Adam Thielen Injury Update Clouds Fantasy Value in Coming Weeks

If you started Minnesota Vikings wideout Adam Thielen in Week 9, you were likely pretty frustrated with the results. After playing just nine snaps against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, Thielen was forced out due to a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the team's following game.

While he made his return last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, Thielen played just seven snaps, recording zero catches, before ultimately re-aggravating the injury and missing the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the Vikings don't sound too optimistic about Thielen's availability in Week 10.

Hamstring injuries are typically troublesome, and re-aggravating one so quickly is rarely a good sign. Even in a big game against the Dallas Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football," it's tough to imagine Thielen plays in Week 10.

While his absence likely hurts Kirk Cousins' fantasy outlook, Minnesota does have a couple wideouts who could see a boost in volume, as Thielen had a 25 percent target share through six healthy games, which was tied for the ninth-highest mark at the position.

For one, Stefon Diggs should see plenty of targets without Thielen. He was held to just one catch on four targets against the Chiefs, but Diggs had three straight games with at least 140 receiving yards prior to Week 9.

Additionally, Olabisi Johnson has played at least 70 percent of Minnesota's snaps in three consecutive games. He hasn't been particularly productive, racking up 71 receiving yards during that span, but he's been a threat in the red zone, catching two TDs.

Laquon Treadwell, meanwhile, hasn't seen the field quite as frequently as Johnson, but he might've earned himself some more playing time last week. Despite playing just 28 percent of the snaps, Treadwell caught three passes for 58 yards on five targets.

If Thielen does indeed miss any extended time, Johnson is likely the preferred play, but Treadwell could be an interesting gamble if you're in a deeper league. With Thielen potentially out in Week 10, Diggs is Minnesota's only wideout who cracked the top 36, as he's WR10 in our Week 10 fantasy football PPR rankings.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.