Steve Palazzolo recommended keeping the Vikings defense on your DFS and betting radar after Minnesota added interior disrupters Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen to Brian Flores' scheme. Palazzolo emphasized that both tackles have previously produced top-three PFF pass-rush grades among interior linemen, and their presence should finally let Flores rely on a standard four-man rush instead of constant blitzing that opposing offenses eventually adjusted to last year. Operating with a first-contract quarterback gives the club cap flexibility, so the front office was willing to assume the injury/age risk on Hargrave and Allen in exchange for high-end upside. Palazzolo expects a significant jump in pressure rate and sack totals, making the Vikings a viable streaming defense in season-long formats, a value DST play in DFS slates with soft pricing, and a team whose sack or turnover props could be worth targeting early in the season before the market fully adjusts.

Chris Raybon said he is leaning UNDER on Minnesota’s 2025 win total (market 8.5) and will almost certainly have some sort of fade ticket in pocket by the time camps open. He only projects 7.9-8.0 victories and rattled off a laundry list of red flags. First, the schedule: his numbers make it the third-hardest in the league with a post-bye gauntlet of Eagles, at Chargers, at Lions, Ravens, at Packers, at Seahawks, Cowboys, Giants, plus two more with Detroit. Second, regression: the Vikings went 9-1 in one-score games and out-kicked their Pythagorean expectation by 2.9 wins; since 2002 teams that over-perform by two or more wins have cashed their OVER only 32 % of the time the next season (14-30-3). Third, Kevin O’Connell will be breaking in rookie QB J.J. McCarthy after the club alternated 14- and 7-win seasons the past two years—Raybon thinks 2025 looks much closer to the seven-win side of that pendulum. Add in an early Week-6 bye that forces McCarthy to navigate the hardest part of the slate with minimal downtime and Raybon sees far more downside than upside on the current number.

JSU contrasted the Bengals and Vikings passing attacks and concluded the Minnesota stack is far cheaper and therefore sharper in Best Ball tournaments. To land all the key Bengals you must burn premium picks—Ja'Marr Chase inside the top-5, Joe Burrow around pick 45, and Chase Brown near the 3-4 turn—making it "a lot to use on one stack." By comparison you can grab Justin Jefferson in Round 1 and then wait several rounds for Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, keeping draft capital free for other upside swings. JSU argued that cost efficiency matters because you still capture legitimate shoot-out upside without sacrificing roster depth elsewhere.

JSU advised targeting Jordan Addison whenever you start drafts with Justin Jefferson because the Vikings’ pieces are "spread out" in ADP, making the stack cheap and powerful. He reminded listeners that Kevin O’Connell’s pass-centric scheme just turned Sam Darnold into a near $100 million quarterback on the open market, so Addison walks into a wide-open WR2 role opposite a top-two receiver on what JSU calls a "legit, really talented" offense. With T.J. Hockenson commanding attention between the hashes and veteran Aaron Jones added to keep drives alive, JSU envisions a large jump in both target share and red-zone looks for Addison, projecting multiple spike weeks that will be critical in Best Ball tournaments while he still lingers in the seventh-to-eighth-round range.

Matthew Wiley said he is locking in Justin Jefferson with the second overall pick whenever he drafts from that slot, arguing the Vikings star provides the "safest" elite-wide-receiver separation on the board. He believes Jefferson is set for a "monster year" if healthy and sees no reason to take any other player over him except Ja'Marr Chase at 1.01. Wiley’s board currently ranks Jefferson 2, Saquon Barkley 3 and CeeDee Lamb 4, underscoring how aggressively he is prioritizing Minnesota’s alpha in 2025 Best Ball builds.

Cody Woodman said the market is sleeping on Aaron Jones after he fell an entire round past ADP in their draft room. Jones lands in Minnesota at the exact moment rookie QB J.J. McCarthy badly needs a reliable run game; Woodman expects Kevin O’Connell to mimic last year’s Sam Darnold script by leaning on the ground attack and easy swing passes to keep the rookie on schedule. Jones has averaged 5.1 yards per carry for his career and handled 50+ receptions in three different seasons, giving him both rushing volume and pass-game floor. With no proven competition (Ty Chandler and rookie Irving are change-of-pace types), Woodman projects 15-18 touches per week and sees little risk at a price that now sits more than 12 picks below his summer high.

