Vikings fantasy football outlook: Another Dalvin Cook game in store vs. Bears?

Dalvin Cook is a bad, bad man.

If you have Cook on your fantasy football roster, lucky you. The back-to-back recipient of the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award could probably singlehandedly carry you to postseason fantasy glory.

Cook will look to do the same Monday night against the Chicago Bears.

Each week, we’ll take a look at the players with fantasy value on the Vikings and their opponent. Player matchups are graded on a 1-5 scale of football emojis, from “don’t even think about starting him” (?) to “you’re a fool if you bench this guy” (?????).

Here’s how Week 10 shakes out:

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

QB Kirk Cousins: ?

Cousins has been a game manager the past two weeks, handing the ball off to Cook and, like all of us, watching him go to work in the backfield. There’s no reason for offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak to stray away from that strategy. Cousins is averaging just 17 pass attempts over the last two games, both resulting in Vikings wins. Last season, Cousins threw the ball for an average of 29.6 times per contest. While the game-managing role probably bodes well for Cousins’ career, it doesn’t do much for his fantasy value. And plus, ever since he joined the Vikings, Cousins is 0-3 against Chicago. He’s also never won on Monday Night Football in nine tries. Oof.

RB Dalvin Cook: ?????

It’s going to take more than the NFL’s 14th-ranked rushing defense to stop the red-hot Cook. He leads the NFL in rushing yards per game (122.6) and has scored more total touchdowns (12) than four starting quarterbacks have thrown for – Carolina’s Teddy Bridgewater (11), Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow (11), Indianapolis’ Philip Rivers (10) and Chicago’s Nick Foles (10). In three meetings with the Bears, Cook has never rushed for more than 39 yards, but we think that storyline changes Monday night.

WR Adam Thielen: ???

Chicago has been stellar against receivers in 2020. The Bears have allowed the fewest touchdowns to wideouts (3) and the fourth-fewest yards per game (143.4) to the position. To make matters worse, in three matchups against the Bears since Cousins arrived in 2018, Thielen is averaging four catches for 36.7 yards with no scores. His struggles can be linked to Cousins’ troubles, of course. We’re giving him a three-football rating, though because he still ranks second in the league with a 42.5% share of the Vikings’ air yards.

WR Justin Jefferson: ??

All of the stats above — how Chicago has allowed a mere three touchdowns and 143.4 yards per contest to wide receivers — work against Jefferson. So does his decreasing role in the offense, as the rookie has played 65% or less of Minnesota’s snaps in back-to-back weeks. Be cautious here.

TE Irv Smith Jr. or Kyle Rudolph: ??

While Chicago has been lights out against wideouts, the Bears have allowed a touchdown to tight ends in three straight games and six of nine contests overall. Chicago has also surrendered 52.6 yards per game to the position, which ranks 22nd in the NFL. Smith has twice as many red-zone targets (6) as the next Vikings player (Jefferson, with three), so we’ll lean towards Smith this week. After all, he’s coming off his first multi-score game.

Vikings D/ST: ???

Well, well, well. It appears head coach Mike Zimmer has found his magician’s hat again. Zimmer’s inexperienced secondary of Kris Boyd, Jeff Gladney and Chris Jones will face their easiest task yet — a clash with Foles and the hapless Bears offense. It should be a piece of cake after facing Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers in consecutive weeks, right? Chicago ranks 29th in total offense (317.8 yards per game) and are one of four teams to average fewer than 20 points per contest. And the Bears have coughed up the ball 12 times, tied for eight-most in the NFL. That’s right. The Vikings defense is (gasp!) start-able on Monday night.

CHICAGO BEARS

QB Nick Foles: ?

Quarterbacks have scored the fourth-most fantasy points against the Vikings, but Foles is no ordinary QB. He’s a bit worse than ordinary. Last week marked the first time the former Super Bowl MVP threw for multiple scores without also gifting an interception to the defense. In six starts, Foles is averaging 259.7 yards with 1.2 touchdowns and 1.0 interception. That’s not great. The only time Foles tossed three scores this season was Week 3 when he came in relief for Mitchell Trubisky. Monday night likely won’t be a get-well game for the Bears’ offense, unfortunately.

RB David Montgomery: ??

Every time it seems Montgomery is primed for a breakout game, he falls flat. Despite being on the field for at least 85% of the snaps in six of the last seven weeks, Montgomery logged more than 58 rushing yards just once and scored exactly once in that span. Note: Montgomery left last week’s loss to Las Vegas late in the game with a head injury and is in concussion protocol. Monitor his status throughout the week.

WR Allen Robinson: ????

Robinson gets the usual Thielen/Jefferson treatment – despite all of his quarterback’s shortcomings, he’s still a reliable fantasy option. In the seven games Foles has appeared under center (which includes six starts and a relief appearance in Week 3), Robinson has logged 70+ receiving yards or scored in six of them. While Minnesota’s young secondary is showing surprising improvement, they won’t be stopping No. 12 on Monday night.

TE Jimmy Graham: ???

Wait, Graham is still in the league? Yes, yes he is. He’s actually coming off his best game as a Bears player, catching six balls for 55 yards and a score against Tennessee. Minnesota has only allowed three tight ends to find paydirt, but those have come in the last four weeks. Plus, the Vikings are surrendering the fourth-most receiving yards to tight ends. There should be some opportunities for Graham on Monday night.

Bears D/ST: ???

And we’ve finally arrived at the sole reason for Chicago’s five wins in 2020. The defense. The Bears rank in the top 10 in total yards (335.1) and points (21.1) allowed per game. We’d be cautious of starting any defense against Cook, the hottest player in the NFL, but Minnesota’s annual meltdown at Soldier Field is right on schedule.