The Minnesota Vikings will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Vikings skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 14 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Sam Darnold, QB
Sam Darnold is the Wan’Dale Robinson of quarterbacks. He always seems to be on the fringe of being productive, never posting a big number but rarely falling completely flat.
Darnold has six top-15 finishes over his past seven games, but only two of those weeks have seen him check in better than QB9. He’s doing enough to get the Vikings wins, and that is why he was brought in.
This team doesn’t ask Darnold to put up big numbers, so why would we expect anything different? The Falcons own the second-lowest opponent aDOT this season, something that has me thinking we see something similar to last week (21-of-31 for 235 yards and two scores against the Cardinals).
That stat line is viable, but it’s a game of inches. He benefited from two touchdown tosses from five yards or closer; if one or both of those scores come on the ground, his fantasy standing drops in a meaningful way. Jared Goff and Brock Purdy have similar profiles — I have both of them ranked just ahead of Darnold when it comes to the back end of my QB1 tier.
Aaron Jones, RB
Aaron Jones has put the ball on the ground in three straight games (four fumbles in all, two lost) and doesn’t have a 15-yard carry in five of his past six games. Despite Week 13’s win over the Cardinals being a one-score game for all but roughly 3.5 minutes, the Vikings opted to put their fate in the hands of Sam Darnold (31 pass attempts) instead of their running backs (11 rush attempts), something that could be mirrored this week.
Through 13 weeks, the Falcons own the second-lowest opponent RB rushing touchdown rate, a strength that makes starting Jones a bit of an uphill battle, given that his ypc after contact is pacing for his lowest since 2018 and his PPR points per touch for a career-low (0.8).
I’m pessimistic about Jones’ outlook, but with the lead role and a level of versatility (3+ targets in four of his past five games), there’s enough of a floor here to plug him in as a low-end RB2 in a week with relatively few options due to injuries and bye weeks.
You’re playing him, but I wouldn’t count on an overly impactful afternoon.
Cam Akers, RB
Cam Akers remains the definitive handcuff to Aaron Jones and nothing more. He’ll slide into the back end of my RB2 rankings should Jones end up missing time for any reason, but he’ll remain comfortably outside of my top 30 any week that’s not the case, and that’s where we stand right now.
Jordan Addison, WR
Jordan Addison pled not guilty to summer DUI charges on Tuesday, ruling out any immediate suspension in the process. The legal process will have to run its course and we can react as that happens, but that’s now a concern for 2025.
The second-year receiver was the top scorer at the position in Week 12 (8-162-1 in Chicago) and, in true Addison form, followed it with an underwhelming showing that saw him finish the week outside of the top 40. He did something eerily similar earlier in the season as he gave us a WR55 finish on the heels of his only other top-10 performance of the season — and therein lies the problem with this player on this offense.
Sam Darnold isn’t the most consistent QB, and Addison is certainly hit or miss on a weekly basis. With T.J. Hockenson rounding into physical form, this profile gets even thinner, and that is why I consistently have him ranked lower than most.
This week is no different. Not only do the Falcons allow an NFL-low 9.6 yards per completion, but they rank 31st in pressure rate. In most instances, that would be a note presented with an optimistic tone, but not here. For the season, Addison is averaging 31.4% fewer points per target when Darnold isn’t under pressure, my thought being that more time to throw gives Minnesota’s two elite target earners more time to operate.
Addison isn’t fully off the Flex radar, but I’d rather take a shot on the two veterans in Chicago or take a spin on the Jameis-coaster in Cleveland.
Justin Jefferson, WR
Justin Jefferson has been held without a catch in consecutive first quarters, and while that’s not ideal, I think it’s a net positive long-term.
The slow starts tell me that Sam Darnold is progressing through his reads and playing the position with maturity. Sure, that’s meant a recent downtick in Jefferson’s production (four straight games with under 100 yards and six straight without a score), but if you take a step back and look at the big picture, you’ll realize that a QB operating like this will take full advantage of when Jefferson is winning his routes, something that happens in most situations.
Jefferson remains a top-five receiver moving forward and is on the short list of players who can lead the position in scoring as we come down the home stretch (Bears, Seahawks, and Packers to finish the season after this weekend).
T.J. Hockenson, TE
T.J. Hockenson was held under 50% of the offensive snaps in each of his first three games this season, as the team was cautious with his return after missing over 10 months. Hockenson’s snap share has been up over 64% in consecutive games now, and with the Vikings continuing to churn out victories, he’s trending in a great direction for fantasy managers.
His three catches for 28 yards against the Cardinals on Sunday was far from encouraging in terms of a box score. This is a situation where I’m favoring opportunity over production. With the playing time ticking up and six targets, I think we view Week 13 as a lost battle but a step toward winning the war.
Is Johnny Mundt scoring a knife turn we didn’t need? Yes. But without consistent usage for any of the receivers on this team not named Justin Jefferson, Hockenson is in a good spot to be a Tier 2 producer at the position for the final month of the fantasy season.