Vikings Stock Market Report: Week 5

The life of a Minnesota Vikings fan. The eternal hope that the team will finally ascend to the top shelf of the league, only to be swiftly reminded that it will never happen. And all that we’re left with are questions. If Oliver doesn’t fumble, do they score on their opening drive? If Mattison catches the screen pass and scores, do they go for two and win? If the refs don’t pick up the pass interference flag, do the Vikings go on to score? If O’Connell doesn’t burn all of his timeouts before the halfway point of the fourth quarter, do the Vikings have enough time to drive the field and score? The Vikings had an opportunity to take down the defending champions on Sunday, only to be turned away, largely because of their own mistakes. This team is so frustrating! Is that why we love them so much? Have they conditioned us to feel joy through pain? I don’t know, man, this is starting to get out of hand. The Stock Market Report that is numb to everything follows.

Blue Chip Stocks

Kirk Cousins - Kirk took advantage of the impressive pass blocking in this game and played efficiently. He navigated the pocket well and was finding open receivers. Kirk is a good quarterback, and I will stand by that.

Jordan Addison - Addison had his best game of his career, catching 6 passes, including a touchdown and a huge fourth down conversion. With Jefferson on IR, we’re going to see what Addison’s true potential is in the next handful of games.

The Offensive Line - Bravo to this much maligned group. I thought they played their best game of the season in the biggest game of the season.

Solid Investments

Jordan Hicks - Hicks had great game, finishing with a team best 90.3 PFF grade and 10 tackles. His best play came on a one-on-one against Patrick Mahomes, where he took away the passing lane and forced Mahomes to the sideline.

Brandon Powell - Powell got involved for the first time this season, grabbing four balls for 43 yards, and also had a rush attempt that went for nine. With Jefferson on IR, Powell should see more work, and his performance in this game was encouraging.

Junk Bonds

Everyone’s Hands - Hockenson, Osborn, Mattison, Oliver, Bynum, even Jefferson all had a drop or a fumble against the Chiefs. I don’t know what else to say about that, other than... just catch it, and then hold on to it. Seems pretty simple to us armchair analysts, doesn’t it?

Penny Stocks

The Defensive Secondary - It seemed like they were so close to making it happen for the entire game, but Mahomes was just too much. Bynum was putting together a pretty solid game until he had an opportunity to pick off a Patrick Mahomes pass... and jumped too early. This was a game changing missed opportunity that the Vikings sorely needed. Metellus almost had a pick on the pass to Kelce, but Kelce barely came away with it. Murphy was in good position on the touchdown he gave up, but Mahomes threw a perfect ball. All day, nobody really got burnt or blew a coverage assignment. The defenders always seemed to be in position to make a play, but just couldn’t make it happen.

Buy / Sell

Buy - The schedule gets easier from here. On paper, yes, the schedule does seem to soften up a bit, with every game (sans the Niners and maybe the Bengals) looking “winnable” to the optimistic fan.

Sell - The schedule gets easier from here. But, the way the Vikings have been playing and losing these games, really anything can happen, especially without Jefferson. I can see any extreme from finishing 10-2 to only beating the Bears the rest of the way, and you know what? I would take either of those outcomes. But, The Vikings will Viking, and they’ll probably finish 7-10, miss the playoffs, and have a mid-teens pick.

Buy - It’s time to start the rebuild. I’m sure you’ve heard hundreds of people say it in the past couple of days, but this could be a great opportunity to rebuild and chase a top quarterback in next year’s draft. Sell off assets, lose a bunch of games, have a great draft, and come out swinging in a year or so.

Sell - It’s time to start the rebuild. This team, to me, still feels better than last year’s team, despite all of the mistakes. Depending on what their record is when Jefferson comes back, I still can’t rule out a run to the playoffs. Can this team win the Super Bowl? Probably not. So, is it worth trying to claw back into the playoffs? Probably not. But would that be fun to watch? Yes, absolutely.

Thanks for reading this week’s Stock Market Report. Stay strong, friends.