Billy Jones pushed back on the Jefferson fade, saying he is still comfortable scooping the All-Pro at the 1.02/1.03. Jones trusts Kevin O’Connell’s track record of elevating quarterbacks—pointing to how the coach revived Sam Darnold’s career last season—and believes a full red-shirt year in the system gives JJ McCarthy a smoother learning curve than typical rookies. Jefferson’s target dominance (career 30% share) and elite route-win rate make him "quarterback-proof," and the Vikings’ pass-heavy approach (63% neutral-situation pass rate in 2023, fourth-highest) should remain intact. Jones argued that even if efficiency dips, volume will keep Jefferson among the weekly ceiling scorers BBM teams need in Weeks 15-17.

Cody Woodman advised passing on Justin Jefferson at the 1.01–1.03 turn, arguing the market is ignoring serious quarterback downside. Woodman doubted rookie JJ McCarthy can replicate the 4,200 yards and 35 TDs Sam Darnold produced in Kevin O’Connell’s offense last year, noting McCarthy never ran a high-volume passing attack at Michigan. He added that the Minnesota offense is less condensed than drafters think: Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and pass-catching back Aaron Jones will siphon targets, and Addison could still face a three-game DUI suspension that would disrupt weekly game plans. With those variables and a rookie QB learning on the fly, Woodman prefers diversifying early-round exposure to RBs like Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley instead of loading up on Jefferson shares.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound argued that the room is overreacting to Aaron Jones’ age and completely missing his touch upside in Minnesota. Jones logged 306 touches last year and, according to Pat, "is easily the 1A" in Kevin O’Connell’s new, run-heavy offense that will look to protect rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy the same way the 2023 Panthers protected Sam Darnold. Pat dismissed concerns that Ty Chandler or Kene Nwangwu will siphon goal-line work, noting any spell back will only handle full drives when Jones is resting. Pat projects "at least 200 touches" for Jones and called him a smash at pick 85 because that volume normally costs two full rounds earlier in Underdog’s Greyhound lobby.

Ferrall likes Justin Jefferson at +1600 for Offensive Player of the Year. He called Jefferson ‘unguardable’ and said the only thing holding him back has been a revolving door at quarterback. With Minnesota finally expecting stable, healthy quarterback play, Ferrall believes Jefferson could explode for another record-challenging season, and he sees 16-to-1 as a bargain given the receiver’s talent and past production.

Andy Holloway pushed back on the idea of comfortably slotting Aaron Jones in as your RB2. While he trusts Jones to dominate passing-down snaps—Minnesota still declined to throw to Jordan Mason in San Francisco because of his "stone-hands" reputation—Holloway worries about Kevin O’Connell employing a weekly hot-hand approach now that Mason is in town. Jones is coming off a career-high 317 opportunities at age 30, and Holloway noted the veteran has battled lower-body injuries for years. The offense’s overall efficiency hinges on rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, another layer of variance. Holloway pegged Jones’ ceiling around last year’s RB15 finish but set a downside scenario outside the top-30 if the workload splits 60/40 or an injury strikes. He cautioned drafters who take rookie-heavy swings in the same draft pocket to recognize how fragile Jones’ profile is relative to his RB2 price tag.

