The Minnesota Vikings should be getting Adrian Peterson back soon, but until then some waiver wire options and free agent pickups for Week 11 include Matt Asiata, Jerick McKinnon, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kyle Rudolph and Greg Jennings, as those players have the chance to put up numbers for Teddy Bridgewater in the offense until AP can return to the field.
The Vikings have been getting by without Adrian Peterson and even with him likely to return soon, fantasy owners should look at McKinnon and Asiata in the offense. Teddy Bridgewater has done a solid job of taking over as the starting quarterback and both Asiata and McKinnon have put up numbers in place of Peterson. McKinnon has more rushing yards, but Asiata has been the higher scoring back since he has been used in more goal line situations.
Peterson is going to be eased back into things if and when he returns, as the offense has had to adapt with his absence. Teddy Bridgewater has been the focal point and Norv Turner has used shotgun more now that Peterson has ever seen in his career and once he comes back he will have to adjust. The next couple weeks could be the final boom weeks for Asiata and McKinnon and fantasy owners should look at taking advantage of that. AP may get some extra games after his plea deal, as the NFL wants to suspend him, but the NFLPA may argue that his time on the exempt list should count as punishment.
Either way, the Vikings still need Asiata and McKinnon for the time being and fantasy owners should look at both players as options. McKinnon likely will put up more numbers, but Asiata has a much better upside since he is the goal line back and he comes in after scoring three times in his last game. Asiata now has six touchdowns on just 84 carries this season and he has also added 277 yards on the ground along with 22 catches for 199 yards. Asiata is a better option in deep leagues and he comes in after rushing for 26 yards last week and he also had four receptions for another 31 yards.
McKinnon has had two 100-yard games this season and he has been the lead back with Peterson out and he is tops on the team with 446 rushing yards. McKinnon is averaging a very impressive 5.0 yards per carry and this season he has 90 carries and another 20 touches through the air on receptions. Last week against the Redskins McKinnon ad 14 rushes for 54 yards and while he did not get into the endzone, he is still a solid option until Peterson returns.
Bridgewater has performed well since taking over as the starting quarterback and while he has more interceptions than touchdowns, he has given the Vikings more than Christian Ponder did last year. Bridgewater had 268 yards last week with a touchdown and he did not turn the ball over and he also is a threat rushing the ball. Bridgewater is not a QB1 yet, but for deeper leagues and teams in need of a spot start, he could be a surprise option coming out of the bye in Week 11.