The Minnesota Vikings‘ fantasy outlook takes a look at their run game, while the Detroit Lions‘ outlook wonders aloud if Jameson Williams is beginning to come into his own as a fantasy football asset.
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
- Spread: Lions -3
- Total: 45
- Vikings implied points: 21
- Lions implied points: 24
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff: Without multiple TD passes in three of his past four games, Goff is trending in the wrong direction. But he’s at home and in a goofy week ranking-wise. That’s all it takes to crack the top 10 for Detroit’s signal-caller.
This season, Goff has fired a touchdown pass on 6.9% of his passes at home compared to just 3.4% on the road. While his production in the first meeting (QB23) doesn’t jump off the screen at you, Detroit’s ability to possess the ball for over 38 minutes in that win could tweak Minnesota’s defensive approach and, thus, open up splash plays for this passing game.
Goff has averaged at least 8.0 yards per pass attempt in three of his past four indoor games. If he even approaches that number on Sunday, you’ll be happy to have plugged him in.
Running Backs
Ty Chandler: The Vikings as a team ran 11 times for 17 yards when these two teams played in Week 16. While that sort of inefficiency is difficult to project, the Lions do own the third-best per-carry run defense in the league, so it’s not as if their success was an outlier.
Chandler hasn’t been a top-30 running back in three of four games since the bye. With Minnesota pivoting back to Nick Mullens at halftime of their Week 17 loss, this looks like an offense that wants to count on the pass more than the run.
MORE: Soppe’s Early Fantasy Football Week 18 RB Rankings
Chandler’s path to posting the RB2 numbers that I believe he’s capable of is the passing game. He’s caught exactly three passes in three of his past four games and owns an 86.4% catch rate for the season.
It’s unlikely that Chandler breaks the slate, but a 15-touch, 70-yard performance has value and could be very useful if he can find paydirt against the fifth-worst red-zone defense.
Jahmyr Gibbs: With at least 15 carries in consecutive games for the first time this season, Gibbs is trending in a positive direction as any fantasy manager could realistically ask for.
Two weeks ago against Minnesota, he earned an RB3 ranking. I would worry about the fact that he doesn’t have more than 20 receiving yards in six straight, but in each of those games, he has a run gaining at least 15 yards. This gives access to splash plays by way of the handoff.
Gibbs is likely to be picked in the first three rounds next season, and it’ll be 100% justified. The Lions have worked this thunder-and-lightning approach in consecutive seasons to perfection, and Gibbs is an ideal fit.
David Montgomery: The veteran ran for his 12th score of the season last week, and he’s not just a bulldozer. He’s averaged north of 4.5 yards per carry in six of his past eight games, per the Week 18 Cheat Sheet.
Like Gibbs, he hasn’t been involved in the passing game — he’s yet to clear 22 receiving yards in a game — but with four straight finishes in the RB17-25 range, Montgomery’s status as a productive “Robin” next to “Batman Gibbs” has been solidified.
Wide Receivers
Justin Jefferson: The best receiver in our game is back, and with the Vikings in desperation mode, he figures to see as many looks as he can handle against the defense with the fifth-highest opponent pass rate above expectation.
The early-season injury put Jefferson’s managers in a bind, but assuming he’s healthy, he’s as good as it gets and will be a certain first-round pick in 2024.
Jordan Addison: The USC product will be a player I have my eye on come draft season, but I’m not overly interested in him this week – even against the sixth-worst defense, in terms of yards per attempt.
Amon-Ra St. Brown: The “Sun God” is likely to be a first-round pick next season, and I’d be willing to pay that premium.
He has scored in three straight games, including a Week 16 matchup with Minnesota, where he finished as the WR8, and he has recovered after a two-game dip in efficiency by catching 25 of 31 looks over his past three. There’s simply nothing St. Brown can’t do, and that versatility is what allows him to be a consistently elite option in all formats.
Jameson Williams: We have word that the ankle injury Williams suffered in the second half last week in Dallas is nothing to worry about. That means we can look to him as an upside Flex option in this spot.
The deep-ball threat hauled in a 63-yard catch last week on the heels of consecutive games with six-plus targets. The hope is for him to one day marry the big plays with the above-average volume — we just aren’t there yet. Still, either one separately holds enough value to warrant consideration in a wacky week like this.
Tight Ends
Sam LaPorta: The rookie just continues to impress, and you should have zero reservations about labeling him as an elite option at the position.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
LaPorta posted a season-high 12 targets against the Cowboys last week, and with eight of his nine scores coming at home, we’re looking at a potential week winner.
Williams is progressing a bit, but LaPorta looks the part of a strong fantasy TE for years to come. I have him as my TE5 right now for 2024.
Trending Start/Sit Searches
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use, and it allows you to enter up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, and we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity!
Should You Start Ty Chandler or Devin Singletary?
I expect both of these backs to hold a similar workload, but I trust Devin Singletary’s per-touch efficiency more, and his offense is the one I prefer to get exposure to this week. I have the Houston Texans projected for a more favorable game script, something that elevates the floor of their bell-cow back in a must-win game.
Should You Start Jameson Williams or Noah Brown?
I don’t mind either of these home-run-hitting options as a Flex play, but I slightly prefer Noah Brown’s role.
The WR1 in Houston’s offense is less of a target vacuum than the WR1 in Detroit. The TE position is less of a threat in Houston. The running game is less productive in Houston.
In comparing two players that I view similarly, give me the spot for Brown over that of Williams.
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