Prop God’s NFL Playbook: Week 12
Prop God
Two years ago, Daniel Jones led the New York Giants to a playoff victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Now, in a true example of “If you can’t beat him, acquire him,” the Vikings are reportedly acquiring Jones, with the team signing the veteran quarterback a few days after he was cut loose by the Giants.
The 27-year-old Jones lands in Minnesota after losing his starting gig in New York, with the team promoting third-stringer Tommy DeVito to the starting role and going so far as to sign Tim Boyle to be the new No. 3, with Jones demoted to No. 4 before reportedly asking for his release.
In 10 games this season, Jones has 2,070 passing yards and an 8:7 TD:INT ratio. He threw for exactly 2 touchdowns in four games and 0 in six, with no games with 1 touchdown pass. He added 265 yards and 2 scores on the ground. Jones had two top-six weekly fantasy finished and four in the top 11, but he also had weeks as QB32 (twice), QB26, QB23 and QB22.
In Minnesota, he’ll compete for the backup job to starter Sam Darnold. Nick Mullens is the current No. 2 with Brett Rypien there as well. It likely won’t take long for Jones to surpass Mullens (and he’ll jump Rypien as soon as he’s officially on the roster). On a Vikings team with Kevin O’Connell (regarded as one of the best QB coaches in the league), Jones will spend the rest of the 2024 season trying to rebuild his value as he heads into free agency. And with Darnold struggling with turnovers (10 interceptions and 7 fumbles this year, including a bad stretch with 6 combined picks and fumbles in Weeks 9 and 10), there’s at least a chance Jones could find himself starting down the stretch and beyond for a team that seems destined for the playoffs — the Vikings are currently the 5 seed in the NFC playoffs and are only a game back of the Lions for the NFC North division title and 1 seed.
Ultimately, this move is more newsworthy for real football than it is for fantasy football, because there’s a real chance it is wholly irrelevant for fantasy — Darnold is the heavy favorite to start for the Vikings the rest of the season. But given Jones’ legs and the weaponry in Minnesota, if he does find his way into a starting job, he’ll immediately flirt with starter status in superflex leagues.
