NFL Week 2 Sunday Night Football Preview

J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings will try to recreate magic in their second primetime game of the season. The Atlanta Falcons will be searching for their first win of 2025 with sophomore QB Michael Penix. With so much on the line for each of these playoff hopefuls, which players have the most to prove on Sunday Night Football in Week 2?

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Week 2 Sunday Night Football Preview for Week 2

Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings (-3.5) O/U: 44.5

Darnell Mooney – WR, Atlanta Falcons

One thing this offense has is volume. Michael Penix threw a career-high 42 pass attempts in a tight loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. Five players were targeted at least 5 times, with Drake London leading the group with 15. Wide Receivers Ray-Ray McCloud and Casey Washington combined for 11 targets in Darnell Mooney’s absence. Mooney is now healthy and ready to make his season debut. Drake London is still by far the top option but Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, and Mooney will all vie for that second position each week. In three starts as a rookie, Penix averaged 33.33 pass attempts per game. His paltry completion percentage is a negative for those who love high reception totals, but his aDOT was 10.1. That would have ranked 2nd in the league amongst qualified QBs according to Pro Football Reference.

Mooney only played in two of Penix’s three starts last season, drawing 11 targets on 62 total pass attempts. A target share under 18% isn’t elite by any means, but competition is stiff. It’s also a small sample size, and could improve as Penix grows. Although the Falcons have a solid defense, they don’t have what it takes to shut good teams down. McCarthy may have started slow in his NFL debut last week, but he can erupt at any moment. The Vikings are favorites at home, and we should see the Falcons playing in neutral or negative game script fairly often. Expect a healthy dose of pass attempts and a solid amount heading Mooney’s way.

Check out all of our Week 2 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings

The Minnesota RBs

The Vikings’ run game was covered in the Monday Night preview for Week 1, and one thing I wanted to see was how the rush share came out. Although I did not expect such a big rushing split, I was right that Aaron Jones would continue to dominate the receiving role. Jones caught all 3 of his targets for 44 yards and a TD, while Jordan Mason converted his lone target into 7 yards. As mentioned in that article, Mason and Jones have such opposing histories as pass-catchers. Jones caught 30 balls in his best college receiving season, and his target totals in the NFL showed that this was no fluke. Mason, on the other hand, almost never caught the ball in college or in the NFL. This trend should continue in Week 2.

The rushing split in this game did favor Mason, though, as he had 15 rushes for 68 yards to Jones’ 8 rushes for 23 yards. This was in a game where the Vikings were almost exclusively in a negative game script until McCarthy took off in the 4th quarter. Jones should continue to excel as a receiving option, especially while the team lacks a true WR2. What fantasy managers should pay more attention to is what the rushing split looks like with another week of this offense together. Aaron Jones is not getting any younger, so it’s hard to tell if he will offer much as a rusher going forward.

Jalen Nailor

While the Atlanta Falcons project to have high passing volume each and every week, the opposite can be said for the Minnesota Vikings. That’s bad for high-end fantasy value, but volume numbers don’t paint the full picture. In last week’s win, Nailor was targeted 3 times, good for a 15% target share. Four different Vikings drew at least 3 targets, but the rest of the pass catchers only drew one each. This receiving game will look a lot like Atlanta’s in that regard. There is a clear concentration of targets going to about 4 players, with Justin Jefferson being the undisputed alpha. This will inevitably shake up once Jordan Addison returns from his suspension, but it gives Nailor the opportunity to shine. If he proves himself, he could cut into T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones’ opportunities.

Whether that will happen is a different story. This is Nailor’s 4th year in the league, and he was almost a non-factor until 2024. Last season, Nailor had career-highs in all categories, but only finished with 28 receptions, 414 receiving yards, and 6 TDs. The reality is that Nailor is a 6th-round pick on a team that likes to run a lot. The team projects to have neutral or positive game scripts fairly often, and he will never be the top receiving option while Justin Jefferson exists. How can he excel outside of the short-term?

Athleticism is one way. Nailor entered the draft with an 8.09 RAS (Relative Athletic Score), posting some of the best WR numbers of the class in speed and explosion. Getting on the field and running routes is good, too. Nailor played 88% of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 1, the 3rd highest of his career per Pro Football Reference. Although the Vikings could simply be desperate for a receiver right now, it’s evident that he commanded one of the better target shares. Bad players don’t just keep going out on the field, getting open, and getting targeted. If Nailor is actually good at running routes and gaining separation, the target share numbers will stick. What he does on Sunday Night Football in Week 2 will speak volumes for his role going forward.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 2 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!