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:
- Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota
- Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay
- Mike Evans – Tampa Bay vs. Chicago
- Jordy Nelson – Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta
- Odell Beckham Jr – New York Giants vs. Detroit
- Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals @ Indianapolis
- Brandin Cooks – New England Patriots @ New Orleans
- Amari Cooper – Oakland Raiders vs. NY Jets
- Doug Baldwin – Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco
- A.J. Green – Cincinnati vs. Houston
- Keenan Allen – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Miami
- Michael Crabtree – Oakland Raiders vs. NY Jets
- Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia
- Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints vs. New England
- Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys @ Denver
- Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh
- Golden Tate – Detroit Lions @ NY Giants
- Terelle Pryor – Washington Redskins vs. LA Rams
- Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos vs. Dallas
- Deandre Hopkins – Houston Texans @ Cincinnati
- Davante Parker – Miami Dolphins @ LA Chargers
- Sammy Watkins – Los Angeles Rams @ Washington
- Alshon Jeffrey – Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City
- Davante Adams – Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta
- Kelvin Benjamin – Carolina Panthers vs. Buffalo
- Jarvis Landry – Miami Dolphins @ LA Chargers
- Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh
- Emmanuel Sanders – Denver Broncos vs. Dallas
- Randall Cobb – Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta
- Martavis Bryant – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota
- DeSean Jackson – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago
- Jamison Crowder – Washington Redskins vs. LA Rams
- Jeremy Maclin – Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland
- T.Y. Hilton – Indianapolis Colts vs. Arizona
- Chris Hogan – New England Patriots @ New Orleans
- Brandon Marshall – New York Giants vs. Detroit
- Tyrell Williams – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Miami
- Rishard Matthews – Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville
- John Brown – Arizona Cardinals @ Indianapolis
- Corey Coleman – Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore
- Corey Davis – Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville
- Pierre Garcon – San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle
- Eric Decker – Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville
- Ted Ginn Jr – New Orleans Saints vs. New England
- Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles Rams vs. Washington
- Marquise Lee – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee
- Kenny Britt – Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore
- Sterling Shepherd – New York Giants vs. Detroit
- Kenny Golladay – Detroit Lions @ NY Giants
- 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:
Quarterbacks |
Running Backs |
Wide Receivers |
Tight Ends |
Kickers |
Defenses |
I have Bryant, Hill, Watkins, Landry, Coleman, and Gollady. Having a hard time trusting Bryant after last week, and now going against a tough Denver D.
What are your thoughts?
I could understand it, but I wouldn’t bench him for Coleman/Gollady
What about for Landry ????
I could see it, but I wouldn’t
Standard league- Flex consideration- Landry, Mixon or corey coleman?
Mixon highest upside, Landry safe. I’d go the safe route
standard league –
For my RB2 spot do I start: Joe Mixon, Mike Gillislee, or Tarik Cohen
For my Flex do I play: Tyrell Williams or Cooper Kupp
Gillislee (with Cohen #2) & Williams
I already have Fournette as my RB1 so I’ll start gillislee as my #2
Hey roto! I need 3. Diggs, cooper, Tate, hill, Landry, d Adams. I’m leaning diggs, cooper, hill. Tate had a monster game against the giants last time….
I wouldn’t trust Tate as the secondary is a strength and Stafford isn’t going to have the same type of 4 TD game. I’d go just as you laid it out!
Much appreciated!
Hey Prof – Would you pick up Chris Hogan and replace one of these three – J. Maclin, T. Ginn, K. Benjamin? Would you play Hogan over them? I have A. Brown as well in 10 team PPR. Thanks in advance!
I could see Hogan over Ginn, but he’d be on my bench
Thanks as always!!