We were just talking about it Monday, weren’t we? Jaxon Smith-Njigba is practically the only reliable fantasy option we have in Seattle, but here’s the kicker: his situation isn’t even unique across the league. You’ve got winning teams like the Vikings, Chiefs, Browns, and Patriots all limiting your trust to maybe one or two guys. After that, it’s a total muddle. It makes you wonder what’s even going on out there, especially when you dig into some of these offenses.
The Kyler Murray “Renaissance” Is Looking More Like a Renaissance Faire
Remember that Sunday matchup in Minneapolis? The only number anyone could talk about was Brian Flores blitzing Daniel Jones 85.0% of the time. Pure villain stuff from that DC. But you hear nothing about the offense. And yeah, I was personally bracing for a Justin Jefferson breakout, you know, after trading him away in the analyst league, but it just never came. That’s not to say everything is terrible, but the Kyler Murray Renaissance? Four full games in, and the reviews are, well, not great. It doesn’t help that J.J. McCarthy is out there performing well with the Giants, making it sting even more.
Honestly, none of Murray’s base stats over the last few weeks are inspiring. We’re talking 168 passing yards in Week 3, then 247, 229, and a paltry 150 in Week 7. No games over 250 yards. And multi-touchdown outings? Forget about it, he’s got 1, 0, 1, and 1 passing touchdowns. His rushing attempts are barely there either: 2, 3, 7, 3. The dude’s skedaddling has had its ups and downs too, managing seven first downs with his legs, but he’s also taken 12 sacks. Even his passing success rate, which climbed from a brutal 18.8% in Week 3 to a league-average 50.0% and 40.6% in his last two, isn’t enough to calm the noise. The feedback is loud and clear: we want more. Or at least, for crying out loud, we want better for Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson’s Opportunity, Hockenson’s Return, and What Comes Next
Here’s the good news: Justin Jefferson’s target rate with Murray, sitting at 26.4%, leads all Vikings receivers. The bad news? Despite that opportunity share, he’s only 20th in PPR PPG. Look, the main caveat is these two have only played two full games together, so maybe that catchable target rate swinging from 86% to 67% isn’t shocking. He’s got an intermediate aDOT of 11.2 air yards and a steady diet of in-breaking routes, with a 50% target rate on interior routes. We should expect his yards and efficiency to pick up with more reps. Plus, Jefferson is the most productive receiver in the red zone. The big games are coming, right? They just haven’t hit yet.
But in the meantime, there’s another pass-catcher who’s absolutely worth starting. T.J. Hockenson is back from his concussion and has officially displaced Jordan Addison, stepping right into that WR2 role. The guy led the crew in targets when the Vikings got into scoring position. And if you’re worried about Murray’s accuracy, Hockenson has only had one game with a catchable target rate under 75%. This is huge, especially because three of the Vikings’ next five games are against defenses inside the top 12 in PPG allowed to TEs. So, if you were smart enough to scoop up Hockenson during the bye, he needs to be in your TE1 spot moving forward.
It’s clear that while the Vikings are winning, there’s a serious lack of consistent offensive firepower, mirroring what we’re seeing with Jaxon Smith-Njigba here in Seattle. We need to see Kyler Murray improve those numbers, and Jefferson needs to start converting those opportunities into monster games. Keep an eye on Hockenson though, his schedule suggests he’s ready to feast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply