The Minnesota Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins for the season after he tore his Achilles on Sunday, leaving plenty of questions regarding the team's 2023 season and beyond. With Cousins set to be a free agent after the season, the Vikings' long-term quarterback solution is still in limbo. They think they have the guy to help save their season in 2023 though after trading for veteran Josh Dobbs.
The Vikings gave up a sixth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for Dobbs, getting a seventh-round pick in addition to the seventh-year QB. He'll now be thrust into the starting role for the Vikings as Minnesota carries a three-game winning streak into Week 9, though he'll get at least a week to prepare as the team plans on starting rookie Jaren Hall this Sunday.
Dobbs started all eight games for the Cardinals to this point, completing 62.8 percent of his passes for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for three touchdowns, compiling a passer rating of 81.2 with Arizona.
Dobbs isn’t an upgrade over Cousins, but he's a veteran guy who's seen plenty of NFL football and is on paper a better option for the Vikings over Hill if they want to stay in the playoff hunt. The move from Cousins to Dobbs holds significance in the fantasy football world as well and will be seen as an initial downgrade for some of the Viking's top targets.
Here's where things stand fantasy-wise with three Vikings weapons following the trade.
TJ Hockenson
As Week 9 approaches, few tight ends have been better in fantasy this season than TJ Hockenson. He is second in PPR points at the position behind Travis Kelce and trails only the Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro in receptions and yards. The two-time Pro Bowler is on pace for his first 1,000-yard season.
Though his production may take a slight hit, Hockenson should remain a top target in the Vikings offense with Dobbs in the mix. In his eight games with the Cardinals, Dobbs targeted tight ends on over 31 percent of his passing attempts. That was no small sample size either, as Arizona had Dobbs throw it 33 times per game.
Only the Washington Commanders have thrown more passes than the Vikings this season. Although Minnesota may dip into the run game a little more with Dobbs under center, it ranks 31st in rushing yards per game out of 32 teams. If the numbers on the ground don’t improve, the Vikings will have to stick to a pass-heavy offense.
Hockenson can be a safety valve for Josh Dobbs and could see a potential increase in targets, especially if the Vikings trail in games. He could be overtaken by the likes of Sam LaPorta and Mark Andrews in fantasy points by the end of the year, but TJ Hockenson should still easily secure a top-five tight end fantasy finish.
Jordan Addison
There are few wide receivers in the NFL hotter than Jordan Addison right now. The Vikings rookie has five touchdowns in the last four games and 205 yards in his last two, with a breakout 123-yard, two-touchdown performance on Monday Night Football in Week 7 to boot.
No one has benefitted from the absence of Justin Jefferson more than Addison, who is establishing himself as a true weapon early in his career just as his Vikings teammate did. The 21-year-old is making a strong case for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year as he has 36 receptions for 482 yards and seven touchdowns in his first eight games.
Unfortunately for Addison and his fantasy owners, he could be the one who loses the most with Josh Dobbs. Addison has used his big-play ability to burst onto the NFL scene with five of his touchdowns being at least 20 yards.
Dobbs does not have the strongest of arms, completing 16 passes for 20 yards or more this season, good enough for 24th among qualified quarterbacks. That may not totally spell the end of Addison's explosive plays, but it might eliminate the deep-ball threat and force Addison to work his magic after the catch more often.
Jordan Addison is too talented to fall off the face of the earth with Dobbs throwing to him and he'll still remain the Vikings' No. 1 wide receiver until Jefferson returns. Once the league's top wideout does come back from injury, Addison's fantasy value has a chance to take a significant hit with Dobbs as the signal-caller, though he should still finish the year as a top-25 fantasy receiver.
Justin Jefferson
With the Vikings figuring out their QB situation after trading for Dobbs, Justin Jefferson's rest-of-season status is now the biggest question mark for Minnesota this year. Jefferson was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 11 with a hamstring injury and is not eligible to return until Week 10.
His original timeframe to recover was four-to-six weeks and the Vikings have yet to give a clear update as to when they expect Jefferson to come back. With a Week 13 bye, Minnesota could opt to extend the superstar wideout's time on the shelf to give him a couple of extra weeks to fully recover for the stretch run of the season.
When Jefferson went down, the Vikings were 1-4 with their season hanging in the balance. Now at 4-4, Minnesota has turned things around, giving Jefferson more incentive to get back on the field before the season is over.
Justin Jefferson is the type of player who will thrive regardless of who is throwing him the football, so his fantasy value won’t take much of a dip even with Josh Dobbs throwing him the ball. Jefferson had six catches for 58 yards on 11 targets in his lone game without Kirk Cousins.
It wasn’t exactly the otherworldly fantasy numbers he's been accustomed to putting up, but he still got his looks and put up a decent showing considering Sean Mannion was his quarterback in that game.
Jefferson may very well return as soon as he's eligible, which would give Dobbs his best weapon yet in the NFL. If anyone can put up elite fantasy performances consistently with a career backup throwing his way, it's Justin Jefferson.
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