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The Vikings reunited with old friend Kirk Cousins at the trade deadline, sending a 2027 third-round pick to the Raiders to hopefully end their quarterback woes. Let’s dig into the fantasy impact this move has on both teams involved.
VIKINGS PASS CATCHERS
- The Vikings’ offense ranks 31st in EPA per play. Kyler Murray is averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. Carson Wentz is averaging 5.6 and just completed eight of 25 passes for 81 yards with two interceptions against the Bills’ defense. Justin Jefferson has topped 58 receiving yards once since Week 1. Put simply, something needed to change in Minnesota, and Cousins is already familiar with Kevin O’Connell‘s offense from his previous tenure in Minnesota. Cousins has had a resurgence in Las Vegas this season under Klint Kubiak‘s tutelage, averaging 7.4 yards per attempt and ranking fifth in the NFL in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns.
- Jefferson averaged a ridiculous 106.8 receiving yards per game on 10.2 yards per target across 2022-23 with Cousins under center. His splits with and without Cousins at QB are incredibly stark:
Justin Jefferson with Kirk Cousins across his career:
0.55 PPR points per route run, 2.76 yards per route run, 27% targets per route runJustin Jefferson without Kirk Cousins across his career:
0.47 PPR points per route run, 2.33 yards per route run, 27% targets per route run— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) November 10, 2026
- This is not the same Kirk Cousins: He spent two full seasons in Atlanta and half a season in Vegas since the last time he threw a pass in a Vikings uniform, and he’s struggled at times with throw velocity and arm strength. Still, Cousins has led an above-average offense (14th in EPA/play overall despite a struggling run game, and Cousins himself ranks seventh in EPA per dropback) this season and will be an immediate upgrade over the quarterback carousel the Vikings have deployed over their last 25 games. Cousins is averaging an entire yard per attempt more than MIN QBs this year, and his weapons are at least as good, with Jefferson and Brock Bowers both being truly elite pass-catching weapons and Jordan Addison a superior weapon to Las Vegas’ secondary receivers. Jefferson’s value vaults back into WR1 territory with increased competency at the quarterback spot, while Addison is a hold until we see just how much better the offense gets.
- Yahoo’s Hayden Winks also noted that the Vikings have been a run-heavy unit this year despite having Jefferson and Addison at their disposal and despite missing Jordan Mason for four games with a thumb injury. It remains to be seen how much Minnesota leans back into the pass with Cousins under center, but it certainly seems likely they will throw the ball more with a QB KOC trusts at the helm.
RAIDERS PASS CATCHERS
- Fernando Mendoza was regarded as a very pro-ready quarterback coming out of the draft, and all indications we’ve gotten from the Raiders’ organization — including the decision to trade Cousins despite insisting at every turn since drafting Mendoza that they intended to sit him as long as possible — are that he’s checked every box for them. That said, it’s not an easy task for a quarterback, even a pro-ready No. 1 overall pick, to step in and engineer an above-average offense, as the Raiders have been thus far. The Raiders’ situation is good: Kubiak is among the brightest young minds in the league, and Bowers is in the conversation for the biggest matchup nightmare in football. At the same time, it’s reasonable to expect some growing pains as the Heisman Trophy winner adjusts to a higher level of competition — and he won’t exactly be eased in, with Las Vegas getting the Seahawks and Broncos over the next two games. The market has made its opinion on the move clear: The Seahawks have gone from 3.5-point favorites to 6.5-point favorites in Week 10, and the game total has dropped, too. It is treating Mendoza as a significant downgrade from Cousins, and that impacts every player on the roster. Brock Bowers remains an elite TE1, and he should still be peppered with targets, but the floor is clearly lower with a rookie at QB. Ancillary options like Tre Tucker and Michael Mayer should not be in fantasy lineups, with uncertainty surrounding the overall effectiveness of the offense.
- Ashton Jeanty is perhaps the biggest loser among Raiders pass catchers. Jeanty’s 0.30 targets per route run leads all running backs with 100+ routes this year, and Cousins was content to check it down. You’d logically expect a rookie quarterback to check the ball down, too, but we’ve already seen proof of concept with Cousins targeting Jeanty more per route than any other RB (with 100+ routes) in the league. Mike Washington Jr. also takes a hit, with the Raiders expected to score fewer points.
