Ben Tate and Jerick McKinnon's Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 12

The Minnesota Vikings claimed running back Ben Tate off waivers from the Cleveland Browns Wednesday, according to the team’s official website, and fantasy owners want to know what’s next for the Minnesota backfield.

Vikings running backs Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata are also likely looking to see how the carries will be divvied up in Week 12 against the Green Bay Packers.

Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press provides comments from Tate, who spoke about his role with the Vikings:

After it was announced that Adrian Peterson would not return this season while serving a suspension, Minnesota picked up Tate to add depth to the rushing attack. With McKinnon (back) and Asiata (concussion) both missing practice Wednesday with injuries, according to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, the team may lean on Tate to make a start immediately.

While Tate struggled with Cleveland this season, racking up just 333 yards and four touchdowns on 106 carries, he should make an instant impact with Minnesota. McKinnon will also likely get around 15 carries on Sunday like he usually does if he practices this week, but Tate could see the lion's share of the workload if the rookie is less than 100 percent.

Norv Turner commented about the addition to the backfield and how it will impact McKinnon's carries, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press:

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'Obviously, we’re in a situation where (Wednesday) we had one back that could practice, so the timing of (Tate) being released and the opportunity for us to add a back, certainly it was good timing,’' Turner said.

Turner emphasized that McKinnon is still Minnesota’s top running back.

'We’re excited about Jerick and what he’s done and I see him as our running back,’' Turner said. 'He’s been limited in practice last week and couldn’t practice (Wednesday) So you got to protect yourself, obviously with Matt not being able to practice (Wednesday) and in doubt as to whether he’ll play or not.’'

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Asiata is still trying to clear the league’s concussion protocol, which likely means he won't play Sunday or will be limited if he does suit up, and fantasy owners shouldn’t worry about the bruising back vulturing touchdowns.

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Green Bay has been tougher against the run since moving linebacker Clay Matthews to the middle, but the team is still ranked 29th in the NFL, allowing 139.2 yards per game on the ground.

The Packers getting an early lead is a major concern for owners of Tate and McKinnon due to the possibility of the Vikings abandoning the run, but with just two weeks remaining in the fantasy football regular season, the Minnesota backfield could be a sneaky flex play.

Tate will be running to prove the Browns wrong, and McKinnon will be running to keep his job. The result could be a healthy competition between running backs that benefits the fantasy owners who start each as a flex play.

Owners with Tate should expect 10 carries for 40 yards and one touchdown, and McKinnon owners should expect 14 carries for 75 yards and one touchdown as well. Both players are worth a start as a flex in most 12-team standard-scoring leagues.

*Stats via NFL.com.