It felt great to be back folks. The usual ups and downs occurred in Week 1, as they always do. The, “oh I should have gone with Player X over Player Y!” but it felt right just to be able to sit back and watch NFL football again while sweating out fantasy football lineups. Sure, I wish I’d featured Josh Jacobs over Austin Ekeler, instead of just giving him a minimal mention. But, you know what, the Davante Adams, Adam Thielen, DK Metcalf trio went off. I also don’t think I can ever roster Dwayne Haskins again, but that’s for another time. Anyways let’s get right back to it.
Here are our DraftKings NFL Week 2 picks and sleepers:
QUARTERBACKS:
Josh Allen career fantasy finishes vs. the Dolphins
QB1
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QB7 pic.twitter.com/PZoLd0K9hb— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 15, 2020
- Josh Allen ($6,700)
- If those tweets from a good friend of the program, Ian Hartitz, aren’t enough to get the juices flowing, just look at Allen’s Week 1 performance. It feels like he finally has an arsenal at his disposal with Stefon Diggs and John Brown outside, paired with numerous dump-off opportunities to Devin Singletary and Zack Moss. And that’s before you get to his rushing potential. He loves to run with the ball (14 carries for 57 yards and a score last week) and Cam Newton just shredded up Miami’s defense on the ground with a MUCH weaker supporting cast. Miami’s defense is an open invitation for QB rushing opportunity and Allen will take full advantage.
- Philip Rivers ($5,900)
- Despite having a minuscule 6.2 aDOT (average depth of throw) and 55 percent of his throws be under 6 yards, Rivers amassed 363 yards and a score against the Jags in Week 1. After watching Rodgers and the Packers dismantle the Vikings “defense” (if you can call it that) last week, I love Phil and the Colts to bounce back at home in a big way in Week 2.
- Mitchell Trubisky ($5,500)
- It was between Mitch and Jimmy G for the last spot here, but I’ll lean Mitch. Trubisky gets a home game and saves an extra $200 off your budget. With the odds stacked against him, Trubisky stepped up when needed in the fourth quarter by converting three touchdowns with the game on the line. He also offers rushing upside with his legs against a weak Giants defense.
RUNNING BACKS:
- Ezekiel Elliott ($8,200)
- The fantasy industry has begged Dallas to give Zeke more work in the passing game and their prayers were finally answered in Week 1 after a 27.7 DKFP output. Zeke, the high-priced bell-cow I want this week, should get 20-plus carries and now has a higher target ceiling facing a Falcons defense that’s been notoriously generous to pass-catching backs. Hell, Chris Carson just had a 6-45-2 receiving line on them.
- Raheem Mostert ($6,400)
- Heading towards bell-cow territory, Mostert has established himself as the RB1 in San Fran. His 75-yard touchdown catch really helped his Week 1 numbers, but this speed demon has what it takes to be a menace in Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme. Unfortunately for the Jets, the Niners are coming off a loss, so I’m expecting a full-on assault in Week 2. Mostert should get a positive game script here in a blowout win against the Jets.
- Miles Sanders ($6,000)
- I loved Sanders last week until he was ruled out with a hamstring injury and Boston Scott did nothing. Anyways, Sanders is on track to play this week and on top of that, his price tag dropped $400. The offensive line is a big question mark, and Aaron Donald up front is scary, but if I can get a healthy Sanders for 6k and his expected to touch the ball more than 20 times, then I’m all for it.
- Jonathan Taylor ($5,700)
- The Marlon Mack injury flung the RB1 door wide open for Taylor to gain immediate fantasy success. The Colts already came out and said he’s their starting RB this week, and last week’s inclusion in the passing game (6 rec, 67 yards) was a pleasant surprise. Since we know Rivers loves to dump it off, Nyheim Hines’ targets could be a worry, but Taylor is cemented into the early-down role. Regardless, I love Taylor at home here and he’s a near-lock to surpass his 15 touches from Week 1.
- Benny Snell ($4,500)
- Speaking of injury benefactors, Snell had a massive day after James Conner’s departure Monday night. Should Conner be ruled out for Week 2, Snell enters lock territory immediately. The team has all but said they were already considering increasing Snell’s role moving forward, regardless of Conner’s health because he’s shown he has what it takes to shoulder the load. Snell is a steal at this price tag.
- James Robinson ($4,400)
- When looking this low in RB pricing, I have to look for established volume. Enter Robinson, who was the Jags feature back in his NFL debut, rushing 16 times for 62 yards and even catching a pass. Robinson dominated the Jaguars snap share (68%) and carry share (70%), compared to Chris Thompson (24% snaps). If he can luck into a touchdown, Robinson is not a bad floor play at all.
