What We Saw: Preseason Week 1 2018

Vikings vs. Broncos

Kirk Cousins only played in one drive, but that drive might give us a lot of information into the way the Vikings are playing offense this season. Cousins was on target with all of his passes, only targeting Stefon Diggs and players out of the backfield. It’s a super-small sample size, but if Diggs has chemistry with Cousins like this the whole season, it could be a special year for the talented receiver. Diggs ran crisp routes like always and looked particularly sharp on a 28 yard reception down the sidelines that set up his eventual touchdown.

The Vikings’ offensive line looked impressive against Denver’s defense despite missing some projected starters. RB Latavius Murray was given some giants holes to run through, which he took advantage of for a total of 43 yards. This bodes well for Dalvin Cook, who did not play, and Murray going forward. One surprise in the backfield for Minnesota was rookie RB Roc Thomas. Thomas took advantage of the good line play to scamper for 29 yards on 8 carries, but it was his work in the receiving game that was most impressive. Targeted 3 times, Thomas took two catches to the end zone. One reception was a beautiful screen pass that he took for 78 yards and a score. It’ll be some time before we see Thomas get significant snaps in the regular season, but he is making a case for himself to be noticed this pre season.

Overall, the Vikings looked very efficient on offense. Even the backup quarterbacks looked good in their offensive scheme. It’ll be important to study Cousins and his connection with Diggs going forward. Currently, Diggs and Adam Thielen are being drafted very close to each other. If Diggs is standing out as the top target, you should favor him in your drafts going forward.

The Broncos did not look good at all from a fantasy perspective. QB Case Keenum failed to move the chains in his two drives, which didn’t allow for the receivers to illustrate their chemistry with the new QB.

Devontae Booker got the start for Denver at running back and did not impress. Although Royce Freeman dropped a meaningless dump pass from Keenum, Freeman looked to be the superior back by a large margin. He picked up blitzes as a blocker and showed some vision during his 23-yard touchdown run. It’s no secret that the Broncos drafted Freeman to be their starting running back and if he keeps performing like this, he could easily be the top dog on the depth chart on opening day.

Other than Freeman, no one in Denver stood out from a fantasy perspective. Potentially draftable wide receivers Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Courtland Sutton did not get properly showcased. The offensive line looked poor. Paxton Lynch should probably be updating his resume as QB Chad “Swag” Kelly outperformed him in garbage time. Going forward, we’ll need to see if it was the Vikings’ stout defense that caused these problems, or if there is a much bigger problem for the Broncos under the control of Case Keenum and company.

– Nick Light