Mike Wright labeled Aaron Jones the quintessential 2025 wild-card but reminded drafters that the veteran quietly finished as RB16 last year, averaging 11.1 PPR points on a career-high 317 opportunities. Minnesota extended Jones and then traded for Jordan Mason—who averaged 5.6 YPC and 95 rushing yards per game through Week 7 in San Francisco—creating uncertainty. Wright noted Jones still handled 70% of the Vikings’ backfield snaps in the second half and dominated passing-down work (59 targets, 83% route participation when active). With Kevin O’Connell’s offense ranking top-12 in both plays per game and red-zone trips the past two seasons, Wright believes Jones retaining even a 65/35 split would lock in mid-RB2 numbers. Current ADP sits in the late 6th round on Sleeper; Wright called that a "free square" for managers who started WR-heavy or paid up for an elite QB/TE.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said he is intentionally overweight on Justin Jefferson because the 2024 fantasy playoffs line up perfectly for the Vikings star. Jefferson draws Detroit in a dome and the Giants in Week 16 – two matchups Pat considers ‘good games’ for ceiling outcomes. He believes those indoor/soft-secondary spots give Jefferson a better chance at the 30-point spike weeks needed to win Underdog’s Puppy finals, so he is comfortable continuing to draft Jefferson at pick 4 even though he is already at 16.7 % exposure.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said drafting Aaron Jones at pick 89 is "easy money." He reminded viewers the veteran logged nearly 300 touches last season and immediately pushed Ty Chandler to the side once healthy. Pat projected a very reachable 225-touch workload in Minnesota, arguing Kevin O’Connell will lean on Jones to take pressure off rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy and stabilize the offense. That volume alone would smash Jones’s late-eighth/early-ninth-round ADP without requiring a career year. Because Jones still owns goal-line equity and the Vikings face two projected shoot-outs indoors during the fantasy playoffs, Pat sees him as the perfect hero-RB anchor that lets drafters keep hammering wide receivers early. He also noted the pick creates natural Week-17 correlation with Jordan Addison, adding a portfolio bonus beyond the raw closing-line value.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound selected Jordan Addison in the mid-50s and emphasized the Vikings’ dream playoff itinerary: Week 16 at Detroit’s Ford Field and Week 17 hosting Dallas in U.S. Bank Stadium—both fast indoor tracks. Pairing Addison with earlier CeeDee Lamb exposure delivers what Pat called a “double-dome ping-pong stack” capable of producing correlated shootouts in back-to-back elimination weeks. With Justin Jefferson drawing bracket coverage, Pat expects Addison’s route participation to climb above last year’s 87% and projects an 18%–20% target share that can pop inside against Detroit’s shaky slot corners. He urged drafters to grab Addison whenever he falls past ADP 55 to lock in that unique indoor bring-back alongside top-end closing-line value.

Davis Mattek advocated spending the final wide-receiver slot on rookie Tai Felton. The third-rounder lands in a pass-heavy Vikings offense and could leapfrog Jalen Nailor if Jordan Addison misses time late in the year. Mattek painted the unlikely but plausible scenario where Felton starts Week 17 opposite Justin Jefferson and rips off a 20-plus-point outburst that swings Best Ball Mania finals. He prefers that kind of maximum-ceiling lottery ticket over veterans who can’t realistically win the tournament for you.

Mike Wright argued that dynasty gamers should move T.J. Hockenson for higher-ceiling rookies like Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland while the veteran still retains name value. Wright called Hockenson a "usable guy" but noted his career ceiling is only 960 yards and six touchdowns—numbers that required 129 targets in 2023 and still left him at 11.5 points per game. He reminded listeners that the former first-rounder has never posted double-digit scores and is now 28 coming off a major knee injury. By contrast, rookie prospects offer the spike-week profile he wants from the position; if they hit, they can give Sam LaPorta-style top-end outcomes that actually swing weekly matchups. Wright added that even last season Hockenson produced two duds in his first four games back and then "the wheels completely fell off," underscoring limited upside. With dynasty leagues rewarding long-term ceiling more than floor, Wright urged managers to convert the reliable but capped asset into younger lottery tickets before another middling year erodes his market.

Andy Holloway said dynasty managers should hang on to T.J. Hockenson rather than roll the dice on rookie names like Colston Loveland or Tyler Warren. Holloway pointed to three years of contractual security and the third-most guaranteed money remaining among all NFL tight ends as proof Minnesota is married to him at least through 2026. Even in a "down" 2023 he was the TE4 in only 15 games and averaged 11-plus PPR points, a mark most tight ends never touch. Holloway emphasized the positional scarcity: outside Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and an aging George Kittle, there simply are not many bankable weekly starters. Historical hit rates back him up—most seasons add zero difference-making rookies at the position. With a healthy return from knee surgery and first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy expected to keep the offense viable, Holloway projects another 115-target, 80-catch pace that locks in a mid-tier TE1 floor for at least two more seasons, something the rookies are statistical long-shots to match.

