Week 5 vs. Houston
Starting in place of Adrian Peterson, Jerick McKinnon has had 16 carries and 18 carries in two starts this season. That should tell you that Minnesota views the young ball carrier as their starter, and trust him with touches.
Those touches should lead to fantasy points in Week 5 as McKinnon faces a favorable Texans' run defense. Houston has allowed 100+ rushing yards in three consecutive games, including four touchdowns in that span.
McKinnon should be viewed as a strong RB2 play this week.
Week 4 vs. New York Giants
Before last week's game, it was announced Matt Asiata would be the starting running back. As it turned out, Jerick McKinnon was the main ball carrier, finishing with 45 yards on 16 carries. That's a 2.8 average, which is not ideal moving forward.
McKinnon is likely to struggle again this week against the Giants. New York has allowed the fifth-fewest rushing yards to opponents, and the second fewest yards per carry. The Vikings will give McKinnon starter touches, but in a poor matchup, he should be viewed as an RB3 play.
Week 3 at Carolina
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Jerick McKinnon will be the team's starting tailback, and offensive coordinator Norv Turner said he likes how McKinnon and Matt Asiata's games compliment each other. Basically, expect McKinnon to get his share of touches, but be aware that Asiata will cut into the workload.
When McKinnon gets his opportunities, he's usually pretty good. In the three career games where he had 16+ carries, McKinnon has finished with 80+ rushing yards. He's also a PPR threat, as he had 27 receiving targets on his few 77 snaps from last season.
We're excited to see what McKinnon can do in the future, but we may have to wait as he faces a tough Panthers defense in Week 3. We view McKinnon more as a low-end RB2 or flex play this week.
Week 2 vs. Detroit
Jerick McKinnon played just eight offensive snaps in Week 1. Unless he sees more of the field, keep him sidelined.
Jerick McKinnon - Week 13 vs. Carolina Panthers
Update
Jerick McKinnon has been ruled out of this week's game.
End Update
Jerick McKinnon is the clear cut starter in Minnesota, but he's not doing much with his role. Last week he ran 15 times for 54 yards and caught three passes for nine yards. He's capable of breaking big runs, as we've seen in his two 100-yard games, but he typically posts average numbers.
He gets a favorable matchup this week against Carolina. The Panthers have allowed 14 total touchdowns to backs this season, an average of over one per game.
McKinnon will be a decent RB2 option this week in a good matchup.
Jerick McKinnon - Week 12 vs. Green Bay Packers
Matt Asiata is in doubt to play this week, which is good news for Jerick McKinnon. The rookie was already taking over the starting job, but he should get plenty of touches now. His only competition is Ben Tate who the Vikings signed just this week.
McKinnon was a disappointment last week against Chicago. He had just 12 touches for 58 total yards. Expect him to get more touches this week against Green Bay.
The Packers aren't a great matchup for McKinnon. The last time he played them he finished with 10 touches for 46 yards. It was his worst game of the season after he became involved in the offense.
He's worth starting because he'll likely have at least 20 touches, but don't expect huge numbers. He's a RB2 this week.
Jerick McKinnon - Week 11 vs. Chicago
The last time we saw Jerick McKinnon he was competing pretty closely with Matt Asiata. For a while it looked like Asiata was being phased out of the offense, but in Week 9 he finished with just three less touches. McKinnon finished the game with 68 yards and no touchdowns. Asiata was able to score three times.
For now we'll view the Asiata three touchdown game as an anomaly. McKinnon should get the majority of the touches moving forward. He'll have a chance for a big game this week against Chicago. The Bears have allowed 125 and 132 rushing yards to backs over the last two games.
McKinnon should be viewed as a RB2 this week in a pretty good matchup.
Jerick McKinnon - Week 9 vs. Washington
Jerick McKinnon once again massively out-played and out-touched Matt Asiata in Week 8. McKinnon wasn't awful (83 rushing yards, 5.2 ypc), but it wasn't a big fantasy day. He's also been a non-factor in the passing game with -3 yards in his last two games combined. He also hasn't found the endzone in any game this season.
He'll draw a tough matchup this week against Washington. The Redskins have only allowed two touchdowns to backs the entire year.
McKinnon is a RB2 because he'll get plenty of touches and always has breakaway ability, but he hasn't been incredibly productive as a starter.
Jerick McKinnon - Week 8 vs. Tampa Bay
Jerick McKinnon is the man in Minnesota now. He's out-touched and out-snapped Matt Asiata for the second straight week. Not only is he getting more playing time, but he's doing a lot with it. Last week against Buffalo he rushed for 103 yards, the most allowed by the Bills' defense. The previous high for a single rusher against Buffalo was 82 yards.
He'll get a favorable matchup this week against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers are allowing the fifth most fantasy points to opposing backs this season. McKinnon will get plenty of touches to make his mark against the Bucs' defense. He should be viewed as a borderline RB1.
Jerick McKinnon - Week 7 vs. Buffalo
The Minnesota Vikings gave in to peer pressure and appeared to handover the starting running back job to Jerick McKinnon. The rookie played on 68 perecent of the team's offensive snaps compared to Matt Asiata's 24 percent. In fact, Asiata didn't even touch the ball until 5:53 left in the second quarter (he only had three total touches in the game).
McKinnon didn't have an explosive game, but he finished with 82 total yards against a tough defense. He'll face another tough defense this week against the Bills.
Buffalo hasn't allowed a touchdown (rushing or receiving) to a running back all season. They are also holding backs to an average of 57 rushing yards per game. The season high against them is just 86 yards.
McKinnon will likely get the bulk of the carries again, but in a difficult matchup he should be viewed as a RB2.
