In this second Vikings 4-EYED TEAM PREVIEW of the day, we’re going to be covering the individual defensive players (IDPs) on the Vikings that you should consider rostering for the 2021 fantasy football season.
“The Cream Always Rises To The Top”
–Macho Man Randy Savage
That’s what I think about when I’m looking at the IDP-relevant players in Minnesota. You got your rookies, then you got your fill-ins, and then you got your battle-tested studs. Now, there were more studs on this Vikings’ defense in 2020 that we could have talked about this season, BUT they decided to do what was best for their careers and find lucrative deals elsewhere…blah blah….this offseason. Gone are Eric Wilson (LB) & Anthony Harris (DB) to Philadelphia. Enter their most promising IDP rookie, linebacker Chazz Surrat, who excelled in college at tackling and rushing the passer, according to PFF. Keep his name in the back of your mind come waiver wire time this season. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
Cornerback Patrick Peterson came over in free agency from the Cardinals potentially setting up fellow incumbent cornerback Jeff Gladney to improve upon his 10.7 fantasy points per game average and team defensive back leading 63 solo tackles on the season in 2020. For more information about these changes on defense and what it means for the Vikings defense as a whole, download our NFC North Fantasy Preview pod coming out this Thursday, July 15th, 2021.
As far as who the Vikings’ IDP players are that you should draft and 100% roster this season, find out NOW in our 2021 Vikings 4-EYED IDP Team Preview!
*This season at Fantasy In Frames we’ll be using IDP123 scoring as our default scoring rubric when talking about the fantasy relevance of IDP player performance.*
Defensive Linemen
*Positional designations & ADP data brought to you by Sleeper.
Danielle Hunter (Current ADP: DL 12)
#99 Danielle Hunter of the #Vikings, ripping and turning the corner before the QB is even finished with “1 Mississippi”. pic.twitter.com/fmOF9vsdtd
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) March 11, 2020
A season removed, due to injury, from back to back 14.5 sack seasons, Danielle Hunter is looking to take the NFL by storm again as he aims to demolish offensive lineman left and right this upcoming season. In 2019, in IDP123 scoring, he was ranked at the 4th best pure defensive lineman in fantasy points per game with a 17.1 average. A 17.1 fantasy point per game average would have ranked him as the DL 2 in 2020. That’s the kind of upside and floor you should expect from this elite talent. News reports out of mini-camp & OTAs state Hunter is back to 100% health and will be ready to start practicing at the start of training camp later this July. Not much more has to be said here. IF you want to build a foundation for your IDP roster with elite talent, regardless of position, Danielle Hunter is a guy to start with!
Linebackers
*Positional designations & ADP data brought to you by Sleeper.
Eric Kendricks (Current ADP: LB 23)
Eric Kendricks LAYS OUT for the interception! #SKOL
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2020
📺: #DALvsMIN on FOX
📱: NFL app // YahooSports app: https://t.co/tUoK0wsA9N pic.twitter.com/P8JgEuzm8F
Eric Kendricks finished as the LB5 in fantasy points per game with a 20.1 point average in the 2020 fantasy football season. According to PFF, he graded out as the #2 linebacker playing in coverage which goes hand-in-hand with him leading the league, at the linebacker position, with 3 INTs. He, also, was tied for 10th among linebackers in passes defended. Kendricks is the model example of a player that’s perceived to have LB2 standalone value but more often than not exceeds that label and brings mid-to-high LB1 upside. Let people keep passing up on him in your drafts. You’ll be the one with an IDP fantasy title in your hands with Kendricks being a solid anchor for your team come season’s end.
Defensive Backs
*Positional designations & ADP data brought to you by Sleeper.
Harrison Smith (Current ADP: DB 27)
Harrison Smith is in the last year of his current contract in Minnesota finishing up his 9th year there. Smith had a slow start to the 2020 fantasy football season only averaging on 4.2 tackles and 9.5 fantasy points per game in Weeks 1-6. That poor play changed after the Vikings’ bye week in Week 7 as Smith went on a to average of 6.4 tackles per game, tallied 8 passes defended, 4 INTs, and finished the season averaging 15.8 fantasy points per game.
#ThrowbackThursday Harrison Smith und dieser Pick gegen die Giants! #Skol #Vikings pic.twitter.com/Pzu63IrNTx
— Minnesota Vikings Deutschland (@Vikings_Deutsch) July 8, 2021
While you might want to cut ties with him in dynasty due to his age and uncertain team situation after this season, for redraft in 2021 he has excellent DB3 perceived value with mid-to-high DB2 upside
