Panthers vs. Vikings: 4 key matchups to watch in Week 6

There will be quite a few LSU Tigers in the building when the Panthers host the Vikings. That contingent includes CB Donte Jackson and WR Justin Jefferson, who should see plenty of one another in Week 6.

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The Carolina Panthers may be facing a turning point already here in Week 6.

With so many less-than-optimal signs suddenly popping up—a regressed performance from their quarterback, a still-on-the-mend superstar, and an offensive line still searching for answers—a third straight loss on Sunday would send the once 3-0 hopefuls to .500.

For that not to happen, the Panthers must come out on the better side of these four key matchups with the Minnesota Vikings.

Vikings Friday injury report: Two out

The Vikings have two players ruled out for the Panthers game.

The Vikings won in an unconvincing fashion over the Lions last game.

Despite all its mistakes, Minnesota eked by on a game-winning field goal. The Vikings defense stepped up at times, but overall, the group gave the Lions running backs decent holes to run through.

Minnesota was without DT Michael Pierce for that game. For their game against the Panthers in Week 6, the Vikings will be without their run-stopping starting nose tackle yet again.

The Vikings have ruled out Pierce and blocking tight end Ben Ellefson for the Sunday game. Based on the team’s practice squad decisions this week, it makes sense that it’s lacking in tight end depth for this matchup.

The Vikings only having Pierce and Ellefson on the injury report is good news. On Thursday, the team had key players such as Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen not practicing. Also, Minnesota LB Anthony Barr earned the “limited” designation.

Dalvin Cook, after being inactive for Week 5, is not listed on the team’s injury report. That is a very good sign for the team.

Vikings get a little healthier on the Thursday injury report

The Vikings’ injury report is looking a lot better than it did yesterday. Still, the team has some key players dealing with injuries.

Dalvin Cook was a “full” participant in Thursday’s practice. The Vikings could get Cook back for a crucial game against the Panthers in Week 6.

The Minnesota running back was ruled out for last game against the Lions. Alexander Mattison did well in Cook’s absence, but it would still help to get Cook back healthy. Also, Mattison currently resides on the Thursday injury report with a “limited” designation, so it’s not a given he could start in relief of Cook again.

Here is the full injury report for Thursday:

Vikings get good news and a lot of bad news on the Wednesday injury report

The Vikings’ Wednesday injury report looks about as long as a CVS receipt.

The Vikings had to play the Lions in Week 5 without their star running back.

Minnesota RB Dalvin Cook, who suffered an ankle injury in the Cardinals game in Week 2, has been pretty limited since then.

Well, Minnesota got some good news Wednesday: Cook was limited in practice. Sure, it’d be better for the Vikings if Cook earned the “full” designation, but the team should settle for Cook practicing in the mid-week.

Here is the entire Vikings injury report so far:

Vikings’ top offensive PFF grades from the win over the Lions

Here are the Vikings’ top offensive players from the Lions game, according to PFF:

The Vikings made miscues throughout the game against the Lions.
Detroit even scored a two-point conversion after a touchdown to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. But due to last-minute heroics on offense and special teams, the Vikings won on Sunday to move to 2-3.

Here are the Vikings’ top offensive players from the game, according to PFF:

DFS Fantasy Football: Favorite Pro Plays – Week 5

WinDailySports’ CEO Jason Mezrahi checks in with his top Week 5 DFS fantasy football for FanDuel and DraftKings

Top-ranked daily fantasy sports pro Jason Mezrahi, founder and CEO of WinDailySports.com, breaks down his favorite DFS plays at various salary ranges for Week 5 of the NFL season. We are back for another year of DFS domination and we have some new tools to take advantage of from my team over at WinDailySports.com.
 
Our projection model, lineup optimizer, and data tools have been revamped and back tested to start the season off right. So what I will do in this article is list some of our highest projected players based off raw points and our highest point-per-dollar plays based on DraftKings.com pricing. Special Huddle Member Discount: If you would like to give our membership at Win Daily a try, take advantage of a FREE 2-week promotion where you will gain an all access gold pass to our DFS package. Use promo code “thehuddle” at checkout for 2 weeks FREE for both our DFS Gold Package. Sign up now.
 
