QB/RB/WR/TE-Exploit/Avoid Week 2 (2 Viewers)

[Ministry of Pain]

CBS Rankings from the Three not so Wise Men over there

Auto Starts

CMC Ekeler Barkley BRob Henry Chubb Pollard A.Jones Jacobs Stevenson

Those are 10 Automatics

Etienne Mixon Sanders Gibbs Connor(Watch IR)
Pierce White Monty(Yes 2 from same team for now) J.Williams(N.O.) and James Cook

That takes us out to about 20 and there will still be some more names mentioned that many in here feel are Automatic Starts this week, no problem that's why we're discussing this.

Kenny Walker III(He's got some OL issues but should be auto most leagues)
Javonte Williams-Looked alright in his first game back from injury
D.Swift-How can you trust this guy tonight?
A.Mattison- I think you gotta give this a couple weeks and he did score a receiving TD IIRC, rushing yards were underwhelming.
N.Harris- Cleveland Defense is for real
R.Mostert- He's jumped up to 26th this week, decent Week 1 only because of the TD. Likely gets the lion's share Sunday Night of whatever Miami manages to rush for
Breece Hall- He's on the Injury Report and just lost his starting QB for the season, proceed with caution but he clearly is more explosive than Cook
S.Perine-really?
I.Pacheco-Had 12 touches last week, would like to see that come up some but he needs chunk plays to make him worth starting. TDs would help as well.
B.Robinson Jr-We must be 30 RBs into the weekly projections. He always has a chance to hit the Top 25. Just doesn't seem to have many chunk plays in his future. Decent match up vs Denver

K.Herbert D.Cook(went in the 4th-5th Rd of many early Sept Drafts) Z.Moss AJ Dillon Gus Edwards
Allgeier-Are folks seriously going to try and flex him or chase last week's points? I don't think the game script works the same every week
K.Williams-Ready to take the plunge vs SF? Cam Akers while we're at it?
How about Johnson in Chicago? Don't think he is the starter yet but looks to be involved more as the season rolls along.

-I would think Josh Kelley would be an automatic start if Ekeler misses Sunday's game, not sure how bad his injury is. Early in the year, Chargers shouldn't push it but at the same time they can't start 0-2.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Wide Receivers

Hill Diggs JJ Chase ARSB
Ridley Olave Adams AJB, Slim Reap
Lamb Higgins Allen Waddle Metcalf
Evans Aiyuk Godwin Hopkins Deebo Samuel
Flowers(YES) Cooper Wilson(YES)

-That's 23 names and there are more coming that I wouldn't blink putting in my starting line up however we do start to see names that have me asking questions
T.Lockett-I don't know that he's going to be an auto start for much longer. Did the rookie have a set back?
C.Kirk-Did any of these 3 that rank 'em even watch the Jags game last week? I think Kirk is way over ranked here, I'm likely pulling him from starting line ups until I see more
D.Moore-He's doing good work to draw coverage away from Mooney
J.Dotson-I'm ready to roll him out again this week
Mike Williams-As long as he's healthy you gotta start him.
J.Addison-Already a staple in the weekly Top 30
P.Nacua-15 targets speaks for itself, ride the gravy train until Kupp is cleared which might be longer than 4 weeks.

That's the Top 30, but most of us have to go further down the rankings to fill out our starting line ups, sad as that is to say.

Who are you eye balling outside the Top 30 that you feel has a legit shot at Top 20-25 this week?

 

[Chaka]

Great thread as always.

Best thing about Swift is he's playing tonight so we don't need to talk about him for 3 1/2 more days.

I will say that, as a lifelong Perine denier he looks really good in this Denver offense. I would not be surprised if he maintains the split with Javonte. He was the better RB last week by a good margin. Shades of Ingram/Kamara. And Washington isn't a prohibitive defense IMO, if you need a spot start because of injury you could do worse (PPR, not sure about standard).

 

[Stat Correction]

Don't forget the Gus Bus. It's fueled up and ready for departure.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Don't forget the Gus Bus. It's fueled up and ready for departure.

What do you see as his role with the Ravens?

Baltimore at Cincinnati (3-3.5) Did anyone watch the Bengals last week?
I don't think the Ravens were especially great against Houston but they also were down Andrews at TE
Tricky game to figure out

 

[Ministry of Pain]

For those who love Zay Jones, I encourage you to look at his career stats before you cut Christian Kirk

Zay Jones Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats for Zay Jones. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

The guy only avg about 10-11 yds per catch, he needs a lot of volume to get anywhere close to a weekly starter IMHO

 

[shadrap]

Baltimore at Cincinnati (3-3.5) Did anyone watch the Bengals last week?
I don't think the Ravens were especially great against Houston but they also were down Andrews at TE
Tricky game to figure out

typical 1st game of the season where both Ravens & Bengels did not look good other than Z. Flowers for Balt. Man I wish I had some shares but thought he was undersized. my mistake.

