The Minnesota Vikings promise to have one of the most fantasy football-prolific offenses in 2018. Kirk Cousins leads Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph and Dalvin Cook into battle this season, in an offense that will serve up fantasy points all around. What of the absolute bevy of fantasy football eligible rookies the Vikings took in 2018? Well, let’s take a look at every single one of those players.
Tyler Conklin, Tight End, Round Five
Tyler Conklin is the only game in town for the 2018 Minnesota Vikings rookies vis a vis fantasy football. Even without getting into the player, there is so much about him to not like. First, Evan Engram and Gronk aside, rookie tight ends do not contribute in fantasy football. Second, he’s behind Kyle Rudolph on the TE depth chart, and he’s likely to be sixth in line for targets (behind the big four and… sure, Laquon Treadwell still exists). Third, he had a Jones Fracture in 2017. Jones Fractures have notorious difficulty healing properly, and they usually require a second surgery if a player returns within 2.5 months of the injury (Conklin missed five games). There’s a lot going against Conklin producing in 2018, which is a shame, because he is a pretty decent player.
Conklin isn’t the most athletic tight end in the world, but he is far from a plodder. He scored in the 96th percentile in the 60-yard shuttle drill and the 92nd percentile in the vertical jump at the combine. He has a great skill set to be a good red zone weapon for Kirk Cousins. Conklin is a move tight end who has slow straight-line speed, but should be able to break some LB ankles en route to scoring 5 or 6 touchdowns this season. However, there is no way he’s getting enough yardage to make him a viable weekly fantasy football contributor. Stay away from Conklin in your 2018 redraft leagues. Even if he does get enough work to be viable, chances are he will reinjure his Jones Fracture and be lost for the season. There’s a lot of downside, and very little upside.
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