The Vikings have surprised everyone by beginning the season 3-0 coming into a tough NFC North showdown in Green Bay. Is their offense led by a resurgent Sam Darnold a mirage, or can it be trusted for fantasy production moving forward?
Coming into the season, I was actually very high on rookie QB J.J. McCarthy in the Vikings offense since it historically has been very pass-heavy under Kevin O’Connell. I love the Vikings’ playmaking options, but I had no faith at all that Darnold would be able to shake off his struggles from his time with the Jets.
He has started the season red hot, though, and has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback in each of the first three weeks of the season. Coming into Monday night’s doubleheader, which will conclude Week 3, he has the second-most fantasy points of any quarterback behind only Lamar Jackson of the Ravens.
Darnold has gotten progressively better each week and threw four touchdowns and no interceptions while leading the Vikings to a win over the previously undefeated Houston Texans.
Towards the end of that game, Darnold took a hit low on his leg from former-Viking Danielle Hunter. He needed imaging on Monday to determine the significance of the injury, but he is not expected to miss any time, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
This week will be a huge test for Darnold. He beat the Texans and 49ers the last two weeks, but both games were at home. This week, he’ll have to go on the road to face a Packers defense that has looked excellent the last two weeks in wins over the Titans and Colts.
Darnold’s Vikings are three-point road underdogs and the total for the game is set at 43.5.
Darnold is already a borderline QB1. I have him ranked as my No. 9 QB this week, and he could lock himself into that range with another strong showing. He brings a high ceiling with Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones and Jalen Nailor all making plays as receivers. He also will get even more options with Jordan Addison and later T.J. Hockenson returning from injury.
Even though he may be due some touchdown regression, this system made Kirk Cousins a star that threw plenty of touchdowns, and Darnold has looked very similar so far.
Darnold and the Vikings are only -180 to make the playoffs and +195 to win the NFC North. Darnold is +300 to win Comeback Player of the Year, the second-shortest odds behind only Aaron Rodgers at +100. He’s also even getting some MVP buzz, but he’s still a +3000 longshot to win that award.
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