NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Recap: Minnesota Vikings vs. Arizona Cardinals

• DeAndre Hopkins: 12 receptions, 159 yards, 1 touchdown

• Dalvin Cook: 20 carries, 111 yards, 1 touchdown, 5 receptions, 30 receiving yards

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Darrel Williams’ return: The Cardinals still don’t have James Conner back, but their third-string running back did return.

Williams had last played in Week 5, where he handled just eight snaps before suffering his injury.
Eno Benjamin’s playing time was unaffected by the move. Williams’ return just pushed Keaontay Ingram back down the depth chart.
Neither running back found much success running the ball. The ineffective run game just increases the chances of Conner seeing a very big role once he’s healthy.

A.J. Green bounced back: Green didn’t see a single offensive snap when the Cardinals played on Thursday Night Football last week, but he returned to third on the depth chart.

Green was the clear player in three-wide receiver sets in the first half. He played 18 of a possible 30 snaps, compared to two by Greg Dortch and one by Robbie Anderson.
That split changed in the second half, with Dortch seeing equal playing time and more pass plays while Anderson mixed in more.
Anderson can be cut in fantasy leagues, as he’s in a three-man rotation fighting for snaps in three-receiver sets.
Rondale Moore can be put in starting lineups, as he is never leaving the field and seeing significant targets.
Moore caught seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 12 yards.

Cut Irv Smith Jr.: The Vikings tight end caught four passes for 28 yards while Johnny Mundt vultured a touchdown.

Smith’s playing time declined while the Vikings held a lead throughout the day, allowing them to stay in more rushing situations.
Smith hasn’t caught more than four passes in a game since Week 2. He also hasn’t tallied more than 42 receiving yards in a game this season.
For some time, there was at least a little hope his playing time would increase as the season progressed, but the odds of that happening have decreased significantly.
The Vikings don’t have a good matchup for their tight ends again until December.
There are too many other options at tight end who are seeing more playing time and have higher ceilings.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Smith suffered an ankle injury. Smith didn’t play in the last few minutes of the game, which wasn’t too surprising given the game script. Smith can be dropped from fantasy lineups, regardless of his health.

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.