but I doubt they pull out the poison pill for Berrian.
D.J. Hackett has the knack to make plays in the red zone and Seattle does have depth at that position, so a move to Minnesota seems logical at first glance. Injuries have slowed him down for most of 2007. Still, he has flashed his big-play potential, just not over a 16-game schedule.
Perhaps the most likely candidate and intriguing name would be Arizona’s Bryant Johnson. Johnson played behind Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, arguably the best wide receiver duo in football. Cardinals’ coach, Ken Whisenhunt, prefers to play a power running style and two-receiver sets. Because of that, Johnson hasn’t seen the field often. He will be 27 in March.
It will be interesting to see who the Vikings end up with. After last season’s non-descript free-agent signings, I would not be surprised if the Vikings end up with a less exciting free-agent name like Drew Carter. But all indications point that they really make a run at a big name. This is Brad Childress’s third year and anything less than a playoff appearance would be a disappointment considering he inherited a 9-7 team (he has yet to match that as his teams have been 6-10 and 8-8). And remember the Vikings did offer more money to Kevin Curtis and also pursued Wes Welker last off season.
My call is that the Vikings go with Johnson. I think Berrian goes to the highest bidder (and I don’t see the Vikings breaking the bank for him) and D.J. Hackett will stay in Seattle. Johnson is more of a Vikings ‘signing’. He has promise and is relatively flying under the radar. The team can offer a nice, but not outrageous contract and more important, opportunity to be the team’s lead receiver. Opportunity is a key in fantasy football, which is why you should keep an open eye on who the Vikings sign at this position.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
VIKINGS GET FANTASY RELEVANT?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Well, first things first they have to cut Troy Williamson, right away.
I can't believe he is on an NFL roster he can't catch the ball at all.
I agree with what you said on wide recievers. I think getting the under radar guys and giving them a chance is a great idea.
Two guys I would take a look at are from the New Orleans Saints:
Terrance Copper:Turns 26 in March and can catch the ball. He played in a pass first offense and still found opportunities. He was claimed off waivers and turned that chance into receptions.
I think he could be a inexpensive pickup that the Vikings could take a flyer on.
Devery Henderson: Also turns 26 in March. This guy can fly, he also turned opportunity in production. He was behind Colston and Horn two years ago and still had a good year and was on many fantasy teams.
He won me a few games.
Henderson will probably get some play from other teams because of his big play ability.
I think we should also look at a legitamte pass catching tight end.
A young quarterback needs a good tight end to help them develop. I look at Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, and Derek Anderson, they all have good tight ends.
This is a tough year for tight ends, but maybe they could look in the middle rounds of the draft.
Great points Matt. I like Devery's big play potential, but I think if the Vikings are going to get rid of Williamson and upgrade the position, getting a guy who also drop balls would not enthuse the fan base.
That being said, he is intriguing as well as Terrance Copper.
I think the Vikes are hoping Shiancoe starts producing, because they did give him a big contract with some guaranteed cash-money. If they decide to go for a veteran, maybe they can get a cap-casualty like Alge Crumpler.
The sleeper might be Garrett Mills. Remember he was the guy Belicheck wanted to clear through waivers so he can be put on the team's developmental squad.
In his first 2 years of owning the Vikes Wilf has made almost 100 million. He cut back the team salary by 7% to start this year (with 25 million under the cap to spend). Now, beginning the 2008 season they will be 30 million under the cap and they are asking Birk to redo his final year. If that is not a sign that we won't be playing free agency I don't know what is. Wilf is all about investment, he wants his stadium and he won't spend until he gets it.
This is true and is what is fresh
I tend to agree on most points.. This guy gets it
Good Point, Wilf is a businessman not a football fan.
I say screw the Twins, Vikes, Wolves, and lets be like Green Bay and but just care about the Wild
I like the Wild organizaton, but I wonder if they too follow the almighty buck. Then again they are the only Twin Cities organization that are heading towards a plus .500 record in '08.
Go Wild! Hopefully they can finish as a top 4 seed.
Good for people to know.
Post a Comment