Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 8 Thursday Game: Oronde Gadsden and Kimal Vidal Help Chargers Past Vikings

Week 8 of the NFL regular season got rolling with the Los Angeles Chargers absolutely dismantling the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 37-10.

Let's take a look at some fantasy football takeaways from the contest.

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Several Chargers Deliver Big Showings

Quarterback Justin Herbert had a big night and finished as the top fantasy performer from the contest.

He was 18-of-25 passing for 227 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Herbert added 62 rushing yards on seven attempts to offset the pick and really deliver a fantastic score.

He will end up as a top-end finisher at the QB position this week, and it showed why he's such a good weekly option. The offense revolves around Herbert after a couple injuries to running backs, and it makes him a good fantasy starting option every week, even in some tougher matchups. Start him confidently going forward.

Speaking of the running game, Kimani Vidal enjoyed a big game while serving as the team's lead back. He rushed for 117 yards and a score on 23 carries, while catching one of his two targets for an additional 10 yards.

It was his second time at or near 20 fantasy points over the past three weeks, but he didn't reach eight fantasy points in the other contest. He's a bit of a boom-or-bust fantasy asset until Omarion Hampton is ready to return. 

Vidal will remain a pretty good starting option until Hampton is back in the mix. 

Ladd McConkey was the top pass catcher, finishing with over 20 PPR points. He caught six of his 10 targets for 88 yards and a touchdown.

He started the year slow, but has at least 14 PPR points in four straight games, with two games over 20 points. McConkey is back to being the team's No. 1 pass-catching option, but there will probably still be weeks where he's outproduced by some teammates.

I still think it makes sense to trade McConkey, especially now that he's built his value back up. You could land a WR1 from another team that doesn't have nearly the amount of competition that McConkey does for targets and production. I think that'd be better than hoping he continues to lead the Chargers every single week.

Tight End Oronde Gadsden delivered again, giving the fantasy owners who trusted him a great score to kick off the week. He caught all five of his targets for 77 yards and a score.

I didn't think there was a chance that he'd emerge over some of the wide receivers, but I'd be more confident starting him over anyone but McConkey at this point. He should be a top-10 fantasy TE option for the rest of the season, so add him if you still can, or buy him while his value is still relatively cheap.

The Other Pass Catchers

While Gadsden and McConkey delivered big fantasy showings, Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston were held in check. It was Tre' Harris who was the next top fantasy scorer, so let's add another name to the mix why don't we?

Harris caught two passes for eight yards and a touchdown. It wasn't a big showing, but the score gave him several fantasy points. 

What's most notable is that he played 43 snaps, which was 59% of the team's total. That could have been from the team blowing out the Vikings, but he outsnapped McConkey (42), Johnston (38) and Allen (18).

Allen was targeted five times, catching four passes for 44 yards. Those marks are really pretty similar to what he's done most weeks, but without a touchdown, his fantasy score was lacking.

He always plays the least amount of snaps between him, McConkey and Johnston, so that's why I've been pushing fantasy owners to sell him high. I wanted you to do it after he scored nearly 30 PPR points in week 7, as now his value will drop going into week 9.

Johnston wasn't even targeted in the contest, so his value will really drop. He barely did anything in week 7 as well, but a touchdown saved his fantasy day.

After his hot start to the season, Johnston has dropped back to looking more like a flex-level option at best, and only startable in standard leagues in average-or-better matchups. Hopefully you sold him several weeks ago, because his value has dropped significantly since.

Again, I'd be happiest to rid myself of any of the team's pass catchers. If I was going to keep one, I'd keep Gadsden, because he's at a tougher position to find talent. I like McConkey the best of the wideouts, then it's a toss up between Allen and Johnston, and now maybe Harris might start factoring in, so this situation could get really messy.

Vikings' Top Performers

For only having 164 total yards of offense, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison each delivered for fantasy owners still.

Jefferson caught seven of his 11 targets for 74 yards, while Addison had 26 yards and a score on three catches and four targets. Those aren't great fantasy scores, but at least they were in double figures and didn't leave you way behind heading into the weekend.

This offense just isn't a high caliber one with Carson Wentz at quarterback, and the return of J.J. McCarthy likely won't alter all that much. It means that Jefferson and Addison are riskier fantasy options, even with higher fantasy ceilings.

You could look into trading both guys, maybe looking for wideouts on more dependable offenses in return. Jefferson especially should get you a nice return, but Addison could net you a decent haul too.

Other Vikings' Performances

Wentz was 15-of-27 passing for 144 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He didn't add anything as a rusher.

It was a tough matchup for Wentz, and it went about as expected, maybe even worse. He's a low-end fantasy option, and should only be starting in the deepest of leagues if he gets any more starts over McCarthy.

Aaron Jones Sr. returned and ended up outperforming Jordan Mason, so now the Vikings' backfield could be a fantasy mess again.

Jones rushed for 15 yards on five carries and he added 15 receiving yards on two catches and four targets. Mason had three rushing yards on four carries and a three-yard reception on his lone target.

Jones even led the way in snaps, 26-15, so he might even be the lead guy again over Mason. The game flow could have also worked in his favor, or the team might have looked to get Jones back up to speed since the game got out of hand.

It will be tough to start either guy in a standard league moving forward. This was a favorable matchup for them, and neither did much of anything. We'll re-assess things before the team's next game, but they both look like deep-league assets only to me.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson underwhelmed again, only having 26 yards on two catches and three targets. 

I had him as a top-10 option for the week, which was more because six teams were on bye and other matchups weren't great, but Hockenson disappointed again. He's the third-best pass-catching option behind Jefferson and Addison, and it'll be very tough to start him in standard leagues going forward, even in favorable matchups.

Kicker and IDP Stats

Minnesota's Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson had 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Each had a tackle for loss too.

Cashman has 18 tackles over three games played, so there's some fantasy value with him to take advantage of. Wilson has 51 tackles and a couple splash plays across seven contests, so he's another solid IDP option.

Vikings' Joshua Metellus picked off a pass and finished with six tackles. He has 41 tackles and two picks now for the year, so he's a nice IDP option in the secondary.

RJ Mickens had the Chargers' INT, and he added two tackles. He has 11 tackles over five games, so this was a bit of an outlier showing for him.

Justin Eboigbe had two sacks among his three tackles for LA. He has 18 tackles and four sacks on the year across eight games, so he's emerging as a decent IDP option. 

Khalil Mack had a sack and forced fumble among his two tackles. In four games, he has three sacks among his six tackles. While his fantasy value is built on sacks, he's delivered enough so far this season to utilize in a good amount of IDP leagues.

Los Angeles kicker Cameron Dicker made three of his four field goals and all four of his extra points. Minnesota's Will Reichard made one of his two field goals and his lone extra point.