Overzet said he takes T.J. Hockenson every time he’s available in this mid-round pocket because the move instantly completes a premium double-stack with Justin Jefferson while solving the thin tight-end position. Minnesota finished top-10 in yards per play last season, and Overzet expects rookie passer J.J. McCarthy to keep the offense humming. Grabbing Hockenson at ADP protects Jefferson drafters from getting shut out of the stack later and bakes in correlated ceiling for the playoff weeks.

Pete Overzet noted that J.J. McCarthy’s ADP is all over the place—he has seen him go as early as 110 to Justin Jefferson drafters and fall into the 130s in other rooms—creating a buying window for managers who already own Vikings skill players. Because his roster carried Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, Overzet preferred McCarthy over Michael Penix at pick 130, calling the move a cheap way to assemble a ‘Minnesota megastack.’ He added that with Josh Allen already locked in as QB1, drafters don’t need McCarthy to start every week; they just need a couple of spike games down the stretch, which lines up with late-season rookie improvement trends. The takeaway: if you already have Vikings pass catchers, wait for McCarthy’s slide and grab him in the 11th round to maximize correlation without sacrificing quarterback firepower.

Pete Overzet called Jordan Mason the perfect Round-14 dart in Best Ball Mania drafts. He expects Mason to operate as San Francisco’s primary goal-line hammer behind Christian McCaffrey, citing Kyle Shanahan’s historical willingness to rotate backs inside the five. Mason has averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 87 career totes and ranked top-15 in rush yards over expectation per attempt last season. Overzet likes the cheap correlation with Brock Purdy stacks and believes Mason can deliver multiple double-digit weeks even without a McCaffrey injury, with true league-tilting upside if the starter misses time.

Pete Overzet said he is almost never clicking Aaron Jones at his current eighth-round cost. Jones turns 30 this season, has battled recurring hamstring issues for three straight years, and looked sluggish down the stretch in 2023, logging only one run over 15 yards after Week 10. Overzet compared him to "the Brian Robinson/Pacheco tier" rather than the Tony Pollard–James Conner group the market prices him alongside. Given Minnesota’s crowded skill group and likely committee usage with Ty Chandler, Overzet prefers to take upside backs or receivers in that pocket and will stay underweight until Jones’ ADP drops at least a full round.

Pete Overzet said he continues to draft Jordan Addison despite an expected league suspension stemming from an off-field incident that beat reporter Jude Davenport projects at one to three games. Overzet believes that light ban is not fully baked into Addison’s ADP, which has slid only a handful of spots. He reminded listeners that Kevin O’Connell’s scheme finished top-10 in yards per play last year even with quarterback turmoil and called rookie passer J.J. McCarthy "good enough" to keep the offense humming alongside weapons like Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson. Overzet wants a receiver who can score when it matters in Weeks 15–17 and views Addison’s post-suspension role as the locked-in WR2 on a well-coached attack as worth the early missed games.

Davis Mattek argued that Justin Jefferson should be the 1.01 in every best-ball draft and even recommended taking 50-100% exposure in large field contests. Jefferson averages ten more receiving yards per game than Ja'Marr Chase and benefits from playing nine games a year indoors. Mattek highlighted Kevin O’Connell’s track record—top-10 in yards per attempt and passing touchdowns in every season he has called plays—and said those offensive principles matter more than whoever starts at quarterback. Jefferson was elite with Nick Mullens and Sam Darnold in 2024, so Mattek is unfazed by rookie J.J. McCarthy. He also expects the Vikings’ defense to regress, forcing pass volume back up. All that adds up to Jefferson owning unmatched weekly and season-long ceiling, making him a slam-dunk first overall pick.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound realized—after checking his BestballOverlay.com portfolio—that he has drafted Justin Jefferson five times without a single TJ Hockenson stack. He said he “doesn’t want zero hawk stacks” and will consciously add Hockenson to future Jefferson builds. Pat framed this as basic portfolio management and advised drafters to use an exposure-tracking overlay so they can spot and correct similar blind spots before ADPs move.

