Fantasy Insight: Week 2

You have absolutely no idea how hesitant I was to write this. I am in three fantasy football leagues, one of which is super competitive, another pretty competitive, and the third, well pretty much easy money. So, at the risk of my competitors using this against me, I am going you give you some keys to winning this week.

Do NOT Sit These Men

DeAndre Hopkins

This is a scary one for a couple of reasons. The Texans Quarterback situation is bound to be unpredictable and inconsistent. The game is on a Thursday, which often results in fantasy duds. The Texans just lost to the Jaguars. But trust me, Hopkins is safe. It is likely that DeShaun Watson will start, and if we know one thing about rookie quarterbacks, it is that they lean on their number one guy. The Bengals defense also looked very bad last week. They allowed Jeremy Maclin to gash them for a big play, and probably would have allowed more passing yards if the Ravens hadn’t put on the brakes after going up 20–0.

Terrelle Pryor

The Washington Redskins will take on the Rams this week. The Rams may have absolutely torched the Colts on Sunday, but expect them to come back to Earth this week. This Redskins offense is a lot more sophisticated than the Colts, so I expect a decent game from both Pryor and Kirk Cousins

Philip Rivers

Rivers actually looked pretty solid against Denver Monday night, which is an incredibly hard thing to do. He managed three touchdowns and only one interception. Look for him to keep that going and couple it with the fact that this is the Dolphins first game of the season so there may be some rust still to be shaken off.

Tevin Coleman

This is the boldest of all. Coleman registered 12 touches last week, which is not a formula for a big game. This week however, the Falcons and Packers are destined for a big time shootout. Expected plenty of work out of the backfield for both Coleman and Devonta Freeman in this one.

Note: This would have been Freeman if he wasn’t already a guaranteed start.

Give ’em the Day Off

Paul Perkins

Screw this guy. Everyone has been talking down on him and I have kept faith up until Sunday night. He had a whopping seven carries for 16 yards. This offense looks terrible. The only startable player on the team, in my opinion, is Odell Beckham.

Doug Baldwin

This is a big name to be on your bench, but if you have a solid WR group and made a good pickup from waivers like Kenny Golladay or Cooper Kupp I may consider avoiding this game from Baldwin. He had only 4 targets last week against the Packers, and caught all 4. He came away with 63 yards but it easily could have been less. This week I expect an early lead for the Seahawks and a lot of ground attack in the second half. Maybe we will finally get some clarity on their running back situation.

Alex Smith

First of all, I hope you didn’t grab Alex Smith off waivers this week. You are begging to be disappointed, because despite the big week, there are so many stronger options for Week 2 streaming. He plays against Philadelphia, who held Washington to 17 points, and I’m not sure that Kansas City will fare any better.

Christian McCaffrey

The rookie had a solid showing in his first NFL game, aside from his fumble that is. He also did it against a fairly weak San Fransisco front seven. The Panthers offense didn’t show a great amount of promise in Week 1 and Jonathan Stewart got more looks than expected. Plus, the Bills contained Jets passing down back Bilal Powell to just 39 total yards. Expect a similar output.

Defense and Kicker of the Week

If you’re smart, you will not roster a defense for more than a couple weeks at a time this season. Last week in all of my leagues, I managed to roster both the Rams defense and Matt Prater. The Rams defense obviously paid off incredibly, and Prater held his own, specifically in leagues where 50 yard field goals are worth 5 points. This week I’m switching it up and dropping both.

In all three of my leagues, the Tampa Bay defense and Blair Walsh were both available. Tampa is facing off against the Bears this week, who despite a surprising game against the Falcons, are still not a good offense. Tampa, on the other hand, is coming into this season with a very good defensive front led by Gerald McCoy. Expect a couple sacks and at least one interception. Walsh is facing off against the 49ers and I expect a lot of points early for the Seahawks.

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