Vikings fantasy outlook: Bet on Jefferson to bounce back

With three games left to play, it is crunch time for the 6-7 Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota hosts the Chicago Bears on Sunday and with so little margin for error in the wild card race, the Vikings could be in store for some memorable performances.

There is also very little margin for error in the fantasy playoffs, but we’re here to help figure out who to start and who to sit.

Each week, we 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 15 shakes out:

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

QB Kirk Cousins: 🏈🏈🏈

Cousins was solid against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, picking up 41 yards on the ground and passing for 225 with a score. Now he’s up against the stingy Bears defense, so he’s an easy bench this week, right? Well, not so fast. Chicago’s defense has given up the 11th-fewest points to fantasy quarterbacks, which is closer to average than the best. Cousins also tossed for 292 yards and two touchdowns in the teams’ first game this season, so don’t bench him based on the matchup.

RB Dalvin Cook: 🏈🏈🏈🏈

Cook should be able to eat up some yards against Chicago. He likely won’t have an elite outing, but the Bears have given up at least 90 rushing yards in four of their last five games. No. 33 got 30 carries in his first game against the Bears this season and toted the rock 22 times against Tampa. Coach Zimmer is going to keep feeding Cook and that is good news if he is on your fantasy team.

WR Adam Thielen: 🏈🏈🏈

Thielen had a down performance against the Bucs with three catches for 39 yards and faces a Chicago defense that is fourth-best against wideouts, so on paper, it would be simple to bench him. He has only surpassed 75 receiving yards in a game once in his past six contests, but he has five receiving touchdowns in that span as well, showing his low yardage can be replaced with touchdown points in your lineup. Start Thielen but don’t expect a career performance.

WR Justin Jefferson: 🏈🏈🏈🏈

Jefferson is freaking awesome, okay. He’s the first Vikings rookie receiver to pass 1,000 yards since Randy Moss and in his five games prior to the loss in Tampa Bay, he was averaging six catches for 95.2 yards and a touchdown. Jefferson is coming on strong and was able to roast Chicago in Week 10 with eight catches for 135 yards. The LSU product should be able to haul in a few deep throws against a Bears defense that gives up 6.7 yards per pass attempt, ranking 13th in the league. He did not have the best stat line against the Buccaneers but he is worth sticking with each week.

TE Irv Smith Jr.: 🏈🏈

Smith had a great game (four catches, 63 yards and one TD) vs. Tampa Bay after missing the past two games with groin and back injuries. It was an encouraging step from Smith, but the consistency is not there yet. He only made five receptions in the three games he played before the Buccaneers game.

Vikings D/ST: 🏈🏈

Beware, beware the Bears’ new high-flying offense is here! Chicago has scored at least 30 points in its last two games and, sarcasm aside, it appears that Mitchell Trubisky’s return as starting quarterback has given the team a lift. Trubisky started against the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 and the Bears have gone on to score 30.3 points per game in their last three with him under center, up from 16.7 ppg in the seven games started by Nick Foles. The Bears’ offense is less feeble than it was in Week 10 and a Minnesota defense that gave up 280 yards to Mike Glennon and could be without Eric Kendricks on Sunday will surrender some yards and fantasy points to Chicago.

CHICAGO BEARS

QB Mitch Trubisky: 🏈🏈🏈

As previously mentioned, Trubisky has stepped it up since regaining the starting job. The Bears offense has operated better and he’s been able to put up decent numbers, averaging 258.6 yards and 2.3 touchdowns per game while completing 67% of his throws in his past three. It’s still Trubisky, and if you’ve made it this far in the fantasy playoffs you probably didn’t there with him leading the way. Just a wild guess. But if you’re looking for someone likely available on the waiver wire, he’s worth a look

RB David Montgomery: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Similar to Trubisky, Montgomery has also played well in the last three weeks. He topped 100 rushing yards twice in his past three games with three scores on the ground and has 12 catches for 121 yards and a TD in that span. Minnesota’s defense gives up the 13th-fewest amount of fantasy points to running backs, but that is not significant enough to bench Montgomery.

WR Allen Robinson: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Robinson has also passed the 1,000-yard mark after adding 272 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the past three games. He has reached at least 74 yards in those games and has clearly benefitted from Trubisky being back. Plus, he’ll get to play a Vikings defense that allows the most fantasy points to wide receivers in the NFL.

Bears D/ST: 🏈🏈🏈🏈

The Bears defense has had some rough games recently, giving up 41 to Green Bay in Week 12 and 34 to the Detroit Lions in Week 13. Still, they’ve held teams under 20 points six times this season and have forced 14 turnovers in 2020. Minnesota has also experienced some field goal trouble in its last two games, which could lead to fewer points on the scoreboard for the Vikings.