Christian Peterson has been writing about the NFL - specifically, fantasy football - for the last 7 years. He currently serves as the Operations Manager LeagueSafe.com and is in his 3rd season co-hosting the Fantasy Football Weekly radio show on KFAN-1130 AM on Saturday mornings during the football season. His work has appeared online and in print for various media outlets, including Fanball.com, FantasyVictory.com, ESPN.com, AOL.com, and Yahoo.com.
Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of Christian’s Vikings Preseason Fantasy Preview. In the 1st edition, we took at look at the fantasy prospects of Vikings QBs and RBs. In this edition, we take a look at the rest of the Vikings roster.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Rice’s hip injury and subsequent surgery robbed the fantasy world of a potential top-10 WR option. Rice developed an obvious and uncanny connection with Favre a year ago, obliterating career-highs with 83 catches for 1,312 yards and 8 TDs. At 6-4, 200 pounds, Rice is a very good target in the red zone, and he proved with an average of nearly 16 yards per catch that he has sneaky speed and can get open deep downfield. After being placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, however, Rice isn’t even eligible to return until Week 7. Rice said on his blog that he’s hoping to return “before midseason,” but fantasy owners shouldn’t expect to get any kind of significant contribution from him until probably the Cardinals game in Week 9, if not later. The missed games and the uncertainty surrounding his ability to contribute even after his stay on the PUP is over combine to make Rice an extremely risky fantasy option. I would draft him only as a 4th receiver, and then only if I already had 2 or 3 star WRs who I was comfortable going to battle with all season long. Rice undoubtedly has the ability to put up numbers befitting a #1 fantasy wideout (WR1), but by the time he’s able to help your team, it could be too late.
I liked Harvin a lot even before Rice’s injury, but the loss of the Vikings top wideout puts him in the position for a huge season. The expectation is that Harvin will take more reps on the outside in place of Rice than he did a year ago, when he played primarily out of the slot and on crossing routes underneath coverage. Harvin developed some chemistry of his own with Favre a year ago and managed nearly 800 yards and 6 TDs despite missing a lot of practice time while battling migraines. The migraine issue clearly hasn’t gone away, but Harvin has expressed confidence that he’s found a way to treat the problem, and considering he missed just 1 game last year I’m not too concerned about him missing a lot of game time in 2010. With Rice out of action, Harvin is the Vikings most explosive receiving option. I’d draft him confidently as a #2 fantasy wideout (WR2).
In part because of a nagging hamstring issue that affected him all season, Berrian seemingly never found his rhythm with Favre in 2009. With Rice nursing his hip back to health in the first half of the season, Berrian is in line for a nice bounceback season in 2010. Now healthy, there’s no reason Berrian can’t re-emerge as a big play threat like he was in his 1st season in Purple (964 yards, 20.1 yards per catch, 7 TDs in 2008). With the potential for 1,000 yards and 7-8 TDs, Berrian is an easy choice as your #3 fantasy receiver (WR3).
Acquired in exchange for CB Benny Sapp last week, Camarillo looked right at home in last Saturday’s preseason game, leading the team with 4 catches for 47 yards. 
Walker has seemingly never fully recovered from the torn ACL he suffered a week into the 2006 season. After an impressive bounceback year in 2007, he struggled through recurring pain in the knee in both 2008 and 2009. Cut loose by the Raiders after last season, the Vikings took a flier on him after learning of Rice’s required surgery. They also traded for Camarillo shortly after signing Walker, so it’s unclear what his role will be in 2010. He had a lot of success playing pitch-and-catch with Favre when both were in Green Bay, but Walker will never be the same explosive player he was prior to his knee injury, and he’s got a lot to prove just to make the roster.
TIGHT ENDS
Among pass-catchers (WRs and TEs), only Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss have caught more TD passes than Shiancoe over the past 2 seasons. After 7 TD grabs in 2008, Shiancoe found even more success under Favre, setting career highs in catches (56) and TDs (11). It’s tough to envision Shiancoe repeating that TD number in an offense missing one of its best wideouts for half the season, but the absence of Rice could actually help Shiancoe in that he’s an even more attractive end zone target with Rice on the sidelines. It would be silly to predict a repeat of a career season, but I’d confidently draft Shiancoe as my starting TE after the Big 3 (Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, Vernon Davis) are off the board.
KICKERS
Not only is Longwell one of football’s most consistent kickers, he plays in an explosive offense and the majority of his games are indoors. That’s essentially the trifecta for fantasy dependability, and the only thing holding Longwell back is the remarkable efficiency of the Vikings offense. Longwell attempted only 28 field goals last year – the lowest number among the top-10 kicker scorers a year ago. But that’s just splitting hairs for a guy who was money from distance (he hit 10-of-11 from beyond 40 yards in 2009). If you’re trying to decide between Longwell and, say, the Packers Mason Crosby, consider that Crosby plays 2 games in frigid, wind-blown Lambeau Field and another at frozen Foxboro in New England during December, while Longwell gets 3 cozy home dates at Mall of America Field in Weeks 13-15.
TEAM DEFENSE
The Vikings have become a mainstay near the top of the fantasy defense rankings for years. They haven’t dropped out of the top 8 in defensive fantasy scoring (in a basic scoring system that accounts for sacks, turnovers, and defensive TDs) since 2005. The fearsome defensive line helped the Vikings lead the NFL in sacks (48) last year, and they haven’t recorded fewer than 38 QB takedowns in the last 3 seasons. The only thing holding this unit back from a fantasy perspective is their lack of INTs. Minnesota hasn’t generated more than 15 picks since 2006, and while improvement is certainly possible, it seems unlikely that the team would suddenly double its INT total to jump into the upper echelon in that category. Still, the constant pressure being put on opposing offenses by the dominant defensive line should keep the Vikings a top-5 fantasy unit again in 2010.
