Drafting this weekend?Check out our guide to drafting

your favorite Minnesota Vikings players before dropping a top pick on Adam Thielen or Dalvin Cook this season.More Vikings coverageVikings’ Kearse faces gun Danielle Hunter Jersey , drunken driving charges after arrestVikings’ Kearse apologizes, returns to work after weekend arrestPhotos of the Week: 10/20/19 – 10/26/19Vikings surge into second half thanks to Cousins, CookVikings Snap Counts: Penalties spoil Mattison’s big dayBe at least a little wary of Adam Thielen and Stefon DiggsIt’s time, regrettably, to pump the brakes <em>slightly</em> on the Vikings’ dynamic duo. Both Thielen and Diggs are currently being drafted as fringe WR1s after racking up 1,000-plus receiving yards and nine touchdowns each last season. That’s a pretty great fantasy line — Thielen finished as the WR7 in standard, while Diggs was the WR12. Both finished top-10 in targets. The high-flying Pittsburgh offense, which led the league with 689 pass attempts, was the only other unit to support two players targeted in the top 10 (Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster). The Vikings finished sixth with 606 pass attempts, while head coach Mike Zimmer mentioned, seemingly every week, his desire to run a more balanced offense. And while an improved offensive line and another year of familiarity for starting quarterback Kirk Cousins could offset these concerns, regression is a real worry. It may have started last season. Thielen was an elite fantasy option during the first half of 2018, going over 100 receiving yards in eight straight games and scoring six touchdowns. He was on pace to break the NFL receptions record. He had just 448 receiving yards and three touchdowns from Week 9 on. Don’t take them off your draft board, but if an overzealous Vikings fan decides to reach for Thielen or Diggs in the second round … well, that might work out in your favor.If you’re not, give Kirk Cousins a second lookOn the other hand, if you believe in Thielen and Diggs’ ability to set the world on fire again this year, you believe in Cousins by association. Last year’s QB13, Cousins is currently going as the QB18, with an ADP towards the end of 12-team drafts. There’s either significant value to be mined here, or an extreme overreaction happening in the case of Thielen and Diggs. The latter could be true (see above). The Vikings’ stated goal nearly every week last season was to run the ball more, while just three teams (The Vikings, Rams and Steelers) supported multiple 1,000-yard receivers last season. He struggled mightily at times in the second half Linval Joseph Jersey , but Cousins was the QB6 from Weeks 1-8, and averaged 20.6 points per game over that span in standard. If you’re hitching your fantasy team to either of his top targets, picking Cousins up as either a backup or a streaming option could pay dividends.If you’re going to draft Dalvin Cook, handcuff him with Alexander MattisonCook’s abilities aren’t up for debate, and with Latavius Murray out of the way he heads into 2019 as a clear-cut featured back. At RB10, that’s pretty solid value. The soft-tissue injuries to which Cook is prone, however, should give you pause. If they don’t, or if he falls and becomes tough to pass on, be sure to add Mattison as insurance. A third-round pick out of Boise State, Mattison rushed for 1,415 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, and would hold RB1/RB2 potential each week were Cook to go down at any point this season. The Vikings are giving Ameer Abdullah, Mike Boone and De’Angelo Henderson plenty of run in the preseason, so there’s a chance that this could devolve into a full-blown committee in Cook’s absence. Monitor the situation accordingly, but Mattison is a solid bet to assume a major role if Cook goes down.If you don’t land Cook, take a flyer Mattison anywayFor all those reasons, consider making Mattison a late-round lottery ticket regardless. Cook has appeared in just 15 of a possible 34 games since joining the Vikings in 2017, while his primary backup is going virtually undrafted as the RB51. And while a committee approach is possible if Cook goes down, the Vikings recently invested a third-round pick in Mattison, one of just three backs in FBS to crack 300 carries last season. If there’s another workhorse back on the roster, it’s Mattison.Kyle Rudolph is a good NFL tight end. There are better fantasy options.Rudolph could, conceivably, hold a certain appeal to Vikings fans from a fantasy perspective. He went off in his last fantasy-relevant outing — Week 16 at Detroit — racking up 122 yards and two touchdowns to finish as the TE2 in standard for the week. Meanwhile, there was a local outpouring of Rudolph love when it appeared the Vikings would deal him during contract talks. All Rudolph will cost you at this point is a roster spot — he’s going largely undrafted in standard — but there are better players to stash on your bench. Also cutting into Rudolph’s limited fantasy upside: Rookie Irv Smith Jr. Brett Jones Jersey , a second-round pick who had 710 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season.Stay away from Vikings kickers. Seriously.Should you take a Vikings kicker? No. Why? Because the team doesn’t even know what