Niner Noise
FanSided

Fantasy football: 10 players you’ll want to avoid drafting early in 2019

By Peter Panacy

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 12: Todd Gurley #30 of the Los Angeles Rams scores a 35 yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 12: Todd Gurley #30 of the Los Angeles Rams scores a 35 yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 10
Next
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 09: Adam Thielen #19 of the Minnesota Vikings signals a first down after a catch and run in the second half of the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 09: Adam Thielen #19 of the Minnesota Vikings signals a first down after a catch and run in the second half of the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

player. 60. . Wide Receiver. Minnesota Vikings. Adam Thielen. 4

Another player in the “don’t reach” category is Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen.

Thielen’s last two Pro Bowl years have been outstanding, and there’s little reason to suggest he can’t come close to putting up yet another 1,000-yard campaign in 2019.

That said, Thielen is likely to suffer a bit of a setback this season, namely due to the offensive game-plan change under coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who took over for John DeFilippo in the second half last year.

Stefanski is a much more run-oriented coordinator, which should be great news for owners of Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. Yet this more-balanced approach is likely going to cut into Thielen’s targets over the course of 2019.

Between Weeks 1 and 7 last year, Thielen recorded double-digit targets every week, capping off with 19 in Week 3. From Week 8 onward, Thielen had double-digit targets just twice (Weeks 11 and 13).

The latter is likely to be the bigger trend for Thielen owners in 2019, meaning he’s not quite worthy of the coveted WR1 spot.