We’re still a few days away from locking in our main-slate lineups for Week 2, but it’s always an advantage to get a head start on roster construction for Sunday. Each week this NFL season I will be penning this mid-week article to point out some of the standout plays as we work our way through hump-day.
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NFL Week 2 Plays
Quarterback
Justin Herbert (1.15x)
I talked about my love for Herbert (and this LAC/DAL game in general) last night in my Week 2 SuperDraft video. My love for rostering Chargers on this slate has only intensified with news out of Cowboys practice on Wednesday afternoon that Demarcus Lawrence suffered a foot injury. As of this writing, the severity of that injury is unknown but there is “real concern” he could miss this game. That news coupled with the fact that Randy Gregory could also be absent due to COVID protocols is fuel to my Chargers fire. Herbert has a litany of weapons at the receiver position to pick apart this Dallas defense and has some sneaky rushing upside as well, tallying 234 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in his rookie season.
Tom Brady (1.2x)
Let’s not get it twisted, Jalen Hurts remains my favorite QB target this week at his 1.3x multiplier. But with his ownership projection on the rise, I’m warming to some shares of Brady in Week 2. He gets the lowly Falcons defense, the same team that Hurts carved up last week. Tampa Bay’s ground attack is a bit disjointed after multiple turnovers in Week 1, and similar to what the Buccaneers did to the Lions late last season (34 unanswered first-half points), I think there’s some massive blowout potential in this one. Such a scenario would likely be on the back of Brady firing touchdowns to his bevy of options through the air, so in MME builds I like having exposure to the old man.
Running Back
Najee Harris (1.45x)
It’s always hard to not overreact to the Week 1 results as a fantasy player, but Harris is the prime example of a situation where we should stand our ground. This multiplier is just too high for a back who saw a 100% snap rate in his first career game. The Bills might not have the best defense in the NFL, but it’s certainly stouter than this Raiders group that Harris will face in his first career home game this Sunday. Below average offensive line be damned, I want massive exposure to Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in my MME builds.
Elijah Mitchell (1.75x)
Another player I talked about in my Week 2 video was Austin Ekeler, who is a key piece of my LAC/DAL game stacks at 1.35x. But I want to focus on the new hotness in the fantasy football world, and that’s Elijah Mitchell. Everyone fired massive amounts of FAAB in their season-long leagues to secure Mitchell on waivers this week, and I don’t blame them. He looked great in his debut, even if it was against the Lions. Mitchell should be highly owned, and I would normally recommend tempering these new expectations and fade a player like this in GPPs. But this is Kyle Shanahan’s rushing attack. Week 1 inactive and fellow rookie RB Trey Sermon could come in and handle some carries this week, but I’m willing to chase the upside of Mitchell in this offense and “eat some chalk” in my MME builds with this pick.
Wide Receiver
CeeDee Lamb (1.4x)
Another piece of this LAC/DAL game. I am going to have stacks of this game everywhere. Michael Gallup is out for the Cowboys, and Lamb is coming off a game where he saw 15 targets from QB Dak Prescott. The volume is too high for me to ignore him at this multiplier, and even if he regresses in the target area he’s got room to improve on his multiple-drop effort from last week.
Antonio Brown (1.45x)
Say what you want about Brown’s antics, the man is out on the gridiron looking like his old self again. He’s got the highest multiplier of the Tampa Bay starting receivers and my favorite to pair with Brady in a Buccaneers stack. He only saw 65% of the snaps in Week 1, but I’m comfortable enough with that number due to the frequency that Brady targets him (dating back to their one-game stint together in New England in 2019) and his raw ability to torch defenses with chunk plays. I see Brown and Brady hooking up for another TD in Week 2.
Tight End
Kyle Pitts (1.4x)
The rookie sensation began his NFL career with a relative dud. Pitts was massively owned across the DFS landscape last week, but I’m going right back to him in a tough matchup against Tampa Bay. The stat that is encouraging for me is that Pitts lined up out wide or in the slot for 80% of his routes. Compare that number to everyone’s number one at the position, Travis Kelce, who saw 83% of his routes out wide or in the slot. The big fantasy performances will come for Pitts, and I’m riding this train until it happens. The fact the Falcons could go down big in this matchup means more passing attempts for Matt Ryan to target Pitts with. I’m all in on him at the TE position.
This article expresses the personal views of the writer and does not reflect the view(s) of SuperDraft in any way.
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