Fantasy Football Player Notes

We will finally get to see what Justin Jefferson and Kyler Murray can be this week. After Kyler suffered a concussion early in Week 1, we were left wondering "what could have been." This week, we get that answer as the 2-0 Vikings take on a floundering Buccaneers team. The Bucs defense has been a mess and even made the Cleveland QB look functional last week. In theory, Kyler should be a step up from Carson Wentz. Although he will be for the entire team, the fantasy manager did appreciate that Wentz would pepper Jefferson with the ball. Hopefully, Kyler will do the same and keep Jefferson as a high-end WR1 option.

Last week, Aaron Jones sustained a knee injury. He finished the game wearing a brace. This week, Jones sat out of practice on Wednesday, was limited on Thursday, and had a full session on Friday. Jones doesn't carry an injury designation into this week's game, but he's clearly not 100%. Last week, he had an 80.4% snap rate, an 82.1% rushing share, a 41.7% route share, and zero targets. He finished with 23 touches and 105 rushing yards. I doubt he gets anywhere close to that type of workload this week. In Week 1, Jones had a 42.6% snap rate, a 35.3% rushing share, and a 23.3% route share (4.2% target share) as he finished with 13 touches and 40 total yards. I'd expect a workload close to Week 1 against the Bucs or somewhere in the middle ground of these two games. The Vikes don't have another healthy back that they trust like Jones. DeeJay Dallas could assist some on early downs while taking on pass-pro snaps to lessen Jones' workload. Jones has acted his age in the efficiency department with only 1.80 yards after contact per attempt and a 9% missed tackle rate. With all of these concerns, Jones is only a middling flex play this week with a bad matchup. Tampa Bay has limited backs to the sixth-lowest explosive run rate, the fifth-lowest rushing success rate, and the seventh-lowest EPA per rush.

Jordan Addison has done nothing over the last two weeks as the WR110 in fantasy points per game. Addison only has a 15.9% target share, 0.47 YPRR, one red zone target, zero deep targets, and a 16.7% first-read share. I wouldn't be shocked if he has a solid game, but I'm not projecting a massive outing. The Bucs have allowed the 12th-most yards per target and the 13th-most fantasy points per opportunity to perimeter wide receivers. Tampa Bay has the second-highest single-high rate (70.8%). Since 2024, against single-high, Addison has a 19% target-per-route-run rate and 1.65 YPRR. Those are passable marks, but nothing to cut backflips over.

T.J. Hockenson is the TE15 in fantasy points per game. He has a 20.5% target share, 1.67 YPRR, two red zone targets, zero deep targets, and a 16.7% first-read share. Solid usage, but nothing otherworldly. Hockenson was the TE9 in Week 1, and he could flirt with TE1 production this week. Tampa Bay has allowed the tenth-most yards per target and the ninth-most fantasy points per opportunity to tight ends.