Tyler Sullivan labeled Jordan Addison a prime "year-three boost" candidate. Although Addison has yet to post a 1,000-yard campaign, Sullivan highlighted his elite touchdown production—10 scores in each of his first two seasons—and believes volume will finally follow with rookie QB J.J. McCarthy taking over an offense that figures to lean on quick-hitting concepts. Sullivan expects defenses to bracket Justin Jefferson, leaving Addison in favorable single coverage where his route nuance shines. He projects Addison to clear 1,000 yards for the first time while maintaining red-zone chemistry, making him an ideal mid-round Season-Long pick who could outperform ADP by multiple tiers.

Tyler Knaeble said he is willing to push J.J. McCarthy up to roughly pick 140—well ahead of ADP—whenever he already has Justin Jefferson on a roster. He reminded viewers that Minnesota ranked third in neutral-situation pass rate last season and spent top-10 draft capital plus extra picks on McCarthy, signaling the rookie will take over for Sam Darnold sooner rather than later. Knaeble thinks Darnold’s shaky pocket presence makes a mid-season handoff almost inevitable and that the Jefferson-McCarthy combo offers unique late-season upside at a modest price. He also pointed out that a Week-17 showdown with Green Bay gives the stack natural bring-back correlation in Best Ball Mania finals. Given that McCarthy is currently going 20-plus spots after fellow first-round rookies, Knaeble views the small reach as +EV closing-line value once beat writers start charting first-team reps in August.

Jakob Sanderson argued that dynasty managers are overpaying for J.J. McCarthy. Sanderson noted the rookie attempted fewer passes in his entire college career than Caleb Williams completed, labeling him a low-volume, low-rushing profile similar to Mac Jones. Even if Kevin O’Connell keeps Minnesota among the league leaders in neutral-situation pass rate, Sanderson believes McCarthy’s fantasy ceiling tops out at Sam Darnold–level QB1 weeks, which would still leave him only in the late-20s of Superflex startup value. He warned that the Vikings fan base just watched Darnold thrive in the same scheme, so patience will evaporate quickly if McCarthy struggles. Because a poor rookie season could send his value crashing, Sanderson recommends treating McCarthy as a back-end QB2 rather than paying current top-15 prices.

Davis Mattek urged drafters to be more aggressive on J.J. McCarthy, calling him the rare rookie quarterback set up to smash early and hold dynasty value. McCarthy is locked into a five-year rookie deal, will play at least nine dome games annually, and gets to sling it to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Ty Felton, and T.J. Hockenson under Kevin O’Connell’s pass-first system. Mattek noted that Minnesota ranked top-6 in neutral-situation pass rate last year and expects a similar philosophy after guaranteeing Sam Darnold $100 million to serve as only a short-term bridge. Even a league-average 32–34 pass attempts per game could produce QB1 weeks thanks to elite YAC weapons and controlled indoor environments that minimize weather variance. Mattek concluded that McCarthy’s combination of contract length, supporting cast, and dome schedule makes him a screaming buy anywhere he is priced outside the top-12 dynasty quarterbacks.

Eric Luttrell pointed out that elite tight ends are being pushed far down the board and highlighted T.J. Hockenson as the prime example. He landed Hawkinson at pick 106 in a Best Ball Mania draft and noted that "no one wants them." With drafters ignoring the onesie position, Hawkinson, Mark Andrews, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goddard and others are all coming in multiple rounds past last year’s prices. Eric advised scooping Hawkinson whenever he slips this far, arguing the market overreacts to his ACL rehab and that any positive camp news will erase the discount, giving early drafters huge closing-line value.

Sam Monson advised passing on rookie wideout Tai Felton in dynasty or late-round season-long drafts. While he acknowledged Felton’s 4.37 speed, 6-foot-plus frame, and respectable route running, Monson hammered the receiver’s ball-skills profile: eight drops in 2023 and an "awful" contested-catch rate that makes him unreliable at the catch point. In a Vikings offense already stocked with separators, Monson doubts Felton will earn steady snaps and said he preferred several receivers still on the board (e.g., Carl Williams, Jalen Noll). Felton is only a deep best-ball dart throw; otherwise, look elsewhere.

