by Will Overton

Week 1 was kind of a bummer for fantasy football, with a lot of low scoring games and big stars not shining too brightly. Hopefully Week 2 is a different story, and I do believe it will be. While we have lost a few options to injury, with no bye weeks in play there are ample options and it won’t be easy to sort through them. Here is how I see it shaking out:

1. Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota
2. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay
3. Mike Evans – Tampa Bay vs. Chicago
4. Jordy Nelson – Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta
5. Odell Beckham Jr – New York Giants vs. Detroit
6. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals @ Indianapolis
7. Brandin Cooks – New England Patriots @ New Orleans
8. Amari Cooper – Oakland Raiders vs. NY Jets
9. Doug Baldwin – Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco
10. A.J. Green – Cincinnati vs. Houston
11. Keenan Allen – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Miami
12. Michael Crabtree – Oakland Raiders vs. NY Jets
13. Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia
14. Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints vs. New England
15. Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys @ Denver
16. Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh
17. Golden Tate – Detroit Lions @ NY Giants
18. Terelle Pryor – Washington Redskins vs. LA Rams
19. Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos vs. Dallas
20. Deandre Hopkins – Houston Texans @ Cincinnati
21. Davante Parker – Miami Dolphins @ LA Chargers
22. Sammy Watkins – Los Angeles Rams @ Washington
23. Alshon Jeffrey – Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City
24. Davante Adams – Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta
25. Kelvin Benjamin – Carolina Panthers vs. Buffalo
26. Jarvis Landry – Miami Dolphins @ LA Chargers
27. Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh
28. Emmanuel Sanders – Denver Broncos vs. Dallas
29. Randall Cobb – Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta
30. Martavis Bryant – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota
31. DeSean Jackson – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago
32. Jamison Crowder – Washington Redskins vs. LA Rams
33. Jeremy Maclin – Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland
34. T.Y. Hilton – Indianapolis Colts vs. Arizona
35. Chris Hogan – New England Patriots @ New Orleans
36. Brandon Marshall – New York Giants vs. Detroit
37. Tyrell Williams – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Miami
38. Rishard Matthews – Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville
39. John Brown – Arizona Cardinals @ Indianapolis
40. Corey Coleman – Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore
41. Corey Davis – Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville
42. Pierre Garcon – San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle
43. Eric Decker – Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville
44. Ted Ginn Jr – New Orleans Saints vs. New England
45. Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles Rams vs. Washington
46. Marquise Lee – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee
47. Kenny Britt – Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore
48. Sterling Shepherd – New York Giants vs. Detroit
49. Kenny Golladay – Detroit Lions @ NY Giants
50. Nelson Agholor – Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City

Thoughts:

• The top end talent didn’t really come out of the gates swinging as well as you would have hoped, outside of Antonio Brown of course. There are some prime matchups for the likes of Julio Jones, Jordy Nelson and Mike Evans, and that should mean improved results. I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the top four take the top spot this week, but I would be shocked to see any of them lay an egg again.
• I am sure people will think I am too high on Larry Fitzgerald, but I think he’s in for a really big week. The Cardinals just lost their star running back and are facing one of the league’s worst secondary’s. Fitzgerald has a track record for coming out hot to start the season, and I think double digit catches is easily within reach. For those who like to play DFS this is your ultimate cash game guy, trust me.
• One of the most potent and productive passing attacks was that of the Minnesota Vikings as Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen both posted big time fantasy lines against the New Orleans Saints. It’s important to remember that this was just one week and it was the Saints clearly weak secondary. That said, the matchup is pretty nice looking again this week as the Steelers defense isn’t the elite one it used to be. I don’t know that they can be a top tier offense all season, but I think this should be a good encore.
• I was very impressed with how well the San Diego Chargers’ passing attack performed against a stout Denver Broncos defense and so I think big things may be in store this week against Miami. We know when Keenan Allen is healthy he’s a borderline Top 10 wideout, and I think Tyrell Williams is one of the most underrated players in fantasy football. I am expecting big things from Los Angeles and this week should be a strong indicator of that.
• I had to wrestle a bit with trying to decide how to rank the Green Bay Packers options. It’s clear Jordy Nelson is in the elite ranks, but it’s DaVante Adams and Randall Cobb who are hard to separate. I think both are very much playable in what I anticipate to be a really fun shootout to watch on Sunday Night. I ended up putting Adams higher based on the upside and the fact that I do still believe he is the Packers main end zone threat, and I think there will be plenty of scoring. That said, Cobb might honestly be the safer play because he’s healthy and he’s not the number one option, and those two things have always made a good recipe for consistent production for him. I actually think we could see all three of these guys being in the Top 20 at points.
• If you read my waiver article this week I am trying to not get too carried away with the Kenny Golladay hype just yet. He is clearly a talented receiver with a lot of upside, but he’s also one of many options on the Lions team, and I think the Giants will pose more of a threat to the Lions offense than the Cardinals did. There is going to be a temptation to plug Golladay in this week over some more proven talents and while it could pay off, it’s still a huge risk.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 2 rankings: