The Minnesota Vikings go into Week 4 with two primary assignments. The first — and most important — is to extend their season-opening winning streak to four victories in a row by gaining a victory over the struggling Miami Dolphins. This winless opponent may be the worst team in the NFL, and a failure by the Vikings here would be something of a disaster.
The second assignment is to get their attack moving in the right direction. The Vikings have struggled on offense during their three-game winning streak. Injuries to Kyler Murray (concussion, Week 1) and Justin Jefferson (sprained ankle, Week 3) account for part of their offensive downturn, but not all of it.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell features himself as something of an offensive guru and a quarterback whisperer, so he wants his offense to come alive in this game. While the Vikings’ key offensive players are not usual Fantasy Football starters at this point, this could be the week that several players put good numbers on the board.
Murray needs to make plays with his feet
Murray has the ability to run away from the pass rush and make plays with his feet. The story against the Dolphins could be quite positive, because the Miami defense has not registered one sack through the first three games.
Confidence must be an issue here, and all it will take is one or two early plays to get Murray going in a positive direction. The belief here is that Murray will rush for 65 yards, score 1 TD and throw 2 TD passes. Your opponents may laugh when they see Murray in your lineup, but START him against the Dolphins.
Jones will play key role, as will Hockenson
The Vikings talked about having a dynamic running game all through the offseason and training camp. They still believe in 31-year-old Aaron Jones, although the idea was that he would share the position with Jordan Mason.
Jones has to do it on his own — with the help of the offensive line — until Mason (thumb) returns from Injured Reserve. While he is not a breakaway threat, Jones is a solid receiving threat out of the backfield. START him in your fantasy lineup, because Jones will score touchdowns as a runner and receiver against the Dolphins.
Hockenson will play a key role on third downs. That’s one of the keys to O’Connell’s offense. The coach wants to use his 6-5, 249-pound tight end to keep drives alive with his ability to get open on third downs. He could play a crucial role in this game with multiple third-down catches, but SIT him because he will not get into the end zone.
