Fantasy Football 2015: Previewing the Minnesota Vikings

Teddy Bridgewater, QB

Dec 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) throws in the second quarter against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Drafted by the Vikings in 2014, Teddy Bridgewater was initially slated as the backup to veteran journeyman Matt Cassel.  In week three of the season a broken foot sent Cassel packing to the IR and the Bridgewater era in Minnesota officially began.  As expected Bridgewater experienced his fair share of rookie growing pains, but over the last six weeks of the season he was a top-10 rated fantasy quarterback.

With top receiving threat Greg Jennings not exactly living up to the big contract, tight end Kyle Rudolph missing half of the season due to injury and Cordarrelle Patterson falling flat in the face of high expectations — Bridgewater had less than a full complement of viable pass-catching options.  Second-year receiver Charles Johnson, however, showed flashes late in the season and good chemistry with Bridgewater.

Johnson is back and is a breakout FF candidate in some circles; meanwhile Greg Jennings is off to sunny South Beach and will suit up for the Dolphins in 2015.  Johnson and the rest of the fantasy-viable pass-catchers for the Vikings will be covered in subsequent slides, and with the constant threat of AP out of the backfield it looks to be a potentially formidable group on paper.

Bridgewater stands to improve over his rookie campaign, but its tough to trust young QBs in fantasy football.  He’s a QB2 with QB1 upside, but on draft day he’s likely to be plucked only after 15 or so other signal callers have come off the board.  This means that unless an owner who feels really good about him reaches early, Bridgewater can be had in the later rounds.  Just be sure to grab him before the late run on backup QBs starts.

Next: Receiving Threats