Questions Answered: Yay or Nay on Josh Allen, Hockenson as No. 2, Wyatt Davis
Dustin Baker
|
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by PurplePTSD. Today is the November 9th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1178778″ player=”26281″ title=”The%207%20Surprises%20from%20Vikings%20Win%20over%20Commanders” duration=”851″ description=”Dustin Baker drops the surprising takeaways from Minnesota’s triumph in Week 9.” uploaddate=”2022-11-08″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/snapshot/1178778_th_1667930073.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/sd/1178778.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
Q: What is your formal prediction on Josh Allen’s availability for Sunday?
A: Based on the tidbits of early-week evidence, we don’t believe Allen will play against the Vikings, paving the way for a Case Keenum-infused “revenge game.”
The Bills will likely be careful with Hurdleface, as it may not be worth risking his long-term status for a win over the Vikings. Winning or losing versus the Vikings won’t change the Bills Super Bowl-frontrunner status.
So far this week, Buffalo said Allen is a “we’ll see” for Week 10, announced they’d use “common sense” with his injury, and the Vegas line dropped from 7.5 to 4 points in favor of Buffalo. And on Wednesday, Allen didn’t practice.
This has the ingredients for an Allen absence.
Q: Doesn’t it feel like T.J. Hockenson is instantly the Vikings WR2 after the trade?
A: Why, yes. Hockenson is that damn good. And he was that damn good in Detroit, causing even more curiosity on why the Lions got rid of him.
The trade was timely because Adam Thielen is beginning his career slow-down, whether you choose to believe it or not. Thielen is 32. That’s old for a wide receiver.
Insert Hockenson, who can be a target hog for the Vikings, especially in the middle of the field, where the Vikings ignored until Hockenson arrived against the Washington Commanders.
Thielen will still make clutch receptions, but Hockenson was acquired to fold into a Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews-ish role. Book it.
Q: Wyatt Davis was waived by the Saints. Is the end of the road for him?
A: No, Davis is only 23. He won’t be a priority for any team to sign, but he’ll get at least one more chance somewhere.
For the foreseeable future, Davis will be a mystery — a man that thrived in college but became a total footnote to everything in the pros. His draft stock rode a rollercoaster from 2019 to 2021, and then his NFL career utterly stagnated after the Vikings took a flyer on him in Round 3 of Rick Spielman’s final draft.
He’ll join another team’s practice squad and hope for the best. His trajectory as a starter, though, is severely dampened and may not recover.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).