Can Norv Turner do for Cordarrelle Patterson what he helped do for Josh Gordon last season? Patterson remains a raw product but has major upside. Photo: Icon Sportswire

Data as of June 26 | Current Cheatsheets | Current Projections

NR = Not ranked

QB Matt Cassel

If he isn’t ready then the Vikings won’t rush Teddy Bridgewater, the team’s 1st round pick in this year’s draft, into the starting lineup, leaving Cassel the likely starter on opening day. It’s anyone’s guess as to how long he will hold onto the job. However, with the Vikings a near consensus pick to finish 4th in the NFC North, it seems likely Bridgewater will take over under center by the season’s midpoint. If Cassel hasn’t already proven that he has little fantasy value, Bridgewater’s presence should end that debate.

QB Teddy Bridgewater

Taken in the 1st round of this year’s NFL Draft, Bridgewater clearly represents the future for the Vikings at quarterback. The only question is how quickly the future arrives. Considered a potential top five pick in the NFL, Bridgewater’s status plummeted after a poor pro day, allowing Minnesota to draft him with the last pick of the 1st round. The Louisville product has decent size and escape ability, but needs to work on his accuracy and lacks elite arm strength. Nonetheless, he represents a clear upgrade over incumbents Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder. With a solid yet unspectacular cast of receiving options, and Adrian Peterson in the backfield, Bridgewater doesn’t rank as roster worthy even if he opens the season in the starting lineup. He does rank as a solid prospect in dynasty formats.

RB Adrian Peterson

One year after nearly breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single season rushing record, Adrian Peterson’s perceived fantasy value has taken a huge hit. Despite averaging over 100 total yards per game and finding pay dirt 11 times in 14 games, fantasy pundits seem to be expressing plenty of concern about his durability and ability to bounce back from an “off” season. It says here that reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. First off, Peterson posted 1,266 rushing yards and 171 receiving yards in what amounted to 12 games and parts of two others (he had just 22 touches combined in those two games). Secondly, hamstring, groin and foot injuries limited his effectiveness in several games last season. While offseason groin surgery is concerning, his performance in 2012 after suffering a torn ACL provides plenty of assurance regarding his body’s ability to return from injury. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner knows how to get the most out of a running back so look for Peterson to have a big year in 2014, with increased production in the passing game. Turner has stated that he wants to get Peterson the ball in space so look for him to catch at least 40 passes (his career high was 43 set back in 2009). While there might be plenty of talk about Peterson’s potential demise, it’s hard to forecast him being taken later than the 3rd overall pick in many fantasy drafts.

RB Matt Asiata

Although the Vikings used a 3rd round pick on Jerick McKinnon, Asiata is more likely to assume a heavy workload if Adrian Peterson were to be lost to injury given his bigger size. He was respectable subbing in for AP during Weeks 15 and 17 last year, totaling 44 carries for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, Asiata has an extremely limited upside and brings little playmaking ability to the table. At best, you could say he gets what is blocked. The truth is that he isn’t good enough to attract attention from opposing defenses and that likely helps his fantasy value as a handcuff. With Asiata in the lead to back up Peterson, AP owners should grab him with a late round pick on draft day.

RB Jerick McKinnon

The Vikings used a late 3rd round pick to acquire McKinnon and it seems that was a bit of a reach. While McKinnon clocked in at 4.41 in the 40 at the combine, he is on the small size at 5’9” and 209 pounds and wasn’t great at making tacklers miss during his career at Georgia Southern. He also failed to catch many passes in college, totaling just 10. As a rookie, McKinnon will compete with Matt Asiata for the crumbs that Adrian Peterson leaves behind. If he wins that battle, AP owners will want to add him to their rosters late in their drafts.

WR Cordarrelle Patterson

Taken in the 1st round of the 2012 draft, Patterson contributed little during the Vikings first 12 games before filling up the stat sheet during their final four contests with 215 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns, 129 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Patterson’s obvious playmaking ability and his lack of competition for targets amongst Minnesota’s receivers makes him an obvious breakout candidate but there are no guarantees that will happen in 2013. There are some red flags to be sure. First off, Patterson will be learning a new offense with Norv Turner now in Minnesota. While he may be a good fit in Turner’s offense given his size and speed, Patterson remains a raw product, having caught just 45 of his 78 targets last season despite a high proportion of them coming on short and intermediate routes. And we haven’t even gotten to the Vikings quarterback situation. Consider Patterson a mid-tier WR3 with major upside but keep in mind that he is going to have weeks that are going to hurt your fantasy squad given that a decent portion of his fantasy production comes on running plays.

WR Greg Jennings

After moving from the Green Bay Packers to the division rival Vikings, Jennings had an uneven season during his first year in Minnesota. Expected to assume the number one wide receiver position, Jennings caught 68 passes for just 804 yards and four touchdowns. At 30 years of age (31 in September), Jennings has now failed to top 1,000 receiving yards for three straight seasons and is unlikely to hit that milestone in 2014. While the Vikings subpar play at quarterback can be blamed for some of his troubles, that situation isn’t expected to see drastic improvement this season and it is worth noting that 43.5 of Jennings 104.4 fantasy points came in two games last season. In his other 13 games, he amassed just 549 yards and one touchdown. Given that Jennings lacks the size that new offensive coordinator Norv Turner prefers in his receiver, it won’t be a surprise if this is his last year as a Viking. Consider him a low end WR4.

WR Jerome Simpson

The quintessential one-trick pony, Simpson is purely a deep threat capable of stretching defenses with his speed. In his 2nd season in Minnesota, he posted respectable numbers, catching 48 passes for 726 yards and one score, although it took him 100 targets to get there. That’s not very efficient, folks. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise since Simpson has failed to catch more than 50% of his targets for three consecutive years. It’s also worth noting that, despite his outstanding speed, Simpson has just five touchdowns out of his 124 receptions over the past three years. With Cordarrelle Patterson ascending to the starting line up and Greg Jennings lining up opposite him, Simpson figures to see a reduction in usage in 2014, rendering him more or less useless from a fantasy perspective.

WR Jarius Wright

Having traded Percy Harvin to the Seahawks, Wright seemed destined for a larger role in 2013 working out of the slot. Unfortunately, the 5’10”, 182 pound 2012 4th round pick only saw a minimal increase in his targets with 43 compared to 36 during his rookie season. Although Wright has hauled in 48 of his 79 targets (a respectable completion rate of 60.8%) for 744 yards (averaging a solid 15.5 yards per reception) and five touchdowns, he hasn’t been given a larger role even with Greg Jennings and Jerome Simpson having their struggles in 2013. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner doesn’t have a reputation of making diminutive slot receivers key cogs in his offense which limits Wright’s upside. He isn’t worth owning in redraft formats.

TE Kyle Rudolph

Will Rudolph’s name be added to the long list of tight ends that have flourished in Norv Turner’s offense? Good question. On the one hand, Jay Novacek caught balls from Troy Aikman and Antonio Gates had Philip Rivers at quarterback. On the other, Jordan Cameron was productive during Turner’s only season in Cleveland with a cast of journeyman quarterbacks. The Cameron situation more closely approximates Rudolph’s although it would be foolhardy to suggest that his ability as a receiver matches Cameron’s. If you’re reading the tea leaves here, you can see where we’re headed. While Rudolph is clearly worth taking a flier on as your TE2, we’re not predicting a breakout season for him or even TE1 status. Keep in mind that this is a player that has never topped 500 receiving yards during his three years in the league.