 

[Stat Correction]

Don't forget the Gus Bus. It's fueled up and ready for departure.

What do you see as his role with the Ravens?

Baltimore at Cincinnati (3-3.5) Did anyone watch the Bengals last week?
I don't think the Ravens were especially great against Houston but they also were down Andrews at TE
Tricky game to figure out

No, didn't see the game last week, and am not necessarily a Gus Bus fanboy. However, he is a known commodity who has averaged 5 ypc over his pro career. Justice Hill's 2 TD's and 9 total yards seems like an anomaly and Gordon seems done.

Depending on game flow, I could see Gus Bus getting 15-20 carries. That would be 75-100 yards with a likely (better than 50-50 chance) of a TD. That's a good flex, and a suitable starter.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Let's talk QBs

Most of the Top 10 QBs drafted will be started again this week with 1 big name that jumped into the Top 5 this week, want to discuss that as well.

Top 5
Josh Allen, J.Hurts, Mahomes, Lawrence and...Tua rounds out the Top 5, he was a double digit round pick and likely a QB2 on many rosters
-My point is you have to bench someone you liked or thought highly of to start Tua and they roll into New England
Tua is my BUST of the Week. 466/3TDs, chase those points all the way to Foxsboro.
Some folks are going to get burned this weekend. He might be solid but it won't be Top 5 IMHO

The Next 5
Burrow, Herbert, L.Jackson, Fields, ARich(Risky!)
-Again, most of you will auto start these names and some of you are in a hurry to start Anthony Richardson and I think he will be up and down. I realize Houston would seem like a good match up but it's on the road and the Texans also roll out a high drafted rookie QB, not to mention no running game for Richardson to take some of the pressure off, that's going to blow up in his face one of these weeks. I would pump the brakes but good luck to those rolling him out there.

11-21...
Daniel Jones-PASS
Goff-Top 12 is a good place for him, fringe Top 12
K.Cousins
D.Watson-Did not look great last week
Geno Smith-That was more the Geno I remember and he might have OLine issues at both Tackle spots, that's not good for downfield passing
D.Prescott-Not excited vs the Jets
B.Purdy-Like him to make a Top 12 appearance this week
Russ Wilson-Might do better this week, could be Top15 outing
Jordan Love-Like him better than several other names ahead of him
Derek Carr-Should be able to land in the Top 15 this week. Has nice weapons to throw to, Kamara back in a couple weeks.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Tight Ends are like throwing darts but I do have a couple names I found that might yield some fruit in the coming weeks

Top 5 this week
TJ Hockenson(I warned all of you, career highs this year), Waller, Goedert(ZERO LAST WEEK), Kittle, Engram
-Even if you have one of the Top 5 names listed, it's already been a rocky ride, I'm not sure Goedert is an auto start truly.
Engram surprised me a little and I would continue to watch that situation. Hard to cover him after you deal with the WRs, Lawrence can exploit him.

Next 5 on the list...

Pitts(1st-PFF), Freiermuth, Njoku, Higbee, Musgrave(rookie already)
I'm not sure those are all automatic starts on my rosters.

Jake Ferguson-When you are a starting TE for the Dallas Cowboys you are always going to be mentioned
Hurst-Not sure I see him hitting those same numbers often
Kmet, La Porta, Kincaid, Henry...
-La Porta looked good for.a rookie and they need secondary receivers after ARSB.
-Hunter Henry is still floating around on waivers, the negative word was he only saw targets due to Thornton and Parker being OUT...not sure about that

What sleepers you got at Tight End this week?
Keep an eye on J.Johnson down in New Orleans, just 1 less target than Hunter Henry last week, has talented WRs around him that draw away coverage and a QB that typically wants to throw to his Tight End

 

[Doug B]

Who are you eye balling outside the Top 30 that you feel has a legit shot at Top 20-25 this week?

I don't see Saints' WR Rashid Shaheed stopping what he did last week.

 

[greenmountaingoat]

Nice work MOP.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Who are you eye balling outside the Top 30 that you feel has a legit shot at Top 20-25 this week?

I don't see Saints' WR Rashid Shaheed stopping what he did last week.

I'd like to hear more. Has he passed Michael Thomas in your eyes?
I think Olave draws coverage, this guy is in Year 2 as well and coming in to his own.
I like your enthusiasm for him, Kamara coming back in a couple weeks will only help as defenses are drawn preoccupied with Olave and Kamara.

