Kyler Murray ‘still acclimating’ to MIN offense

It was Murray’s best game as a Viking, and it came against a Detroit defense that was down a half dozen starters by the fourth quarter. Murray for once had a positive drop back EPA and eclipsed 200 passing yards for the third time this season in the run-heavy Minnesota offense. Murray’s best throw of the day came on a 51-yard bomb to Jordan Addison over double coverage. Murray has a couple well-times runs in high leverage situations too. His performance against the injury-riddled Lions secondary could be a good sign for Justin Jefferson and Addison going forward. They’ll face off against a vulnerable Buffalo secondary in Week 9.

The story of the Vikings season has been a vaunted defense with a mediocre offense. That remained true in Week 7, with the Minnesota offense scoring just one touchdown on a Kyler Murray five-yard toss to T.J. Hockenson. Murray averaged 6.3 yards per attempt and struggled to connect with open receivers much of the day. He added 39 yards as a rusher, most of those coming on a 35-yard scamper prior to his passing touchdown. Murray came up limping after a second quarter play but did not miss any plays and finished the game. He threw an end zone interception in the second quarter, but the defender was ruled out of bounds. On the flip side, Murray nearly had Jauan Jennings for a long passing touchdown in the second quarter, but Jennings failed to haul it in. Murray is a high-variance fantasy quarterback due to his rushing upside, but his passing ability remains poor and caps his ceiling. He will be in the fantasy QB2 ranks for a soft Week 8 matchup against the Lions.

Murray was extremely active on the ground, addnig 51 yards on 10 rush attempts. His deep ball, on the other hand, remains a work in progress. His lone touchdown of the day came on a dime to Justin Jefferson on the back of the end zone. He was hesitant to even pull the trigger on deep shots at other times, even when his receiver was wide open. Murray is largely a game-manager right now, but that’s enough to win football games when the Minnesota defense is simply shutting down every opponent they face. Murray will be a mid-range QB2 when he returns to take on the Colts after a Week 6 bye.

The Dolphins’ pass rush made life tougher than expected for the Vikings’ signal caller. Murray managed to turn a few extended plays into successful scrambles, but he also took four sacks, at times simply holding the ball too long. As the game progressed, Murray locked in on T.J. Hockenson when the pass rush was closing in, linking up with him 13 times for 119 yards. The duo should have shared a late touchdown, but Hockenson smartly downed himself at the Dolphins’ five-yard line, so Murray could kneel out the clock from there. Murray will be a high-end QB2 against the Saints next week.

In his first action since sustaining a concussion in Week 1, Murray wasn’t asked to do much in this one. He was about four percent below his expected pass rate on the day with an average depth of target of 9.4 yards. Murray targeted Jordan Addison heavily after Justin Jefferson left the game with an ankle injury, connecting with Addison on a 41-yard score and narrowly missing the speedy downfield wideout for another touchdown. Murray took three sacks and avoided a handful of other sacks against a Tampa front seven missing key players. Murray likely won’t be a 12-team starting play in Week 4 against the Dolphins even if Jefferson suits up.

The 2-0 Vikings will hopefully get their first full look at Murray, who exited in Week 1 after just 11 snaps. Murray will face a Buccaneers defense that ranks 24th in points allowed through the first two weeks and has allowed the 11th-most passing yards and the 10th-highest net yards per pass attempt. Murray has a nice supporting cast to work with and brings plenty of rushing upside, but fantasy managers shouldn’t view him as anything more than a mid-QB2 until we see how he functions in his first full game or two with the team.

Surprisingly for Wentz, he rushed only three times for six yards. Unsurprisingly, he took three sacks and a few other big hits. It was no matter, as Wentz more than did his job as he avoided turnovers so the Vikings could grind out a rainy victory in the Windy City. With Kyler Murray (concussion) expected back for Week 3 in Tampa Bay, Wentz can be returned to the waiver wire in superflex leagues.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday morning Murray is “on track” to return in Week 3 against the Bucs. Jennings, who is out for non-football reasons, has a less clear return timeline.

Schefter added that Murray is expected to clear concussion protocol next week. He was limited throughout practice this week before being ruled out on Friday. Murray made progress through the protocol during the week but couldn’t get the green light before the weekend. Carson Wentz will make one more start. Even with another strong showing, Wentz is all but certain to return to backup duties once Murray is healthy.

Wentz played serviceably last week after starting QB Kyler Murray suffered a concussion. The Bears’ pass defense looks like a unit worth targeting in fantasy. Wentz can be viewed as a QB2 with decent upside, though only WR Justin Jefferson can be viewed as the clear-cut safe fantasy starter.