they’re doing at kicker. Minnesota traded a fifth-round pick for Kaare Vedvik on Aug. 11 and still haven’t figured out if he’s a punter or kicker. You don’t want to waste a draft pick on either Vedvik or Dan Bailey and have one of them not be on the roster Week 1.So, where are the Vikings being drafted?We looked at five leaders in the fantasy industry — ESPN, CBS, Yahoo Sports, Fantasy Football Calculator and Fantasy Pros — to search each site’s average draft position (ADP) assigned to Vikings players, based on the results of online drafts thus far.PLAYERESPNCBSYahoo!FFCFantasyProsOverall ADPRound (12-team draft)RB Dalvin Cook23.918.918.716.119.019.3Round 2, Pick 7WR Adam Thielen31.626.730.225.425.027.8Round 3, Pick 4WR Stefon Diggs40.237.436.738.937.038.0Round 4, Pick 2Vikings D/ST117.1105.592.3133.2129.0115.4Round 10, Pick 7QB Kirk Cousins160.6129.8125.6141.7141.3139.8Round 12, Pick 8RB Alexander Mattison169.4145.8129.4126.4154.0145.0Round 13, Pick 1TE Kyle Rudolph154.3138.3120.3162.1163.0147.6Round 13, Pick 4 It’s the weekend, wooooooooooo!!!!!!" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteDaily Norsemana Minnesota Vikings communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsLibraryVikingsOddsShopAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Vikings 2018 SeasonVikings 2019 OffseasonU.S. Bank StadiumMinnesota Vikings PodcastsFiled under:Open ThreadsMinnesota Vikings News and Links: June 8th and 9th, 2019New,205commentsIt’s the weekend, wooooooooooo!!!!!!CDTShareTweetShareShareMinnesota Vikings News and Links: June 8th and 9th, 2019Photo by Jason Miller/Getty ImagesGood Morning!OTA’s are now completed, the next time the team is going to be together is for mandatory minicamp from 11-13 June.After that it’s the desert of meaningful Vikings news until training camp starts later....the dates aren’t posted yet on Vikings.com that I can find.If anyone knows those dates please post them in the comments section.This weekend I’m going to the range for fun and to keep proficient with my hunting rifle so I’m ready for deer season, and will probably take the family out for dinner on Sunday; what are your plans this weekend?Meanwhile we’ll catch up on our NFC North opponents and then carry on with our news and links thread full of beer recommendations, nap strategies, crock pot and smoker recipes. Drop by for some fan wisdom, snark and have another beer or three, it’s the weekend!Around the DN since our last open thread:Which non-divisional foe causes the biggest challenge for the Vikings ponders Lucas.Fantasy Football: Where are Minnesota Vikings players being ranked? From the four letter network via Chris.Vikings news from other sources:From Vikings.com ‘Guys have bought into everything but we have a lot of work to do.’ Vikings S Jayron Kearse was wired for sound during an OTA practice earlier this week.Wobby talked with WR Chad Beebe after Thursday’s final OTA of the 2019 offseason to discuss the wide receiver position group as a whole, what he most needs to work on Dan Bailey Jersey , Kevin Stefanski’s leadership, his desire to play on special teams, and more.Wobby talked with S Anthony Harris after Thursday’s final OTA of the 2019 offseason to discuss how in his view the Vikings offense has changed from last season, what the defense accomplished during OTAs, a look ahead to training camp next month, and moreAlan Page, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, visited the TCO Performance Center Thursday and was presented with a donation of $40,000 for the Page Education Foundation from the Wilf Family.NFC North Roundup: At Pride of Detroit they are not posting new content as a sign of solidarity with the current Vox writers strike.I respect that and will not link articles from their site this week.At Windy City Gridiron Bears this a bad week for Mitch Trubisky takes.The Best Drive of the Year: How Nagy’s masterful play-calling saved the Bears’ 2018 season.The Bears have to get over the Eagles’ hump.Jay Cutler is good, but he’s no Sid Luckman (originally published in November 2015).Over at Acme Packing Company Packers announce plans to honor Bart Starr during week 2 game and with helmet decal, that’s the Vikings at Packers game in week 2.Cheese curds, 6/7: Packers DL Kenny Clark starting to gain recognition.Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’ plan to increase Davante Adams’ targets seems overambitious.Wednesday Walkthroughs: Packers’ best opportunities for revenge in 2019.-sidenote: it’s not going to happen this year either Jon-League news: Consistent with the weekend news and links I’ll post league news in the comments.We come to today’s media selection: Bush - MachineheadAgain, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:-No discussion of politics or religion-No feeding of the trolls-This isn’t a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)-Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags-No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer-If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away-While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm.With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up & tie one on. Don’t forget to tip your waiter, try the monotony and Welcome Aboard.