Adam Thielen ACTIVE in Week 15

Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen is officially active and will return to the lineup in Week 15 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon. Thielen had missed the past five weeks due to a hamstring injury, but will be able to return for a big matchup for both sides in a crucial fantasy football week. Thielen wasn’t listed on the final injury report Friday and had gotten in full practices most of this week, so he shouldn’t be limited or on a snap count.

Fantasy Football Analysis: Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen

So first, let’s go over the magnitude of this game for the Vikings in the playoff race. Minnesota has a game on the Los Angeles Rams for the No. 6 seed in the NFC. They are also a game behind the Green Bay Packers for first in the NFC North. Thielen being back means he should go back to be the 1A option to Stefon Diggs’ 1B for QB Kirk Cousins.

Thielen won’t exactly have it easy. For one, the Vikings are on the road (it’s in L.A. and the Chargers have no homefield advantage, but the travel means something). The Chargers allow the third-fewest receiving yards per game (209.4) and allow little over 1.0 receiving TDs per game. Thielen should see plenty of cover corner Casey Hayward, which is a tough matchup as well. Plus, we can expect the Vikings to stick to their winning formula of handing the ball off to Dalvin Cook and controlling the clock for the defense.

All signs point to leaving Thielen on your bench, but I’d say unless you have a really good set of WRs in PPR, Thielen may have to play for you. We know Cousins likes to throw Thielen the ball, so his floor should be OK in PPR formats. If he can get some separation, he may be able to break one. In deep PPR formats, play Thielen as a FLEX or something. In shallow leagues, there’s gotta be a safer option.