The Minnesota Viking had a whirlwind of a season last year, as they got off to a hot 5-0 start, but only won three of their following 11 games. Their roster was plagued with injuries, but with that, a number of young players stepped up, and began to make a name for themselves.

With a re-tooled roster, the Vikings look to challenge the perennial division champs of the NFC North, the Green Bay Packers. Armed with a pair of new running backs, this offense hopes to see marked improvement from a rushing attack that ranked dead last in yardage in 2016.

Let's examine the Vikings roster for 2017 and see what fantasy value can be gleaned here.

Minnesota Vikings 2017 Team Outlook

Offseason Moves

Notables Acquisitions: RB Latavius Murray, RB Dalvin Cook, WR Michael Floyd, WR Stacy Coley

Notable Losses: RB Adrian Peterson, RB Matt Asiata, WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson, CB Captain Munnerlyn

Quarterback

The biggest question the Vikings have, according to most in the media, is when Teddy Bridgewater will be back? Last year during training camp, he sustained a dislocated knee and a torn ACL during a drill at practice. This led to the Vikings trading for Sam Bradford, who played in 15 games for them. As of July 26^th, Bridgewater was on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and his status for the season is uncertain.

With Bradford set to take the helm once again, he must do so with a young receiving corps and retooled backfield. Last season, Bradford finished with 3,877 Yards, 20 touchdowns, only five interceptions, and a 99.3 QB rating. Bradford also posted a single-season record completion percentage of 71%, yet he is not viewed among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. The Vikings finished 28^th in total offense last season, with Bradford coming in at 16^th for most yards by a quarterback. After their quick start to 5-0 last year, the Vikings underperformed as a team; although Bradford did not, he also didn’t excel. He was very middling, and if he is leading the offense in their second year together, there must be improvement.

Running Back

The big offseason news was the departure of long time Pro-Bowler, Adrian Peterson. After 10 seasons with the team, the former first round pick has joined the Saints, after he had yet another season cut short by injury. With this void at in the backfield, the Vikings brought in Latavius Murray, who played his previous three season with the Oakland Raiders. Murray had a career high 1,066 rushing yards in 2015, followed by a meager, 788 yards last season, but it came with a career high 12 touchdowns. The Vikings desperately need help with their running game, as they finished worst in the league with only 1,205 total yards and only 3.2 yards per carry, which was also last.

The Vikings have Jerick McKinnon, who finished last season as their leading rusher, and is an interesting backup. He had many of his goal line touches and touchdowns, vultured away from him by Matt Asiata, much to the dismay of many fantasy owners. McKinnon is also a decent threat out of the backfield in the passing game, so he presents some good upside and is worth taking a shot on, in later rounds.

Dalvin Cook was the Vikings first-round pick this season, and the running back from Florida State is eyeing the starting role. Cook's main competition for the starting role is Murray, who was brought in as a free agent this season. Cook has seen plenty of playing time over the first few preseason games, and is looking good running the ball. In their game against Seattle, Cook rushed for 40 yards on seven carries. His pass catching ability out of the backfield is one of his weaknesses, but with Murray missing the first two preseason games, Cook stands for even more playing time. He is a good option for fantasy this season.

Long story short, the Vikings need to improve their running game significantly if they want any chance to make an impact in the real NFL, much less for us fantasy owners.

Wide Receivers

Minnesota has budding young talent out wide, along with an untapped second year player in Laquon Treadwell. Their top two receivers from last season were Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, both of whom finished last season with 900 receiving yards or more. Many fantasy owners know Diggs well, as he is a PPR machine, averaging nearly 6.5 receptions per game last season. He finished with only three touchdowns last year, and is projected for more this year, which makes him a hot commodity at wide receiver this season. Thielen lead the team in receiving yards, along with having 16 receptions of 20 yards or more. Thielen presents himself as a comfortable option in later rounds to help fill out your receiving core.

Now back to Laquon Treadwell, the potential future first string receiver for the Vikings. Treadwell was a first round pick in 2016, and had a very disappointing rookie season. He had a few injuries which hampered his playing time, but he did see the field for 80 offensive snaps in nine games. The disappointment came from the fact he had only one catch the entire year. The former Ole Miss standout has to prove himself this season, and the Vikings need the help, as the finished in the bottom half the league when it came to passing offense.

Tight End

One of the bright spots in the Vikings offense is seventh-year pro Kyle Rudolph. He finished last season with a career high 840 receiving yards, along with 83 receptions, which was also a career high. Rudolph is the seventh rated fantasy tight end coming into this year, and has shown to be one of the top fantasy options. Rudolph led the team with seven receiving touchdowns, while averaging five receptions and 52 yards per game. He makes a great pick as your fantasy tight end.

Kicker

The Vikings have had a significant amount of trouble when it comes to their kicking over the past few seasons. Last year they finished dead last in the league when it came to extra point percentage. Their kicker at the beginning of last season was Blair Walsh, who got cut after missing several field goals and extra points. Some believe he was still haunted by the missed 27 yard field goal vs the Seahawks in the playoffs the prior season. After cutting Walsh, the Vikings signed Kai Forbath, who played seven games with the Vikings, making all 15 of his field goals and 11 of his 14 extra points.

Defense/Special Teams

Despite losing eight of their last 11 games, the strong spot for the Vikings last season was their defense. They allowed the third fewest yards in the entire league, and the sixth fewest points per game. The defense is what often kept them in games, and it was the offense that was lacking. The defense held opponents to 22 or fewer points in 10 of their 16 games last season. They have a strong defense, which will be their building block as they move forward. Expect much of the same consistency from them this season, as they had a +11 turnover differential, which was tied for fourth best in the league.

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