Ty Chandler and the Minnesota Vikings came out punching like Rocky Balboa in the final five minutes of the movie. The Vikings created the upset against the favorites, the San Francisco 49ers.
With Chandler’s performance, fantasy football managers must now research and decide if Chandler can help elevate your roster for Week 3.
The Vikings welcome a challenging opponent in the Houston Texans. TruMedia ranks the Texans’ defense as the ninth-best rushing defense in the NFL, as they only allowed 175 total rushing yards.
Can Chandler elevate your roster and give you a consistently productive fantasy outlook? Let’s break down what Chandler provides to your fantasy squad moving forward.
Ty Chandler’s Fantasy Outlook for the Remainder of the 2024 Season
Chandler gave the Vikings 82 rushing yards, the 13-highest total of the week in the NFL. He produced this total on only 10 rushing attempts, the 27th-best total in Week 2.
Chandler’s 8.2 yards per rush was the fourth-highest in the league. His outstanding 6.70 yards before contact per rush was the second-highest in the league.
Ty Chandler with 82 yards on 10 carries in today’s W for the Vikings 🚀
📺: @NFLonCBS#CarolinaFootball 🏈 #ProHeels pic.twitter.com/HoSXrpNISx
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) September 15, 2024
His teammate, Aaron Jones, only produced 1.11 yards before contact. Chandler worked well within the scheme and used his skill set to create havoc against the 49ers’ run defense.
Chandler’s game issue is his lack of receiving work. Jones received six targets and produced five receptions, while Chandler did not record a single reception in Week 2. Chandler has only seen three targets on the season, while Jones has seen eight.
Chandler struggles to be used in the passing game, as his 14 routes are overshadowed by the veteran Jones, who has run 30 routes already in two weeks. This disparity is due to yards after catch by Jones and Chandler. Jones is ninth-best in the NFL with 71 yards, while Chandler is 33rd with 28 total YAC.
Chandler also caught the eye of PFF, where he graded out as one of the top players for the Minnesota Vikings with a 79.8 score. Meanwhile, Jones struggled and was bottom of the barrel in Minnesota.
LOWEST graded #Vikings vs. 49ers
– LB Ivan Pace Jr. (30.6)
– IDL Jonah Williams (39.5)
– IDL Jonathan Bullard (47.2)
– TE Johnny Mundt (48.0)
– S Camryn Bynum (49.8)
– RG Ed Ingram (51.9)
– RB Aaron Jones (53.0)
– LG Blake Brandel (55.3)
– FB CJ Ham (59.4) pic.twitter.com/YTfccC2b74— Tanner Weber (@Purple_Post) September 16, 2024
Considering Jones is a 76.8 overall for the season, we should expect a bounce-back week from the veteran running back at some point.
Should Ty Chandler Be Added on the Fantasy Waiver Wire in Week 3?
Although Chandler had a great Week 2, we should allow his 40% rostership on Sleeper to stay where it sits. Chandler will struggle against a stronger opponent in the Houston Texans, which will hamper his fantasy ranking in Week 3.
Even with the better fantasy production, Chandler only saw 37% of snaps compared to Jones’ 53%. He had an extremely productive game, but keeping that efficiency will be challenging for Chandler moving forward.
Your fantasy team will benefit from you looking for a different running back to help bolster your lineup. Don’t get sucked in with recency bias and make a mistake in the waiver selections this week.