It’s been a season of peaks and valleys for Vikings QB Kirk Cousins. After failing to post more than 14.32 FPTS in Weeks 1-4, Cousins finally has the passing game going with three straight performances of 20+ FPTS, including back-to-back with at least 30. Now, this has come against sub-par secondaries in the Giants, Eagles and Lions, respectively, but it’s clear the Vikings want to have a more balanced offensive attack after riding RB Dalvin Cook for most of the season. It’s also not all that surprising that Cousins has turned things around; he had completed over 70% of his passes in Weeks 3 and 4 despite low FPT totals, it’s just one game was a blowout (vs. OAK) and the other was vs. the Bears (not an easy matchup).

Fantasy Football Analysis, Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

So let’s look at Thursday night’s matchup vs. Washington. We already know the Vikings will be without WR Adam Thielen (hamstring). This may skew Minnesota more towards the run — plus the game script may dictate that a bit anyway — but Olabisi Johnson showed plenty of promise filling in for Thielen in Week 7 vs. the Lions. Considering Washington’s on the road and is allowing 236 passing yards and 25.1 points per game, this sets up nicely for the Vikings offense overall, particularly Cousins.

We’ve seen Washington give up a lot of big plays in the passing game, so Stefon Diggs is the most logical partner in DFS to pair with Cousins. I worry a bit about his ceiling though, given we could see a lot of Cook on the ground and even Alexander Mattison if Minny goes up big early. Still, Cousins is most likely someone who you are looking to stream, and he’s a great option given he should have a safe floor and the sky’s the limit.

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