This article originally appeared at FanDuel Research.
Let’s finish Week 7 strong with a big Vikings vs. 49ers prediction, plus the latest odds and player prop betting picks from our friends at FanDuel.
Player props can be useful in a variety of ways — from taking advantage of them straight up to measuring a player’s potential to produce in daily fantasy football on FanDuel. Here, we’re going to focus on the former.
Utilizing numberFire’s projections as a guide, here are some NFL player prop bets that look appealing, and stick around at the end for a big 49ers vs. Vikings prediction.
Please note that betting lines at FanDuel Sportsbook and numberFire’s game projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations.
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Week 7 NFL Betting Picks: 49ers vs. Vikings
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk Any Time Touchdown (+125)
Brandon Aiyuk Over 24.5 Yards Longest Reception (-114)
Brandon Aiyuk is primed for a big game on Monday Night Football to close out Week 7.
The Minnesota Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers, where we see a modest 43.0-point over/under, and the road 49ers as 6.5-point favorites. The important notes for the 49ers are that Deebo Samuel is out, while Christian McCaffrey is dealing with an oblique injury.
CMC is expected to play, but we still want to focus on Aiyuk as a main option for the 49ers’ offense tonight.
Aiyuk leads the team with an 85.3% route running rate, 30.3% target share, 50.5% air yards share, and is the second-highest on the team with a 14.9 average depth of target (aDOT) and 21.1% red zone target share. He’s all over the place for the 49ers’ passing offense and yet, he hasn’t scored since Week 1.
Remove Samuel from the mix and there’s just one fewer option for the 49ers to look to in the scoring area.
When it comes to the Vikings’ defense, they are in the bottom 10 of the league for the most receptions (100) and yards (1,164) allowed to opposing wide receivers this season.
We’ve also seen the Vikings’ secondary get torched by the long ball this season, allowing long receptions of 24, 25, 28, 28, 30, 33, 40, 49, and 63 yards.
This should play well into Aiyuk’s skillset, who has broken off long receptions of 23, 23, 25, 25, 33, 34, and 42 yards.
Between his usage and the matchup, Aiyuk is in a great spot to have a big game.
Lions TE T.J. Hockenson Over 5.5 Receptions (-113)
With Justin Jefferson on Injured Reserve for the Vikings, the offense has an opening for some production.
We saw a glimpse of that last week when TJ Hockenson ended with eight targets, six receptions, and 50 yards. A relatively modest stat line and we should be seeing somewhat of the same tonight.
What’s more important is that Hockenson had a team-high 26.7% target share, which is just a bit higher than his 20.7% target share for the entire season. While it’s just a one-game sample size, it’s good to see that Kirk Cousins trusts Hockenson in the passing game.
The 49ers are in the top four of the league for the fewest yards (172) allowed to opposing tight ends, so I don’t expect a massive amount of yards from Hockenson, but the target volume should be there for him to hit over 5.5 receptions tonight.
— Tom Vecchio
49ers vs. Vikings Prediction: NFL Week 7
The numberFire projections model gives San Francisco City a significant 69.4% chance of victory against Minnesota.
A spread of 7 points and a total of 43.5 implies a final score of approximately 25.25-18.25.
