Week 1 was full of highs and lows in terms of fantasy break-outs and busts. From the impressive performance of Brandin Cooks to the match-up killing output of Dez Bryant. I hope everyone was able to get a win this past week and is coming out 1-0. If you did not get a win and are looking for redemption in week 2 then you have definitely come to the right place. If you did get a win and want to keep crushing the competition then please read on. Below I have highlighted my top plays at each position for week 2. For the purpose of this column, I have ignored the fantasy blow up that we witnessed on Thursday. Therefore, you will not find Matt Forte, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eric Decker, or any of the many other fantasy studs that had career nights just two days ago.
Quarterbacks
- Eli Manning, NYG QB vs. NO
- Drew Brees, NO QB vs. NYG
- Cam Newton, CAR QB vs. SF
- Carson Palmer, ARI QB vs. TB
- Ben Roethlisberger, PIT QB vs. CIN
- Aaron Rogers, GB QB vs. MIN
- Matthew Stafford, DET QB vs. TEN
- Andy Dalton, CIN QB vs. PIT
- Blake Bortles, JAC QB vs. SD
- Derek Carr, OAK QB vs. ATL
- Russell Wilson, SEA QB vs. LA
- Joe Flacco, BAL QB vs. CLE
- Marcus Mariota TEN QB vs. DET
- Andrew Luck, IND QB vs. DEN
- Matt Ryan, ATL QB vs. OAK
I expect another shootout for the Saints Drew Brees against Eli Manning and the Giants this week as we had seen against the Raiders in week 1. Both Brees and Manning have elite options at the WR position in Cooks and Beckham Jr. and are facing each others highly questionable secondary’s. I expect both Brees and Manning to have great games and both to be in the top 2 at the QB position.
Marcus Mariota will have a rebound game against the Detroit Lions in week 2. The Lions are coming off of week 1 where they gave up 385 passing yards and 4 TD’s to Andrew Luck and the Colts. I know we are talking about Andrew Luck vs. Marcus Mariota here, but i do think that Mariota’s added rushing ability will help to provide fantasy owners that needed bonus to help win this week.
Running Backs
- C.J. Anderson, DEN RB vs. IND
- DeAngelo Williams vs. CIN
- David Johnson, ARI RB vs. TB
- Ezekiel Elliott, DAL RB at WAS
- Lamar Miller, HOU RB vs. KC
- Adrian Peterson, MIN RB vs. GB
- Spencer Ware, KC RB at HOU
- Mark Ingram, NO RB at NYG
- Rashad Jennings, NYG RB vs. NO
- DeMarco Murray, TEN RB at DET
- Latavius Murray, OAK RB vs. ATL
- Todd Gurley, LA RB vs. SEA
- Ryan Mathews, PHI RB at CHI
- Carlos Hyde, SF RB at CAR
- Doug Martin, TB RB at ARI
Both C.J. Anderson and DeAngelo Williams had MONSTER games in week 1 of the NFL/Fantasy season. I expect both will continue to roll in their very run oriented offenses regardless of match-up. I expect Anderson to get at least 23 touches and gain 125 yards on the ground with 2 touchdowns while Williams will receive approximately the same amount of carries with one less touchdown. It is worthy to note that Anderson has the better match-up against the weak Colts defense.
Ezekiel Elliott underwhelmed in his regular season debut, but I expect the Cowboys to continue feeding their first round draft pick against the Redskins who were torn apart by DeAngelo Williams on Monday night. I project at least 15 fantasy points from Elliott in a .5 PPR for week 2.
Wide Receivers
- Odell Beckham Jr., NYG WR vs. NO
- Julio Jones, ATL WR at OAK
- A.J. Green, CIN WR at PIT
- Antonio Brown, PIT WR vs. CIN
- Allen Robinson, JAC WR at SD
- Alshon Jeffrey, CHI WR vs. PHI
- Brandin Cooks, NO WR at NYG
- DeAndre Hopkins, HOU WR vs. KC
- Mike Evans, TB WR at ARI
- Kelvin Benjamin, CAR WR vs. SF
- Doug Baldwin, SEA WR at LA
- Amari Cooper, OAK WR vs. ATL
- Larry Fitzgerald, ARI WR vs. TB
- Jordan Matthews, PHI WR at CHI
- Jordy Nelson, GB WR at MIN
- Dez Bryant, DAL WR at WAS
- Jeremy Maclin, KC WR at HOU
- DeSean Jackson, WAS WR vs. DAL
- Julian Edelman, NE WR vs. MIA
- Demaryius Thomas, DEN WR vs. IND
- Jarvis Landry, MIA WR at NE
- Willie Snead, NO WR at NYG
- Randall Cobb, GB WR at MIN
- Marvin Jones, DET WR vs. TEN
- Emmanuel Sanders, DEN WR vs. IND
As mentioned in the QB section, I expect a HUGE day from Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants offense. One of the receivers for the Giants will have a career making week in week 2 against the porous Saints secondary and I think the receiver with the best chance for that is OBJ. I project 8 receptions 125 yards and 1 TD in this week 2 match-up for OBJ.
The LA Rams were embarrassed by the SF 49ers in a Monday night match-up in week 1. The 49ers were utilizing lower tier receivers like Jeremy Kerley and Torrey Smith to dismantle the Rams secondary. After watching that defensive break down I expect Doug Baldwin to have a WR 1 performance in week 2 against them.
Tight Ends
- Jordan Reed, WAS TE vs. DAL
- Delanie Walker, TEN TE at DET
- Greg Olsen, CAR TE vs. SF
- Travis Kelce, KC TE at HOU
- Gary Barnidge, CLE TE vs. BAL
- Antonio Gates, SD TE vs. JAC
- Jason Witten, DAL TE at WAS
- Coby Fleener, NO TE at NYG
- Julius Thomas, JAC TE at SD
- Jesse James, PIT TE vs. CIN
- Dwayne Allen, IND TE at DEN
- Eric Ebron, DET TE vs. TEN
We saw last week how thin the tight end position real is for fantasy purposes and how much Rob Gronkowski means to the position. The above rankings are under the assumption that Gronk will not suit up this Sunday night. If he can muster up the strength to play and he is active I would fit him third right under Reed and Walker strictly due to the fact that he will not be 100%.
I am really high on Delanie Walker this week. He was not targeted as much as he should have been this past week and I think that the coaching staff will realize that if they want to win games they need to keep Walker involved. It also helps that he is going up against a Detroit defense that allowed not 1…not 2… but 3 TDs to Indianapolis tight ends in week 1. Two of these TDs went to Jack Doyle and one to Dwayne Allen which I believe shows the ineptitude of the Lions D when it comes to covering the tight end position. Look for Walker to put on a show this weekend.
Gary Barnidge really let down his fantasy teams in week 1 scoring a total of ZERO points, most likely costing the majority of teams he is on a win in week 1. I do have faith and Barnidge and see a bounce back game for him this week. Barnidge gets back Josh McCown this week at QB which will revive the top 10 finishes we used to see from him week in and week out last year. With McCown at the helm Barnidge posted 3 100 yard games and showed that he was the go to option for McCown.
Jesse James will have a breakout game this week against the Bengals who allowed 20 receptions and 171 yards to Heath Miller in two games in the regular season last year. With Heath Miller retired and Ladarius Green on the shelf I expect a top 10 TE week from James in week 2.
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