I wish I could add him in a few leagues, would have to turn the page on a couple others but maybe best to cut the cord now

Olave-10
Thomas-8
Shaheed-6

He still might be 3rd on the pecking order, not sure what Thomas produced on his 8 targets but I could see Shaheed eventually settling in to the #2 targeted WR

 

[SonnyD]

Even if Parker and Gesicki are back, I see Bourne as Mac’s #1 this year and will end up a weekly #3/flex option with potential to be a #2. Think he’ll have a safe weekly floor.

I’m big on Perine this year. Payton has always utilized his backs out of the backfield. Think he’s gold in PPR ROS.

 

[Faust]

Fantasy Football Week 2: Three WR/CB matchups to target and avoid

 

[Faust]

The Overhang: In short time, Pat Surtain II looks like a shutdown cornerback and one of NFL's best

Any insights into the coverage that Pat Surtain II will provide in week 2 - will he be more likely to shadow Terry McLaurin or Jahan Dotson?

 

[Doug B]

I'd like to hear more. Has he passed Michael Thomas in your eyes?

In fantasy, decisively yes. The letter of the depth chart is misleading the heck out of people who don't watch Saints' games.

News that gets no attention, but matters for fantasy: Rashid Shaheed was returning kicks & punts Week 1 against the Titans. For this coming week, against the Panthers on Monday night, the Saints have called up Lynn Bowden from the practice squad to take over return duties. Shaheed will concentrate strictly on offense.

EDIT: A few more Shaheed quick hits including video of a near-miss second-quarter TD to Shaheed that will be unnoticed by those who didn't watch the Saints-Titans game.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Even if Parker and Gesicki are back, I see Bourne as Mac’s #1 this year and will end up a weekly #3/flex option with potential to be a #2. Think he’ll have a safe weekly floor.

I’m big on Perine this year. Payton has always utilized his backs out of the backfield. Think he’s gold in PPR ROS.

Parker and Thornton...now i agree as a Miami fan that Parker is unreliable, always has been
Thornton had a lot of our attention last year
Hard for me to get excited about Bourne, you really see him as a PPR weekly WR3/Flex type?

 

[Faust]

ESPN suggests that Pat Surtain II will be shadowing Terry McLaurin

 

[Ministry of Pain]

The Overhang: In short time, Pat Surtain II looks like a shutdown cornerback and one of NFL's best

Any insights into the coverage that Pat Surtain II will provide in week 2 - will he be more likely to shadow Terry McLaurin or Jahan Dotson?

I've never read this writer before, I like this article, very modern and fun to surf and read thru.
Huge for me
And i don't have an answer to your question but it's a good one.

 

[shadrap]

Fantasy Football Week 2: Three WR/CB matchups to target and avoid

wish you would put this out there weekly.
thanks dude!

 

[SonnyD]

Even if Parker and Gesicki are back, I see Bourne as Mac’s #1 this year and will end up a weekly #3/flex option with potential to be a #2. Think he’ll have a safe weekly floor.

I’m big on Perine this year. Payton has always utilized his backs out of the backfield. Think he’s gold in PPR ROS.

Parker and Thornton...now i agree as a Miami fan that Parker is unreliable, always has been
Thornton had a lot of our attention last year
Hard for me to get excited about Bourne, you really see him as a PPR weekly WR3/Flex type?

I do. I think he becomes Meyers of last year, who on a PPG basis, finished 26th with receivers who played 10+ games. And that’s with horrible QB play. All camp we heard Belichik talk about Mac’s development. Seems they’ll pass a lot more this year which should provide even more opportunity for Bourne.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

I'd like to hear more. Has he passed Michael Thomas in your eyes?

In fantasy, decisively yes. The letter of the depth chart is misleading the heck out of people who don't watch Saints' games.

News that gets no attention, but matters for fantasy: Rashid Shaheed was returning kicks & punts Week 1 against the Titans. For this coming week, against the Panthers on Monday night, the Saints have called up Lynn Bowden from the practice squad to take over return duties. Shaheed will concentrate strictly on offense.

EDIT: A few more Shaheed quick hits including video of a near-miss second-quarter TD to Shaheed that will be unnoticed by those who didn't watch the Saints-Titans game.

That seems significant.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I'd like to hear more. Has he passed Michael Thomas in your eyes?

In fantasy, decisively yes. The letter of the depth chart is misleading the heck out of people who don't watch Saints' games.

News that gets no attention, but matters for fantasy: Rashid Shaheed was returning kicks & punts Week 1 against the Titans. For this coming week, against the Panthers on Monday night, the Saints have called up Lynn Bowden from the practice squad to take over return duties. Shaheed will concentrate strictly on offense.