 
These are some of the players Jason will be locking in his lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel for this weekend’s slate.

Quarterbacks

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

$6,900 DRAFTKINGS
$8,100 FANDUEL

Dak has yet to have to repeat that ceiling game in Week 1 to start the season. It’s pretty crazy to think that the Cowboys have won 3 games in a row while Dak has thrown for 188, 238, and 237 yards in those games. Dallas is looking great as a team and I think this is a spot in the division versus the Giants that has that big 25+ point game written all over it. The matchup versus the Giants is juicy and Vegas has the over set at 52, so we should see a bunch of points here from Dallas. With this being an in division game, I think the Giants fight tough through four quarters and this game stays competitive. Ownership will be down on Dak after the past couple performances being underwhelming where you will get a quarterback with a 30+ ceiling at under 10% ownership which makes him a great play for cash and tournaments. 

Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

$6,500 DRAFTKINGS
$7,500 FANDUEL

Not many people respect Kirk Cousins and even fewer people have the courage to play him in DFS. Kirk had 3 back to back to back 25+ DraftKings games before his tough matchup versus Cleveland last week. With that matchup in our rear view mirror we are blessed with a nice matchup versus Detroit where the over is set to 49 points. The Lions are allowing 28.3 points per game and it should lead to a 30+ point performance from the Vikings offense. Unlike some other quarterbacks, the decision on who to pair them with is easy with Cousins. Lock up Kirk with Jefferson in both tournaments and cash games in Week 5. 

Running Backs

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

$7,300 DRAFTKINGS
$7,800 FANDUEL

Saquon Barkley is the Giants offense. Everything is funneling through him and if the Giants want to have any shot to win they need to continue to increase his workload through more touches and targets. He went from 16 combined touches and targets, to 23, to 19 these past 3 weeks. If you give Saquon that form of volume or more the production will surely follow. Two back to back performances of 20+ fantasy points has me believing the man is back. With the game script in Barkley’s favor the Giants should be playing from behind which should lean to more targets. I prefer Barkley in games where the Giants will be trailing because I think he’s most dangerous and effective from a fantasy perspective when he’s catching passes. Barkley has the skill set to take anything to the house and I like him as a core play for Week 5.

James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars

$6,000 DRAFTKINGS
$7,400 FANDUEL

If you get beat by the New York Jets you have a problem. If you allow the Jets to score 27 you will be targeted by every opposing offense from a DFS perspective moving forward. This Titan defense is getting gashed by their opponents and Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars are set up for some fantasy goodness, and maybe even their first victory. Robinson is a 3 down back for the Jaguars, their goal line back, and a back which should see increased volume in the passing game as well. Coming off two 20+ point performances in consecutive weeks has me thinking a 3rd is right around the corner. The matchup is juicy, the volume will be there, and the price tag especially on DraftKings is appetizing. Load up on Robinson in Week 5 and get different in other spots. 

Wide receivers

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

$7,700 DRAFTKINGS
$8,000 FANDUEL

If people want to fade Cousins go right ahead, but they will have an even tougher time fading Jefferson. Jefferson is another player coming off two 20+ point performances in consecutive weeks and he is the alpha receiver in this offense. With touchdowns in three consecutive weeks and a Detroit defense who is getting torched, our projection model at WinDailySports.com projects Jefferson as the second highest scoring receiver on the slate. Lock up Jefferson in both cash games and tournaments. 

DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers

$7,500 DRAFTKINGS
$7,900 FANDUEL

People want to deny the production each week and continue to fade Moore. Don’t keep telling yourself that he is due for a bad game, maybe start questioning if Moore is the 2021 version of Adams. I know it sounds crazy to compare the connection of Darnold and Moore to Rodgers and Adams but numbers don’t lie. The targets are increasing along with yardage and touchdowns, and I don’t see it stopping in Week 5 versus the Eagles. The earlier you identify the trends the better your returns. We have two trends which align to make this a smash play in Week 5. Number 1 is the fact that Moore is the focal point of this offense and number 2 is how bad this Eagles defense continues to be. Lock up another 20+ point performance from Moore in Week 5. 

