July 7, 2021

Year in and year out, Kirk Cousins proves to be the ultimate floor quarterback in fantasy leagues. Since joining the Vikings, Cousins has averaged 18.09 ppg in fantasy scoring and routinely finishes in the QB10-15 range in terms of overall points. In 2020, Cousins had arguably his most productive season as a starting quarterback, completing 67.6% of his passes and throwing for 4,265 yards with 35 touchdowns (a career-high) and 13 interceptions. Cousins doesn't provide much of a rushing upside like other quarterbacks, which is the reason he struggles to find a foothold as a locked-in top-10 quarterback in preseason rankings. Looking ahead to 2021, fantasy players should expect more of the same from Cousins. His top four receivers return, including record-setting rookie Justin Jefferson. Minnesota returns three of their starting offensive lineman and added Christian Darrisaw to be their starting left tackle in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Minnesota will continue to run their offense through Dalvin Cook, which should allow Cousins to hit Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and Irv Smith on play-action passes to keep the offense going. Cousins is currently being drafted as the QB16, which is very fair for a quarterback who is a near-zero in the run game in today's NFL. As always, 4,000 passing yards and 25+ passing touchdowns are a floor for Cousins if he remains healthy, making him an excellent QB2 with numerous start-worthy weeks throughout the season.--Dan Fornek