EDIT: A few more Shaheed quick hits including video of a near-miss second-quarter TD to Shaheed that will be unnoticed by those who didn't watch the Saints-Titans game.

That seems significant.

It tipped me over to release Kadarius Toney on a couple rosters and grab Shaheed where he was still on the WW
I don't like having to share 3-ways but if he keeps making plays then they have to keep targeting him even if that means cutting into Thomas'

 

[TripleThreat]

R.Mostert

You’re gonna wanna check status foe the rest of the week. …
Wednesday DNP. spotted Thursday

 

[Gally]

R.Mostert

You’re gonna wanna check status foe the rest of the week. …
Wednesday DNP. spotted Thursday

Wednesday was a rest day. He is fine (for now).

 

[Ministry of Pain]

R.Mostert

You’re gonna wanna check status foe the rest of the week. …
Wednesday DNP. spotted Thursday

I haven't heard anyone say he is OUT, also I don't remember him being hit hard on Sunday or getting up wobbly or anything remotely like that.

-I still think Miami might need another RB, a decent one, not just a body but would also like to see the Rookie join the party

 

[Wrigley]

ESPN suggests that Pat Surtain II will be shadowing Terry McLaurin

Dotson ftw

 

[Tanner9919]

James cook is going to kill it this week - Raiders are very gracious to opposing RBs. Allen is a turnover machine, but he usually follows up a terrible game with an act of brilliance.
Cook is going to get a lot of rec plays and should go nuts on the ground.
Shaheed will continue the tear that he is on.
surprised you haven't mentioned Nico Collins and Stroud. Indy has high school level DBs and secondary. go read PFF page about this matchup. They have Stroud shredding this defense up and down the field against subpar corners.
Love is going to thrive against Atl defense. Underdog sports has a video on youtube about the GB offense. they're essentially employing many Miami offense formations and plays , as are the Ram and others. Binks has GB offense has a potential league winning unit - love, watson, doubs, musgrave, jones. even the GB defense.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Houston Texans vs Ravens last week
4 Sacks
7 QB Hits



ARich Top 10 this week?

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Does Goedert have a bounce back week after the big donut last week?
Hurts was ho hum but so was AJ Brown 7/79 and Smith 7/47, won't go like that every week.
Swift or Penny? Neither if you feel like Scott gets the goal line/Red zone work.
Hurt could solve that with a couple rushing TDs, would like to see him avoid big hits tonight.

 

[kyoun1e]

R.Mostert- He's jumped up to 26th this week, decent Week 1 only because of the TD. Likely gets the lion's share Sunday Night of whatever Miami manages to rush for

Pats have done a decent job on Tyreek. Last year and even when he was with KC.

Have a feeling they will dare Miami to run. Could see Mostert getting some run, maybe even more dump offs than usual. Think last year I remember Mostert getting a ton of receptions in one game which was surprising.

Bill will not let T. Hill beat them.

 

[TripleThreat]

R.Mostert

You’re gonna wanna check status foe the rest of the week. …
Wednesday DNP. spotted Thursday

I haven't heard anyone say he is OUT, also I don't remember him being hit hard on Sunday or getting up wobbly or anything remotely like that.

-I still think Miami might need another RB, a decent one, not just a body but would also like to see the Rookie join the party

Personally I think both rookies will be featured next year but that's a different thread .

And IMO if Mostert on the injury report it is always worthy of paying attn to

 

[Faust]

10 keys to winning your Week 2 fantasy football matchup

 

[SeniorVBDStudent]

Mac Jones scored more points than Burrow, Lamar, and Hurts combined. No love?

He was the #2 QB in our league so it caught my attention. Was this a result of Eagles having a garbage defense, game script of being down 2 scores in the first 5 minutes, or is it possible the Pats will be airing it out this year and they have a QB capable of doing it?

I only saw the RedZone highlights, and have to say that some of those throws were legit QB throws. Is Mac worth an add for depth?

edit: or more appropriate for this thread topic, is Mac worth a start week 2 against Miami? Herbert had a mid day against them (220/1) but ESPN has them rated 25th easiest against QBs after 1 week.

The tricky aspect of Jones is oline status. Brown and Sow are in concussion protocol. Onwenu and Strange limited for 3 straight days. The good news is center David Andrews was removed from the inury report. I think the oline will be ok, so the next issue is NE will look to establish the run game. If you think that will be successful, it caps Jones. I happen to believe (opinion only here) that (a) the run game will not be established well yet in week 2, and (b) even if you try to take away Hill and Waddle they are good for two scores....so I think Jones is attractive. Parker is still limited...so Bourne may be inline for another good week. Its rumored that JJSS, Parker and Thornton are viewed internally as not as good as Bourne, Boutte and Douglas....but Boutte is now limited with a hamstring.

