Minnesota, Team Mood and Players We're In or Out On

As we race toward August, Footballguys.com will look at one team per day with our extremely in-depth Team Reports and our quick-hitting Team Mood and Players We're In and Out On, where we check out the overall mood of each team's offense and let you know the players we are in on (because they are great values at the cost it takes to acquire them) and who we're out on (because they are too expensive and won't have a good return on that investment).

Here are all of the Team Mood and Players We're In and Out On articles:
Arizona | Atlanta | Baltimore | Buffalo | Carolina | Chicago | Cincinnati | Cleveland | Dallas | Denver | Detroit | Green Bay | Houston | Indianapolis | Jacksonville | Kansas City | Las Vegas | LA Chargers | LA Rams | Miami | Minnesota | New England | New Orleans | NY Giants | NY Jets | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | San Francisco | Seattle | Tampa Bay | Tennessee | Washington

Quick Hits

Want a brief overview? Here it is:

• Mood - Good
• We're In On at Cost - WR Justin Jefferson
• We're Out On at Cost - No One

Want a longer breakdown of how it's going in Minnesota? Read on.

Minnesota, Team Mood

• Good - 13
• Neutral - 1
• Bad - 0

Staffers in a Good Mood

• Dave Kluge: The upgrade from Mike Zimmer to Kevin O'Connell cannot be understated enough, and Kirk Cousins should enjoy a career year with a loaded supporting cast.
• Chad Parsons: The core of the offense stays together and Kevin O'Connell boosts the ceiling.
• Jason Wood: The offense will be unlocked after being stuck in neutral under Mike Zimmer.
• Ben Cummins: Kirk Cousins provides stability at quarterback for an offense moving to a more pass-heavy approach under new coach Kevin O'Connell.
• Jonathan Morris: O'Connell replacing Mike Zimmer gets me excited to see this Vikings offense reach a new potential we haven't seen before.
• Ryan Weisse: It should be a great offense overall. The new coaching staff could open things up, and great players can have career years.
• Craig Lakins: All the talk is that they're moving in a more pass-happy direction. They have the weapons in place to pull that off well.
• Christian Williams: The change from Mike Zimmer to Kevin O'Connell at head coach should be a welcome one.
• Sam Wagman: The offense is returning and an upgrade from Mike Zimmer’s antiquated system will speed things up.
• Kevin Coleman: With Kevin O’Connell as their head coach, Minnesota should have an improved scheme. Cousins may have a career year in 2022.
• Justin Howe: The offense should open up all over the field, allowing their gobs and gobs of talent to truly blossom.
• Jeff Haseley: Minnesota is on the verge of being one of the better offenses in the league now that Kevin O'Connell's system is replacing Mike Zimmer's.
• Victoria Geary: A more pass-heavy scheme has us all excited for the ceiling we may see this season in Jefferson, Thielen, and Cook.

Staffers in a Neutral Mood

• Andy Hicks: Assuming a new head coach and existing offense gels is risky business.

Staffers in a Bad Mood

• None.

Players We're In On at Cost

• Justin Jefferson - 6
• Kirk Cousins - 5
• Dalvin Cook - 3
• Irv Smith - 2
• K.J. Osborn - 1

Reasons to be In on Justin Jefferson

• Ben Cummins: Jefferson recently reported himself he’ll be playing the Cooper Kupp role in O’Connell’s offense. Yes, please.
• Jonathan Morris: Jefferson should continue to feast on opposing defenses. O'Connell will be creative in finding ways to get him the ball in space.
• Ryan Weisse: In a Rams-esque offense, Jefferson could play the Cooper Kupp role. If Justin Jefferson approaches 180 targets, records will be broken.
• Christian Williams: The best wide receiver in football should see more volume in a more pass-friendly offense.
• Kevin Coleman: Jefferson averaged over 19 FPTS/G last season and is one of the most talented players in the NFL.
• Victoria Geary: Worth every penny of fantasy draft capital.

Reasons to be In on Kirk Cousins

• Chad Parsons: Expect strong volume and Jefferson and Thielen are one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL. Adding back a healthy Irv Smith only helps.
• Jason Wood: He’s been a top-10 fantasy quarterback five times with four different play-callers.
• Justin Howe: He finished at the tail end of the QB1s last year, and it's fair to scoop him ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson today.
• Jeff Haseley: He's the best 12th quarterback off the board in 1QB leagues. Could easily finish in the top 10.
• Victoria Geary: Cousins has quietly been the QB11 overall the last two seasons, and his current ADP of QB13 is fairly good value.

Reasons to be In on Dalvin Cook

• Dave Kluge: There's no reason Dalvin Cook can't be this year's RB1 and he's been surprisingly healthy over the last few years. He's a no-brainer at the end of the first round.
• Ben Cummins: Cook will be utilized more in the passing game this year.
• Sam Wagman: Cook has a case to be the RB1 overall this year. If he stays healthy, he’ll be in the mix.

Reasons to be In on Irv Smith

• Ben Cummins: Smith is my main late-round tight-end target.
• Craig Lakins: Missing all of 2021 with an injury will keep expectations in check, but he's in a great spot here. His tight end competition is minimal and his athleticism should be on full display.

Reasons to be In on K.J. Osborn

• Andy Hicks: With Thielen approaching the veteran stage and a supposed explosive offense, Osborn could easily get more targets.

Players We're Out On at Cost

• No One - 5
• Irv Smith - 4
• Adam Thielen - 2
• K.J. Osborn - 1
• Kirk Cousins - 1
• Dalvin Cook - 1

Reasons to be Out on No One

• Dave Kluge: From Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook in the first round through KJ Osborn in the 14th, I am interested in every player on the Vikings at cost.
• Jonathan Morris: I love all of the Vikings at their current draft value.
• Craig Lakins: With so much optimism around their offense, I'd take any of them at their current ADP.
• Sam Wagman: This offense is priced pretty fairly.
• Jeff Haseley: Everyone seems to be priced fairly well.

Reasons to be Out on Irv Smith

• Jason Wood: There are more intriguing options for your end-game tight end strategy.
• Kevin Coleman: His ADP has been getting higher throughout the summer, and there’s just no guarantee that he will see enough targets to justify it.
• Justin Howe: His ADP is climbing, but he carries the same good-not-great ceiling as several cheaper guys.
• Victoria Geary: Minnesota threw to the tight end position at the 12th and 8th lowest rate in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Reasons to be Out on Adam Thielen

• Andy Hicks: With 24 touchdowns on 141 catches the last two years, expect that to even up at age 32.
• Ryan Weisse: The touchdowns have been great but could go away at any time. There is now legitimate competition for targets.

Reasons to be Out on K.J. Osborn

• Chad Parsons: At best, Osborn is an injury-away wide receiver for actual fantasy viability beyond best ball formats.

Reasons to be Out on Kirk Cousins

• Ben Cummins: Cousins should have a solid season but I’m looking to come out of every draft with an elite quarterback.

Reasons to be Out on Dalvin Cook

• Christian Williams: The days of 18 carries per game may be over and there's no guarantee the receiving work increases enough to make up for that.