The second game of the Monday Night Football doubleheader is projected to be the more competitive contest. The Vikings and Eagles enter Week 2 on the heels of wins and impressive offensive showings. Further, there’s top-shelf offensive talent on this showdown slate, creating difficult choices. This piece will help you hone in on core selections and present suggestions for roster construction.
Game: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles
Spread: PHI -2.5
Over/Under: 50.5 Points
The second game of the Monday Night Football doubleheader is projected to be the more competitive contest. The Vikings and Eagles enter Week 2 on the heels of wins and impressive offensive showings. Further, there’s top-shelf offensive talent on this showdown slate, creating difficult choices. This piece will help you hone in on core selections and present suggestions for roster construction.
Game: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles
Spread: PHI -2.5
Over/Under: 50.5 Points
Vikings Analysis: Justin Jefferson stole the show in Week 1. Minnesota's superstar wideout leads the NFL in receiving yards (184), reeling in nine receptions and two touchdowns as well. In addition, according to Sports Info Solutions (SIS), Jefferson is sixth in Target Share (34.5%).
Jefferson's deployment by new head coach and play-caller Kyle O'Connell was exciting, too. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Jefferson ran 21 of his 33 routes wide and 12 from the slot. Sadly, Philadelphia's secondary is talented. Still, the same could be said about Green Bay's secondary, and Jefferson barbecued them. Jefferson's a matchup-proof monster, and his new offensive-minded head coach isn't a dunce. So, he can scheme up mismatches to utilize his offense's best weapon.
Kirk Cousins is listed on the table. However, he's less exciting outside of a dome. Moreover, Cousins doesn't bring anything to the table as a runner. So, he's merely listed to stack with Jefferson for gamers using the stud wideout as a Captain/MVP. However, for Jefferson to hit a tournament-winning ceiling, Cousins will presumably throw him multiple touchdowns.
Dalvin Cook is a notable absence. He's not a comfortable player to fade. Still, Philadelphia's rookie defensive tackle, Jordan Davis, could pose Cook a problem.
Instead of wasting touches running into the scrum, O'Connell could lean on the pass more. So, K.J. Osborn is a viable choice. He ran 28 routes in Week 1, just five fewer than Jefferson and Thielen. Moreover, Osborn's 15 slot snaps paced the team. Osborn only had three receptions for 14 yards on three targets. Further, he won't be confused for Amon-Ra St. Brown. Still, Detroit's slot receiver led the in targets (12), receptions (eight) and receiving yards (64) with a touchdown as well against Philly's secondary last week.
Could this be a Jalen Reagor revenge game? No. That's unlikely. However, Minnesota's fourth receiver is unclear after they steamrolled the Packers in Week 1 and didn't need to use one. Maybe they'll use another receiver in a more competitive game like this one. Additionally, Reagor might be the fourth wideout, especially if he's up to speed with another week in Minnesota's organization after they acquired him in a trade on August 31.
Reagor also has the athleticism to make the most of limited touches, despite being the butt of many jokes for faceplanting with the Eagles. Finally, he has contingency value as Minnesota's punt returner, awarding him a long-shot path to scoring a touchdown on a punt return.
Eagles Analysis: Jalen Hurts had an outstanding showing last week, despite producing just one touchdown on the ground. He passed for 243 yards and rushed for 90. The battering-ram quarterback is game-script proof and has a drool-inducing ceiling thanks to a bevy of weapons in the passing attack and elite rushing ability. Further, the matchup might be good for Hurts as a runner after the Vikings were gashed for 61.7 yards per carry by the Packers in Week 1.
A.J. Brown riffed with Hurts right away. He clowned the Lions, securing 10 receptions for 155 yards. Moreover, Brown was second in Target Share (44.8%), staking claim to alpha status in Philly's passing attack. He was also encouragingly used at an intermediate target depth, doing a ton of damage after the catch. According to PFF, Brown had an 8.6-yard average depth of target (aDoT), 66 yards after the catch and two missed tackles forced. Finally, PFF has Brown ranked with the seventh-best matchup advantage on their wide receiver and cornerback matchup chart.
Dallas Goedert is Philadelphia's second-best pass catcher. He hauled in all his targets last week, totaling three receptions for 60 yards, with 55 yards coming after the catch. The talented pass-catching tight end aligned wide four times, in the slot 17 times and inline 20 times. Further, the Vikings weren't an imposing matchup for Green Bay's tight end, yielding six receptions for 67 yards on eight targets. Goedert is markedly better than Green Bay's tight ends and can eat, even as the Robin to Brown as Batman.
There's a narrative-driven case for pumping some early targets to DeVonta Smith after he had a bagel on four targets in Week 1. Smith had a stellar rookie campaign. Thus, he has talent. Nevertheless, he's only listed on the table as a potential stacking option with Hurts as the MVP/Captain, likely needing a deep ball to pan out. Fortunately, Smith has had a 14.9-yard aDoT in his young career, making him a candidate to make the most of limited opportunities.
However, Quez Watkins is my favorite value choice on this showdown slate. The speedy wideout has a similar deep-ball case to Smith's, and Watkins is much more cap-friendly. Sadly, last week was a cardio game for Watkins. He wasn't targeted against the Lions.
Still, Watkins was on the field for 53% of Philadelphia's snaps, a much larger snap share than Zach Pascal's 22% mark. Further, PFF users might not be aware of Watkins' route participation advantage over Pascal since he doesn't show up on the page for Philly's team receiving stats. Instead, users have to view Watkins' player page since he wasn't targeted. Watkins ran 27 routes and Pascal ran only nine last week. Additionally, Watkins played 22 of 28 passing snaps in the slot, making him a vertical-slot weapon with blistering speed. If Minnesota dedicates too many resources to slowing Philadelphia's running game or keeping Brown in check, Watkins could get behind their secondary for a long reception.
Final Thoughts: Jefferson and Hurts are shoo-ins for all of my rosters. Brown is nipping at their heels for lineup-lock consideration. However, swerving to Hurts at a Captain/MVP with Goedert/Smith/Watkins isn't a crazy lineup construction. So, Brown's a pinch behind Jefferson and Hurts. Finally, my favorite lineup construction on DK is four Eagles and two Vikings or five-to-one.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
