Week 2 brings plenty of tough lineup decisions for fantasy football managers. The Atlanta Falcons face an aggressive Minnesota Vikings defense, creating both risk and opportunity for their key players. Some names are must-starts regardless of matchup, while others are better left on the bench this week.
Here’s a breakdown of what to expect from Atlanta’s playmakers.
Michael Penix Jr., QB
I was impressed with Michael Penix Jr. on his way to a QB10 finish last week. I thought he showed some poise and guts when it mattered, signs of maturity you don’t always get from these young signal callers.
More importantly for fantasy managers, he was loading up his elite playmakers with looks. He finished just shy of 300 passing yards despite not having Darnell Mooney active, leading me to believe that there is a QB streamer in this profile when the time calls for it.
Michael Penix Jr. has led a go-ahead/game-tying drive in 3/4 games as the starter 🔥
Dialed in when it matters most ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/FPljawxV8Q
— Not Bijan (@InBijanWeTrust) September 8, 2025
That time isn’t in Minnesota against an aggressive defense before bye weeks kick in.
There’s no reason to hold onto Penix in standard leagues right now, but just keep the name in the back of your mind: when the time comes, you’re going to want to do your homework.
Or you’ll want to check back in here; I’ll have plenty to say!
Bijan Robinson, RB
The beauty in these elite talents is that one touch can impact your box score more than a dozen ineffective ones.
Bijan Robinson was the first player to score on Sunday with a 50-yard catch-and-run, making his Week 1 an effective one, even if none of his 12 carries gained more than six yards in what we believed to be a plus-matchup.
Better days are ahead in terms of consistency, that much we know. The fact that he was able to return top-10 value at the position on what will likely be his worst rushing performance of the year means you dodged a bullet.
Robinson was my 1.01 this summer, and I feel even better about that assertion now.
The Vikings are a big, bad bully when it comes to their style of play. They blitz to set up the blitz and then blitz some more. We’ve all seen this style work in various competitive atmospheres — the most aggressive card player can control the table, and NBA teams that lean most into launching triples have an unmatched ceiling.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 2 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
But what happens when the opponent has a counterpunch that hits harder than the pressing strategy?
Nothing good for the defense, that’s what.
During his first two seasons, Robinson gained yardage on 84.9% of carries against loaded boxes (qualified RB average: 77.7%) and ripped off gains of 5+ yards 30.2% of the time. You’re never benching Atlanta’s alpha male, and I think he has every chance to allow the Dirty Birds to dictate this game on the road under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football.
Tyler Allgeier, RB
On Sunday, the Falcons picked up 69 yards on their 28 rush attempts against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That sort of inefficiency will likely kill any hope of viewing Tyler Allgeier as a high-floor flex play in emergency situations.
He wasn’t targeted a single time in the opener, and as long as Robinson is atop this depth chart, I don’t see that changing.
Why target a different running back when your star is in scoring position the second he touches the rock, no matter where he is on the field?
I do think this Atlanta offense will be better than average this season and could well peak as Penix becomes more comfortable. That’s why “burning” a roster spot on Allgeier is a viable strategy: if Robinson goes down, you’ve got a top-20 running back that you can play and play.
That said, barring an injury, I don’t see a situation in which this profile has standalone value.
Darnell Mooney, WR
Mooney is coming off a career year in terms of fantasy production relative to expectation, fantasy points per target, and yards per route. The success was great to see after a pair of down seasons with the Chicago Bears, and it resurfaced the idea of him being a legitimate WR2 in a productive offense.
However, any momentum he built entering 2025 was lost with a summer shoulder injury that cost him the season opener against the Buccaneers. This offense could certainly use a consistent WR2 to aid the development of its quarterback. But with Robinson and (jokes aside) Kyle Pitts Sr. as viable target earners, I think it’s fair to label Mooney’s 2024 production as a ceiling for per-game output.
This is a situation to watch closely. Your IR spot isn’t overly valuable this early in the season, but should this injury linger, there’s a good chance you are asked to make a tough decision, and I won’t be fighting hard to keep Mooney rostered if that’s the case.
Drake London, WR
Drake London suffered a shoulder sprain over the weekend, and while it sounds more like a day-to-day than week-to-week issue, it at least deserves your attention as we near kickoff.
That allows us to take the off-ramp of a lineup construction PSA: put banged-up players in your flex if possible. It sounds simple, but I often get questions on X (at KyleSoppePFN) where this basic strategy is overlooked. In doing this, you open yourself up to more options should the player end up being scratched.
In this instance, should we get news late, you’d have the option of replacing London with an RB/WR/TE, not just a WR.
Now that I’ve said that, nothing London did in Week 1 surprised me. We knew he’d be in the mix for the most targeted player in the NFL, and he came through with 15 looks against Tampa.
Drake London running routes like he’s expecting a pass in the post from Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/DnPxXmwHxH
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) September 11, 2025
We also knew that Penix would show some growing pains reflected in the repulsive 4.6 yards per target.
Use last week as a baseline. I think you can expect London to score 12 to 15 PPR points more often than not, understanding that tail performances will be a part of the story with a young QB under center.
You should check to make sure everything is good to go before kickoff, but assuming it is, you’re starting London as you usually would, even against a defense as aggressive as the Vikings.
Kyle Pitts Sr., TE
Just when you thought we had covered every possible inch of the “what is Pitts in the NFL” conversation, Week 1 happens.
Average depth of target by season
- 2022: 13.7 yards
- 2023: 12.0 yards
- 2024: 8.7 yards
- Week 1: 4.9 yards
We dreamed he would be used like a receiver, and we got some of that on Sunday with seven catches. I just had more London-patterned usage in mind, not Ray-Ray McCloud III.
But maybe what we want isn’t what we need. We’d love to see Pitts’s athletic profile shine at elite levels, but maybe that’s not his destiny. Maybe this is what he is: a chain-moving option that can provide a high floor in a developing offense.
I’m not there yet, but it was good to see this. With Mooney (shoulder) out of action, the Falcons had a very concentrated offense, funneling 71.4% of their targets to Pitts, London, or Robinson. The fact that they used their TE as part of their “big three” is encouraging.
We will see if the looks continue once Mooney is back and/or when Atlanta can establish a ground game. However, Week 1 was a step in the right direction. It was a step away from Anthony Richardson-itis, where the team is so enamored with athletic tools that they operate without reason, trying to reach his 95th percentile outcome, blind to the fact that a 75th percentile outcome is still more than sufficient.
