Fantasy Impact: Kirk Cousins

The saga is finally over…The Kirk Cousins sweepstakes has a winner, and without any surprise from me, the 30 year old quarterback has decided on the Minnesota Vikings. I believed this was the best fit from the start, right from the minute the Eagles ended the Vikings season. Was there still a possibility that Cousins could end up getting franchise (transition) tagged again? Sure, but that thought quickly came to an end a week later when the Redskins traded for, and gave a big extension to Alex Smith. Regardless, that’s over and done with. Time to move on to the fantasy impact of new Vikings quarterback, Kirk Cousins.

Is there really any other way to rank Cousins, other than inside the top 10 at the position? He’s finished there in every year that he’s been the starting quarterback for Washington. And that was Washington. Here with the Vikings, he actually has a variety of weapons at his disposal. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen are better than anything he has had in Washington. Yes, that includes DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. Kyle Rudolph, his new tight end with Minnesota, can be just as effective as the Jordan Reed/Vernon Davis combination. We can’t lose sight of the fact that his running back, Dalvin Cook, is more talented than any back he’s played with in his career. So, does all of this mean that because he was the #4 fantasy quarterback in 2016 and #6 fantasy quarterback in 2017, that he should be ranked #1 or even inside the top 5? Not exactly. Other things that need to be considered is the defense. A defensive unit that is able to keep the Vikings in every game. A defensive unit, that could dominate a game to the point where the Vikings could control the clock by running the ball. Cousins shouldn’t have many of the games, where he’s slinging it around the yard in the 4th quarter as the team plays catch-up. How many of these games did he have? How much of his past fantasy production included these types of games? I can’t answer that right now, but it’s definitely something to look into at another time. (If you would like to research that information, by all means go right ahead. Just be sure to let us know what you find!) In addition, the Vikings schedule is pretty tough this upcoming season, with their weakest games are against the Dolphins and ironically the team that needed Cousins the most, the Jets.

Fantasy Impact: Cousins should be drafted as a QB1. Where you want to put him inside that category is up to you. Obviously it is very hard to say (in March) where his draft ranking will ultimately end up, but regardless of where exactly it is, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he finishes the season inside the top 5. He has too many weapons for him not to at least put up the numbers that he has the past 3 seasons. The only reason for a season of fantasy regression, would be if the defense and ground game is just so good that it limits his chances. Cousins may not be elite. His record may not be that good against great teams, and he may have his difficulties with putting teams away in the 4th quarter. None of that matters however when we’re talking about fantasy production. Just look at Blake Bortles. At this point in time, Cousins can be drafted in the QB 7-10 range with potential for a top 5 finish.