Hockenson’s receiving line tells the tale of the Vikings’ game, one in which they managed just 46 offensive plays while getting completely manhandled in the trenches on both sides of the ball. What’s worse, the Vikings only trailed 9-6 at the half and had every opportunity for a curtain-call performance in the final quarter, but the team could not rekindle the late-game magic from Week 1 and fell to a 1-1 record in the process. Hockenson has now gone two games with no more than 15 yards, something fantasy manager hope is rectified in short order considering he went off the board as the fantasy TE4 in drafts this summer. Maybe a matchup against the tight end-funnel Bengals will kick start his season in Week 3.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy attempted just 21 passes on a night the Vikings managed just 46 offensive plays, yielding just six targets for Jefferson in the process. Things looked to be turning around late in the first half when McCarthy connected with Jefferson on a 50-yard catch-and-run in the middle of the field to set up a field goal as time expired, but the two could not rekindle their late-game magic from Week 1. The salt in the wound came late in the fourth quarter when McCarthy badly overthrew Jefferson for a pick, allowing the Falcons to effectively run out the clock to end the game. Jefferson is likely to return better production when the Vikings host the Bengals in Week 3.

McCarthy and the Vikings were unable to replicate their fourth quarter magic from Week 1 after struggling to move the football for three quarters, managing just six points before the break and being held off the scoreboard entirely in the final two frames. The second-year effective rookie also put the ball on the ground three times, losing one fumble, as the Vikings gained just 198 total yards of offense on a modest 23:28 time of possession. The early-season returns are less than adequate to sustain viable fantasy production for managers that invested in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, something the team will look to correct ahead of a Week 3 meeting with a Bengals team without quarterback Joe Burrow.

London tied for third on the team in targets with Darnell Mooney, behind the five targets of Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson. The low target totals were a product of only 21 Michael Penix pass attempts in a game the Falcons were able to control on the ground throughout. London’s first quarter fumble came in a 6-0 game and allowed the Vikings to pull within three points with a field goal of their own. The two teams traded field goals to end the second quarter but the Falcons would bully their way to a victory via 39 combined rush attempts, limiting the upside of all Atlanta pass-catchers in the process. A similar game environment could develop in Week 3 when the Falcons travel to Carolina to face the Panthers.

The only true blemish on an otherwise sparkling performance from the electric fourth-year back was a drop in the second quarter. Robinson kick started the Atlanta offense with runs of 25 yards and 17 yards on the first two plays of the game, eclipsing his rushing yard total from Week 1 in under a minute while setting the tone of smash mouth football from the jump. Fantasy managers are sure to be pleased with the box score even though backfield mate Tyler Allgeier was handed 16 carries of his own and scored the lone touchdown for either team late in the fourth quarter. Robinson heads into a Week 3 matchup with the hapless Panthers as the potential overall RB1.

Penix and the Falcons traded field goals with the Vikings in the first half, eventually taking a 9-6 lead into the break. They would tack on field goals in the third and fourth quarters before the only touchdown of the game with just over three minutes remaining. The Falcons controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, largely reliant on Bijan Robinson to move the football throughout. The lack of offense from a static Minnesota offense pried only 21 pass attempts from Penix as the Falcons game managed their way to victory. The team reaches 1-1 ahead of a road matchup with the reeling Panthers in Week 3.

It was on special teams where Johnson committed a catastrophic error by touching a kickoff and letting the ball roll into the end zone, where Seahawks players fell on the football for a touchdown that essentially sealed the game for Seattle. Already in the dog house for pass protection issues in the summer, Johnson’s kickoff return error could banish him to special teams for his entire rookie campaign. Kenneth Gainwell would be the Steelers’ No. 1 back if Jaylen Warren were to miss time in 2025. There are exceedingly few scenarios in which Johnson gets a crack at weekly usage in the Pittsburgh rushing attack. The rookie has a lot of trust to earn in the coming weeks and months.

It is unclear when Jones departed from the game but he was spotted on the sideline without his helmet in the fourth quarter. Sideline reporters later confirmed that the veteran back was questionable to return. Jones managed 23 yards on five carriers and failed to catch his only target before departing. Fantasy managers will want to track his practice status ahead of the team’s Week 3 meeting with the Bengals.

Jake Ferguson was the only tight end on Sunday who had more targets than Sanders, who ran a pass route on 42 of 63 Bryce Young drop backs. Sanders worked primarily as a short-area check down option for Young, who completed 35 passes against Arizona in a pass-heavy game script. Fellow TE Tommy Tremble caught all three of his targets for 20 yards. Sanders profiles as a somewhat interesting deep league option for now.

Legette had one of the most stunningly inefficient games in NFL history. In fact, he’s the only player in the modern era to post negative receiving yards on eight targets. Yet he continues to run nearly all the routes in the Carolina offense. Tetairoa McMillan, meanwhile, turned ten targets into 100 yards against the Cardinals, and Hunter Renfrow saw nine targets and caught two touchdowns from Bryce Young. It wouldn’t be surprising if Legette is phased out of the Carolina offense sooner rather than later. He can remain on waiver wires.