Steve Palazzolo said Sam Darnold could take a meaningful fantasy step forward now that Minnesota has completed its interior-line overhaul. The Vikings used pick 24 on guard Donovan Jackson and spent free-agency money on Ryan Kelly (center) and Will Fries (right guard), pairing them with the already elite tackle tandem of Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. Palazzolo noted Darnold’s late-season struggles were heavily pressure-related and believes this "complete set" of five competent linemen will slash the interior heat he sees, cut down on sacks, and keep drives alive. That cleaner pocket makes Darnold an intriguing late-round flier in best-ball and superflex redraft formats.

Hansen called “slam dunk” on the Vikings selecting a safety at pick 24 with a +200 price. Minnesota owns only four total picks, so they need an immediate defensive starter. After losing Camryn Bynum in free agency and already patching corner with bargain veterans, safety is the bigger hole. Drafting someone like Malachi Starks to learn next to Harrison Smith fills that void and maximizes limited draft capital, making the +200 safety market mis-priced versus cornerback.

Chris Raybon floated three ways to attack Omarion Hampton’s draft range: (1) Minnesota to draft Hampton at pick 24 at 11-to-1, (2) under 19.5 draft slot at 3-to-1, and (3) a moon-shot 26-to-1 on Hampton sneaking into the top 10. Raybon argued that if Denver trades up for Ashton Gentry—as market whispers suggest—the RB-needy Vikings become the next logical landing spot. He views Hampton as the clear RB2, "with less tread and better hands than Gentry," making him attractive to Kevin O’Connell’s pass-heavy scheme. Raybon assigns Minnesota roughly a 9 % chance of grabbing Hampton at 24 and sees the under-19.5 prop as a hedge against a surprise trade-up by another RB-starved team.

Thor Nystrom doubled‑down on Walter Nolen to Minnesota at No. 24, stressing that the Ole Miss transfer is “the last interior defender on the board who can single‑handedly wreck a play.” Nystrom noted Nolen’s path: former No. 1 overall recruit, No. 1 player in the portal, and a 12.6 % pressure rate that already matched his five‑star hype. The key new wrinkle, in Thor’s view, is the massive jump Nolen made as a run defender last year—an 8‑point improvement in run‑stop win rate—making him a three‑down option instead of a pass‑rush specialist. Flores would use the rookie as the immediate backup across all three interior spots, giving him 30‑plus snaps a game while keeping Harrison Phillips fresh. Books still hang Nolen’s draft‑slot O/U at 27.5 with even money on the Under; Thor urged bettors to mash that Under and grab any Vikings‑Nolen exact‑match props because “once teams finish their medical meetings, he won’t get past Minnesota.”

Thor Nystrom leaned toward Walter Nolan as Minnesota’s choice at No. 24, saying the Texas A&M wrecking ball gives Brian Flores the interior penetrator his amoeba front currently lacks. After Kelvin Banks, Gray Zabel and the other premium O‑linemen flew off the board, Thor dismissed guard Tyler Booker as a zone‑scheme misfit and pivoted to defense. Nolan’s 6‑4/325 frame, 9.7 RAS, and 12.6 % pressure rate scream three‑down upside, and Flores covets linemen who can alternately two‑gap or shoot the A‑gap depending on the call. Sportsbooks still hang Nolan’s draft‑slot O/U at 27.5 with even money on the Under; Nystrom advised hitting that number and grabbing any Vikings‑Nolan exact‑match tickets before the chatter pushes his consensus range firmly into the teens.

Mike Wright kept Justin Jefferson at WR3, noting the only ding is an unknown touchdown ceiling with rookie J.J. McCarthy. Jefferson just averaged 96.5 yards per game through five NFL seasons—the best mark in league history and a full 10 yards ahead of Calvin Johnson. Wright pointed out Jefferson’s 2024 stretch with Sam Darnold proved quarterback proof; even league‑average play will sustain him. Statistically, Jefferson could average just over 40 yards a game in 2025 and still hold the all‑time pace record. Wright concluded Jefferson remains a tier‑one anchor whose floor is higher than most receivers’ ceilings, recommending him anywhere from picks 2‑4 overall in season‑long drafts.