I'll take the over...NE 27-24. Jones 275/2/0, Stevenson 15/75/1, Elliott 10/40/0. If there's one more score it will be Elliott (a guess).

 

[Grid71]

Adding another log to the Shaheed fire. He outscored Olave in 5 of the last 7 weeks in full PPR scoring going back to week 12 when Shaheed started seeing more playing time. Considering Olave has a much higher volume, that's pretty wild. I'm starting him especially while Kamara is out.

Olave	19.2	17.0	8.2	0.0	8.3	10.5	11.2
Shaheed	21.0	7.1	13.9	8.1	18.5	11.5	7.3

 

[Faust]

Fantasy Football: Sleeper tight ends to start in Week 2

 

[Ministry of Pain]

It appears as if 2 Auto Starts, 2 guys you would never ever think of not starting are going to be OUT today
That has to open up the playbook and take a deeper look at some guys you didn't think you would need except maybe some bye weeks

Kelly and AJ Dillon are going to be pushed into starting duty today
I like Dillon and think he could have a strong game today

 

[FairWarning]

Hard not to start a RB vs the Bears. The interior D doesn’t look any better.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Is anyone starting BOTH Atlanta RBs?
Feel like it almost needs it's own discussion however...
Many of us who took Bijan did not hesitate to grab Tyler Allgeier and we thought that was just for insurance, now it feels like a Mack/Byner situation from the 80s
Eventually I think Bijan will show that he is the more explosive player and in turn the touches will slant in his direction but it also seems they want to use both of them.

RB1-Bijan
RB2-Gibbs let's say
RB3/Flex and you are looking at Breece Hall(tough match up), Pacheco who is no sure thing week to week, about 10-15 touches, needs a TD to really hit the box for most.
And then you have Tyler Allgeier and you saw what happened last week

-Green Bay rolls into town and they are down WR1 and RB1, a conservative game plan from Atlanta seems pretty imminent

Wondering what the pulse is on something like this

 

[VikingFrog]

Is anyone starting BOTH Atlanta RBs?
Feel like it almost needs it's own discussion however...
Many of us who took Bijan did not hesitate to grab Tyler Allgeier and we thought that was just for insurance, now it feels like a Mack/Byner situation from the 80s
Eventually I think Bijan will show that he is the more explosive player and in turn the touches will slant in his direction but it also seems they want to use both of them.

RB1-Bijan
RB2-Gibbs let's say
RB3/Flex and you are looking at Breece Hall(tough match up), Pacheco who is no sure thing week to week, about 10-15 touches, needs a TD to really hit the box for most.
And then you have Tyler Allgeier and you saw what happened last week

-Green Bay rolls into town and they are down WR1 and RB1, a conservative game plan from Atlanta seems pretty imminent

Wondering what the pulse is on something like this

https://x.com/Underdog__NFL/status/1703404422317969558?s=20

It’s not a bad plan. And looks like Tyler A will continue to get carries.

He was good last year. No reason for the Falcons not to hit the 1-2 punch.

 

[Tanner9919]

Is anyone starting BOTH Atlanta RBs?
Feel like it almost needs it's own discussion however...
Many of us who took Bijan did not hesitate to grab Tyler Allgeier and we thought that was just for insurance, now it feels like a Mack/Byner situation from the 80s
Eventually I think Bijan will show that he is the more explosive player and in turn the touches will slant in his direction but it also seems they want to use both of them.

RB1-Bijan
RB2-Gibbs let's say
RB3/Flex and you are looking at Breece Hall(tough match up), Pacheco who is no sure thing week to week, about 10-15 touches, needs a TD to really hit the box for most.
And then you have Tyler Allgeier and you saw what happened last week

-Green Bay rolls into town and they are down WR1 and RB1, a conservative game plan from Atlanta seems pretty imminent

Wondering what the pulse is on something like this

I've kind of learned over the years that when someone says 'its going to be a defensive battle' or a 'low scoring affair' , almost always the reverse that happens. would NOT surprise me to see a good ole' fashioned shootout in Atl, like a 38-35 finish type deal. there's no way atl stays so conservative by constantly running the ball. london should feast here.hope you traded FOR him during the week!
this might be the game that the falcons simply take the training wheels off bijan and let him do the work.

josh kelley
musgrave
laPorta
Zay Jones
Deshaun watson
browns defense
bucs defense