Jerick Mckinnon's Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 5

It seems as though the thunderous clamoring for Minnesota Vikings athletic specimen Jerick McKinnon was finally too much for Mike Zimmer to ignore.

While Matt Asiata has filled in admirably during Adrian Peterson's absence, a blind man could probably recognize the difference in talent level between the bruising Asiata and the electrifying rookie out of Georgia Southern.

Sure, Asiata's experience and superiority in pass-blocking and short-yardage situations were fine reasons for him to step in as the starter behind Peterson. But surely, most pundits argued, McKinnon deserved more than four touches in Weeks 2 and 3.

Those arguments turned out to be spot on. McKinnon received 19 touches (18 carries, one catch) Sunday and absolutely torched the Atlanta Falcons to the tune of 152 total yards (135 rushing, 17 receiving). Sports Illustrated's Aaron Nagler and the Star Tribune's Matt Vensel praised the youngster:

CBS Sports' Chris Towers provided a quick in-game look at the explosiveness of McKinnon, whose pSPARQ score (a numeric grade on a player's athleticism), according to Rotoworld.com's Zach Whitman, is in the elite range of Calvin Johnson:

The man is a freak athlete with the speed, quickness and strength to break off big plays every week. Unfortunately, as a former quarterback, he's still a bit raw, and Zimmer doesn't see an expansion of a role anytime soon.

"I think he's a change-of-pace back for us," the head coach told Vensel. "We'll worry about next year [then]. I hope we can continue to grow his role, but I don't think he's going to be an every-down player right now."

Still, McKinnon is too talented to keep off the field for long stretches. He's looking at about 10 touches per game, and against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5, that number could be even larger.

It's a short week, rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater is banged up with an ankle injury, the Vikes would like to keep Aaron Rodgers off the field as much as possible, and the Packers defense has been far more generous against the run:

The ground game is going to be a major part of Minnesota's game plan Thursday night, and at the very least, McKinnon should get half of the work inside the 20s. With his skill set, he can easily turn that into about 70 total yards with the potential for a long touchdown.

It will obviously depend on your team, league and other extenuating circumstances, but in a vacuum, McKinnon is a slightly risky flex play with significant upside. No matter what he does, though, he needs to be owned in all leagues.