WIDE RECEIVERS:
- Julio Jones ($7,400)
- Despite once again not scoring any touchdowns, Jones finished with 27.7 DK points off a 9 catch, 157-yard performance on 12 targets. His 188 air yards were second to only DeSean Jackson last week, and while Ridley cleaned up in garbage time, Julio is looking at positive touchdown regression. Russell Gage getting 12 targets seems like a lofty number to repeat, so Julio looks like a solid player to at least sustain Week 1’s numbers or even improve on them against Dallas in a likely shootout.
- Amari Cooper ($6,300)
- Despite all the offensive talent Dallas possesses, Cooper dominated the target share with 14 (38 percent) against the Rams. New head coach Mike McCarthy has generally had an alpha WR target-hog in his offense and Cooper looks to be that guy as evidenced by his numbers against Jalen Ramsey. Most importantly, Cooper gets the Falcons’ poor secondary and the week’s highest projected point total. (Mike Evans also a solid play for $100 more against Carolina)
- TY Hilton ($5,700)
- I’ll be completely honest that I’ve never been a big TY Hilton guy in terms of fantasy/DFS. But this week will be hard to pass up on in a home game against the Vikings, who were just gashed through the air in Week 1. Hilton put up near-identical numbers to Parris Campbell (14 DK points) in terms of snap rate, targets, and air yards. However, this week seems like the perfect opportunity for a patented 40-yard bomb to Hilton. Let’s just hope Rivers still has the arm for it.
- (Update: Jamison Crowder ruled OUT for Week 2)
- Chris Herndon at $3,400 probably the best pass catching play for the Jets, potential value as well in Breshad Perriman at $3,800.
- Diontae Johnson ($4,500)
- The Steelers passing game looked significantly better with Ben back at the helm, and Johnson reaped the rewards with 6 catches for 57 yards on 10 targets. He tied JuJu for the most snaps by a pass-catcher in Week 1, while also leading the team with 63 air yards. The Broncos have very good corners but they will mainly be focusing on JuJu on the outside. Johnson should be able to benefit from weaker coverage and show why he’s becoming one of Roethlisberger’s favorite targets.
- Scotty Miller ($4,100)
- A small part of me wanted to put Duck’s boy, Corey Davis, in here. But, I’ll roll with Scotty Miller as a potential sleeper play. He played 61 percent of snaps and showed chemistry with Brady, who praised his performance after the game. Miller could have a five reception floor as a reliable security blanket for Brady. Similar to Evans, if Godwin misses time with a concussion, then his stock rises.
TIGHT ENDS:
- Mark Andrews ($6,300)
- Andrews looks like he’s going to challenge Travis Kelce for the overall TE1 this season with the way he’s playing. Andrews looks like the guy Lamar is targeting as options A, B, and C when he’s in the red zone. The dude is a freak and I’d imagine you won’t get the tight end at this price tag going forward.
- Noah Fant ($4,400)
- Benefitting from Courtland Sutton’s Week 1 absence, Fant looked like one of Drew Lock’s top targets in the Broncos’ offense. A lot of people might fade Broncos players against the Steelers offense, but Fant’s snap rate and on-field performance were both impressive against a legit Titans’ defense. Sutton hasn’t made big strides towards a Week 2 return yet, so Fant could be looking at another week of increased workload.
- Logan Thomas ($3,600)
- Small peek behind the curtain here, but I had Thomas as my cheapest listed tight end in last week’s article before a late swap to Chris Herndon. I messed up. The writing was on the wall there for Thomas, who was impressing in camp for a team with little-to-no pass-catchers outside of Terry McLaurin. It showed as Thomas played a high snap rate while leading the team in targets and air yards. Now he gets the juicy matchup of the Cardinals who have been fantasy TE darlings for the last couple of years.
DST:
- Pittsburgh Steelers ($3,800)
- I love their ability to rush the passer and force turnovers. They now welcome a Denver offense that struggled to create against Tennessee.
- Kansas City Chiefs ($3,400)
- While their defense may not be the best, they always have great defensive game scripts where Mahomes and the offense go up big so the opposition is forced to throw (higher sack/interception rate). Plus, the Chargers offense looked so bad with Tyrod Taylor at the helm.
- Los Angeles Rams ($2,800)
- If the Eagles offensive line looks as poorly as it did Week 1 against Washington, then Aaron Donald should have a massive day racking up lots of sacks and forcing turnovers.
