Fantasy Football Thursday Night Football Preview, Week 4

We have a pretty exciting Thursday Night Football match-up this week with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Los Angeles Rams so let’s break it all down!

Sometimes the Thursday Night Football game can be a slog and the match-up isn’t all that attractive but this is an exception to that rule. Two teams that were expected to compete for the NFC title this year clash on Thursday and they have gone different directions this year. The Vikings are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills while the Rams are tied for the third highest scoring team in the league. There’s a ton of fantasy players involved and we could see a high scoring game. In addition, a friendly reminder that if you play anyone from this game, put them in your RB and WR slots for your team. Always leave your flex spots open for Sunday in case you need them.

Minnesota Vikings

Things are not clicking yet for the Vikings. The offense is under 20 points a game and the defense ranks 17th, giving up 24 a game so far. Minnesota does have an opening here against the formidable Rams defense because they’re going to be without their two starting cornerbacks. With Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters out, the matchup gets even better for Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. It’s likely not by design, but Minnesota is only three pass attempts away from leading the league overall.

They went out and got Kirk Cousins for a reason and I wonder if they try to attack the Rams secondary since they’re missing the corners. Thielen is leading the Vikings in targets but this is a bounce back spot for Diggs. He faced Tre’Davious White last week and there is no such challenge this week. The entire passing is a start for me including Kyle Rudolph. He never comes off the field and is tied for the lead in red zone targets. Los Angeles has struggled against tight ends so far(19 receptions, 268 yards) which can be a byproduct of having elite cornerbacks. Everything is on the table for the Vikings and even though they mostly disappointed last week, they should be great options this week.

The running game is a bigger mystery. The first issue comes from not knowing yet who’s going to start this game. Dalvin Cook missed last week with his hamstring injury and it’s a little difficult to believe that he’s going to be ready on the short week. That doesn’t mean he can’t start, it’s just a toss up at this point. Even if he’s active, I’d prefer not to start him if I can. Given where you drafted Cook, that might not be possible but treat your lineup like Cook is more of a flex option than a high end RB2. Latavius Murray can’t be much worse than last week but he would also likely be a flex style option. The Rams are a bit of an enigma defending the run. Giving up 5.0 yards per carry isn’t very good but they’ve also faced the second least rushing attempts in the NFL. That’s likely due to the fact that the Rams light up the scoreboard and their opponents need to throw to keep up. Seeing as the Vikings defense hasn’t played well yet, I expect them to struggle a little bit in this spot.

Starters – Kirk Cousins, Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph

Possible Starters – Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray if he’s out

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams offense is sort of flying under the radar a little bit due to the smashing success of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense and the Saints putting up monster numbers. One of the best parts of the Rams offense is there is very little variation of where all the points go to. Of the 101 passing attempts from the Rams, a whopping 87 have gone to four players. Todd Gurley, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp are basically their entire offense. It shows in the fantasy production as well because all four of those players are in the top 30 in .5 PPR leagues.

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Now, Gurley is an elite back so there’s never a question with him. You start him anytime and anywhere. I’m totally comfortable staring any of the three receivers since they move this guys around quite a bit. Cooks might wind up seeing the most of Xavier Rhodes as Rhodes lines up on the right side the most and Cooks runs most of his routes from the left. Still, it only takes one play that he’s not being covered by Rhodes to make your day. I’m trusting the Rams offense/Sean McVay despite the tough match-up and the prime reason is the jump that Goff has taken.

His completion percentage is up by a whopping eight percentage points, his yards per game has jumped from 253.6 to 313.7, yards per attempt went from 8.0 to 9.3, the passer rating is up to 111.0 and he’s even taking fewer sacks. There is nothing to pick at with this offense and even Goff isn’t the worst starter this week, despite the talent on the Minnesota offense.

Starters – Todd Gurley, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp

Possible Starters – Jared Goff

Score Prediction – Rams 31, Vikings 27

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