Tight ends

TJ Hockenson, Detroit Lions

$5,500 DRAFTKINGS
$6,400 FANDUEL

This should be a bounce back spot for Hockenson after two consecutive down weeks. He took a day off at practice and appeared on the injury report so be mindful of that as more news comes out prior to game time. If Hockenson is a full go and all reports lean to him being healthy we can see an outburst from him versus the Vikings. Vegas has this game scoring 49 points and with the Lions having zero elite receivers, a good portion of their game plan will be funneled through Hockenson. The Vikings are allowing 250+ passing yards per game and that should be enough for Hockenson to eclipse the 15 fantasy point mark and if he can find a way into the end zone it should lead to even a bigger week. 

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys

$4,400 DRAFTKINGS
$6,200 FANDUEL

I wrote up Schultz last week in my tight end article on Win Daily and I will be doubling down this week as well. Schultz is no slouch, and his workload has increased every week since Gallup went down with an injury. A 26 point performance versus Philadelphia followed by a 17 point game versus Carolina has me thinking we found a diamond in the rough with Schultz. It’s hard to predict if Cooper or Lamb will be the guy from week to week but targeting Schultz instead has led to a positive outcome. I like the play more on DraftKings but he’s a fine play on both sites in Week 5. 

Good luck in Week 5, and if you ever have any questions, please hit me up on Twitter!

Jason Mezrahi has been a professional, top-ranked Daily Fantasy Player on FanDuel and DraftKings for more than eight years. He has won FanDuel’s $155,555 King of the Diamond competition and placed second in DraftKings’ Fantasy Basketball World Championship, earning him $300,000. He owns and operates WinDailySports.com, which supports the DFS and Sports Betting community with resources such as tools, projection models, expert chat, in-depth written analysis and podcasts, plus much more.

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Three truths the Vikings have to accept after a 1-3 start

Here are three Vikings-related truths:

The Vikings very well could have started the year with two wins, but instead fell to 0-2 after devastating collapses. Minnesota got back on track in Week 3 against Seattle.

The Browns were a wake-up call. Cleveland beat Minnesota 14-7 on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings are now 1-3 and have to look in the metaphorical mirror and assess what the team can actually do.

Here are three truths the Vikings have to confront:

Vikings’ loss to the Browns: Everything we know

The Vikings suffer another disappointing loss.

The Vikings played a beautiful game against the Seahawks, pulling off the upset in Week 3.

In its game against Cleveland in Week 4, Minnesota wasn’t like that at all. And the Vikings paid for it with a disappointing loss. Now, the team is 1-3 and has to do the incredibly difficult task of salvaging its season.

Vikings’ game vs. Browns: Top photos from the game so far

Vikings fans, what do you think of that first half?

On the Vikings’ opening drive, Kirk Cousins scrambled and found Justin Jefferson in the end zone in the first quarter — only to have it called back because Cousins was past the line of scrimmage.

So the Vikings went and did it again.

Cousins connected with Jefferson for the touchdown, but this time it wasn’t called back. Minnesota took the lead 7-0. Big defensive stops minimized the scoring for the rest of the half. At the time this article was published, the Browns led the Vikings 11-7.

Here are the top photos from the matchup:

Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase stay hot; Chark and Edwards-Helaire both find pay dirt

Ja’Marr Chase leads the former Tigers in the NFL in week three, including his historic performance to start a career.

Week three of the NFL season has come and gone and plenty of former LSU Tigers made their mark for their pro teams from Thursday to Sunday around the NFL.

Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase lead the way by connecting for two more touchdowns in a win against the Pittsburg Steelers. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence found DJ Chark for a score and Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire found the end zone for the first time this season.

Here’s a full look at each former LSU Tiger at a skill position in this week’s NFL action.