NFL Week 16 Fantasy Football Recap: Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Giants

• T.J. Hockenson: 13 receptions, 109 yards, 2 touchdowns

• Justin Jefferson: 12 receptions, 133 yards, 1 touchdown

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Isaiah Hodgins had the game of his career: Hodgins caught eight passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Hodgins joined the Giants in Week 10 off waivers from the Buffalo Bills after New York traded away Kadarius Toney.
He instantly became a rotational player for New York thanks to his familiarity with the offense, fighting for snaps with Kenny Golladay on the outside.
Hodgins consistently gained 25-45 receiving yards a game.
He slowly but surely became the clear starter over Golladay. This led to him playing at least 89% of offensive snaps in each of the past three games.
Hodgins was helped by a game script that forced New York to pass and a Vikings defense that has allowed the second-most receiving yards to wide receivers this season.
Slot receiver Richie James Jr. also had his best game in a Giants uniform, with eight receptions for 90 yards.
It will be much harder to trust these receivers next week against the Indianapolis Colts. The game script will likely be in the Giants’ favor, allowing them to run, and the Colts have allowed the fifth-fewest receiving yards to wide receivers this season.
There is at least a chance Hodgins could be a starter for New York next season due to the lack of solid receiver options in free agency.

Adam Thielen’s quiet game: Thielen was held to one catch for just the second time in the past three seasons. The other instance was due to him being injured on the play.

The NFL credited him with five targets on Cousins’ 48 passes. Kirk Cousins was hit while throwing the ball on one, and the ball was batted on another, preventing the pass from getting close to Thielen.
He caught one of the passes that got anywhere close to him and dropped another.
Thielen will be 33 by the start of next season.
Julio Jones, A.J. Green, DeSean Jackson and Cole Beasley are the only wide receivers with a catch this season at 33 or older. None of them have more than 25 receptions or 300 yards.
Thielen could still be with the Vikings next season, but his days as the clear-cut No. 2 wide receiver in Minnesota could soon be coming to an end.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.