The Vikings were the big surprise of the 2024 NFL season. When rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy went down with a knee injury in the first preseason game of his NFL career, everyone backburnered the Vikings, as we had seen the Sam Darnold Show before. Instead, Darnold dazzled and delighted, right up until offensive line injuries destroyed his protection, and he faltered down the stretch. Either way, he’s a Seattle Seahawk now, and it’s J.J. McCarthy’s team once again. Legal issues swirl around wide receiver Jordan Addison, but other than that, it’s all good vibes for the Vikes, especially on offense. Let’s dive into the fantasy football overdrafted, underdrafted, and sleeper players for the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 campaign!
Overdrafted:
T.J. Hockenson, Tight End (TE5, Pick 66 Overall)
My Ranking: TE9
While I fully concede that I might be the wrong one here on Hockenson, there is no world where I can get him into my top five. Hockenson was returning from a severe knee injury in 2024, so I am ready to give him a bit of slack for his 2024, but at the same time, he didn’t give me much to get excited about. Hockenson first played over 50% of snaps in week twelve, and he responded in a big way: 7 catches and 114 yards, on nine targets, and it took getting 3/38 in overtime to help get him there, and he was… TE5… on the week. The same as his ADP. From there, he played six games while getting at least 65% of the snaps, and he finished inside the top-ten once (TE10, week 15, against Chicago). All told, he had ten games last season and finished inside the top ten three times, with one of those being tenth.
A lot of this has to do with a diminished role for Hockenson in the passing game; in 2024, he ran routes on at least 80% of dropbacks 11 times in the 14 non-injury games he played, which came out to 78.5% of the time. In 2025, that number was zero percent. Hockenson’s season high was 73.4% of routes in that Chicago overtime game, but that was his only game above 70% route share, and one of three games above 60%.
If you want to believe in a T.J. Hockenson come back, you could look at his #1 ranked target per route run rate. But, is he beating the firewall of Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, and George Kittle at 1-2-3? Not without an injury. So his realistic ceiling is TE4. After a down 2024 campaign, I am not willing to pay TE5 to get there, especially since David Njoku goes much later and is my TE4 this year.
Underdrafted:
Jordan Addison, Wide Receiver (WR37, Pick 78 Overall)
My Ranking: WR37*
I am giving Jordan Addison a big, fat asterisk as my ranking reflects the recent conviction related to his driving incidents in 2023 and 2024. Before that point, he was WR31 for me, well above consensus.
That having been said, he likely eats a three-game suspension when all is said and done (the same as Rashee Rice), which makes him a fantastic value in fantasy football drafts. Addison is a 100-target, big-play threat who is one of five receivers to have 19+ touchdowns in their first two seasons in the league. He was WR22 in PPR points per game last season, and was #36 in receptions, and #31 in yards. Those numbers are slightly deflated, as he missed two games in weeks two and three.
Addison finished as a top-36 receiver nine times last season, including three straight top-30 finishes to finish out the fantasy football campaign. Some worry about touchdown regression, but he’s a key cog in their red zone offense, getting the tenth-most red zone targets in the league, after getting the fourteenth-most in 2023. His 19 targets in his first two seasons aren’t a fluke, and a mean regression isn’t as likely as some would think.
Sleeper:
J.J. McCarthy, Quarterback (QB19, Pick 126 Overall)
My Ranking: QB19
Look, I get it. McCarthy is an unproven rookie coming off a torn meniscus that cost him his rookie year. But… do we not remember what Sam Darnold just did? Do we not believe McCarthy to be better than Darnold? It’s the same offense, the same weaponry, and the same man calling the shots (Kevin O’Connell). Darnold was QB9 per game last season, and was a QB1 nine times last season, only finishing outside the top-15 three times. McCarthy is better than that, or at least we expect that to be true, yet we do not believe in the kid. He is coming off a meniscus tear, so he didn’t receive the full CL treatment; therefore, he shouldn’t experience any diminished production. I see no reason to fear drafting McCarthy, as he will be the ideal 2QB QB2, as long as he can be as good as veteran journeyman Sam Darnold.
