The Minnesota Vikings (11-3) host the New York Giants (8-5-1) on Saturday afternoon in a matchup between two potential NFC playoff opponents.
Here’s a quick rundown of the fantasy football options in the game.
Vikings receivers
Minnesota is one of the most attractive teams in all of NFL fantasy right now averaging 29.7 points and 407 total yards per game over the last three weeks.
In season-long leagues, you’re in the playoffs right now, so play your Vikings and don’t look back.
In DFS, wide receiver Justin Jefferson is No. 1 at his position, averaging 25.3 for the season on DraftKings and has eclipsed over 30 FFPS in three of his last four.
The Giants will likely be without their top corner, Adoree’ Jackson, again and they have no one who can counter Jefferson, so he’s a must-play.
That doesn’t mean you should ignore the Vikings’ other two wide receivers (Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn) and their Pro Bowl tight end, T.J. Hockenson. They are all in play as well.
The Giants’ secondary is still missing Jackson and star safety Xavier McKinney, so I see them struggling in this game.
Cousins and Cook
If the Giants somehow shut down one or more of those weapons, it doesn’t mean curtains for quarterback Kirk Cousins. He has had two solid weeks in a row, albeit versus Indianapolis and Detroit — two weak pass defenses. Regardless, he is trending up.
The Giants have been pretty good against the pass, only allowing one quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards (Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence), and have allowed under 200 yards passing in five of their 14 games.
Running back Dalvin Cook has a plus matchup here against a soft Giants run defense. Only Green Bay has allowed more rushing yards in the past three weeks than the Giants, who are surrendering 192.3 yards per game.
Cook can be hot or cold, depending on the game script, but I’m thinking he’ll be hot here. The Giants have been awful against the run this year.
Giants options
Quarterback Daniel Jones has been mainly flat in fantasy this season unless he is up against a weak defense such as Detroit or Jacksonville. That’s the case this week against Minnesota, who is ranked 28th versus quarterbacks in DFS this year, so Jones could be a nice cheap play.
Running back Saquon Barkley was voted to the Pro Bowl based on his performance in the first half of the season. He went into a slump the past six weeks but broke out of it last week versus Washington. Minnesota is allowing a league-high 430 yards and 30.7 points per game over their last three, so play Barkley without hesitation.
The Giants’ receiving options are still shaky, but so is the Minnesota secondary. If you must, you can choose from Darius Slayton, Richie James, and Isaiah Hodgins. One of them will have a nice game, but which one?
The Giants’ defense scored 17 FFPS last week against Washington and just might take advantage of a sloppy Cousins in this one. Last week, Indianapolis racked up 23 FFPS despite allowing 39 points in the game.
Steer clear
The Minnesota defense has been terrible the past five games, averaging just 2.6 FFPS per game. The Giants are likely to move the ball at will against them in this game.
The Giants’ tight ends can’t be trusted, either. Daniel Bellinger has not contributed enough since coming back from his eye injury three weeks ago to have any confidence in right now.
