This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
With Week 1 in the books we turn to Week 2, which might be my favorite week of the season. The reason why? There's so much recency bias that it's easy to look at the players who underperformed (for whatever reason) in Week 1 and use them this week. They're still the same player to have faith in and will be rostered less this week due to an off outing a week ago. Let's take a look at who some of these players might be.
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen ($8,100) struggled against a stout Steelers defense last week and should rebound this week on the road in Miami. Allen is one of those players who won't be popular in both cash games or GPPs due to his poor performance in the opener. The Bills love to use four-receiver sets as well as call Allen's number on running plays on almost every down. Allen accounted for 60 plays last week either throwing or running ball, while the Bills other runners accounted for only 16. Look for No.17 to get back on track this week.
In at least one GPP lineup I'm going to roster Ben Roethlisberger ($7,200) given his home matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Do I think Ben still has an elite arm? Absolutely not. But what he does have is a trio of wide receivers (Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, JuJu Smith-Schuster) who are one of the best in the league. I don't buy into the Raiders win Monday, given it was a big game on the National stage at home in a new stadium. The have a day less to prepare for this matchup and have to travel across the country to play the early game Sunday.
If I'm looking for a long shot this week at this position and saving some salary cap room, I'm strongly considering Matt Ryan ($6,700). This is a tough matchup for Ryan in Tampa where the Falcons go into the game as 12.5-point underdogs. However, we saw Dak Prescott have a big game last week while Ezekiel Elliott struggled to run the ball. This could lead to Ryan throwing more than 40 times in this game leading to a big fantasy day. In addition, if the expected game flow happens and the Falcons are playing from behind in the second half, we could see Ryan put up a ton of fantasy points in garbage time.
Running Backs
If there was ever a week to ignore the high-salaried running backs, I think this it. Ezekiel Elliott ($7,500) might be the best price for him in quite some time. He should find an easier time running the ball this week not having to face the Buccaneers tough defensive line (gave up a league-best 3.6 yards per carry last season). The Chargers allowed 4.7 yards per carry to the WFT Sunday (4.5 yards per carry for the 2020 season), which should point to Zeke having a big game.
My favorite play of the week at the position is the Steelers' Najee Harris ($6,100). I think he's an absolute steal here and should be a staple in everyone's cash game. It's a positive sign that Harris was the only running back to get a carry last week and he had three targets in the passing game. For reasons already given, I think the Steelers will roll easily over the Raiders this week, and Harris stands to benefit from that outcome.
The talk of the week in fantasy football has been the emergence of the 49ers' Elijah Mitchell ($5,800). In relief of Raheem Morris he managed to rush for 104 yards and a touchdown leading to 16.4 FanDuel fantasy points. Trey Sermon ($5,500) would be the ultimate contrarian play, but it wouldn't be surprising if an early Mitchell fumble or Kyle Shanahan's sometimes crazy tendencies led to Sermon getting the lion's share of carries. The reality is that Mitchell should be safe this week for 15-plus touches, and if he hits 10 or more fantasy points, he'll be a solid value.
Wide Receivers
I have no problem using one of the elite receivers this week, but I think there's solid value toward the upper tier with the Bears' Allen Robinson ($7,200). Robinson was the most targeted Bear (11) and gets a much easier matchup this week home against the Bengals. I really believe there's a floor here of 10 fantasy points, and the upside is more than twice that amount.
The loss of Jerry Jeudy was awful, but in a "next-man-up" league Tim Patrick ($5,400) should be on everyone's fantasy radar. Patrick will see more targets with Jeudy out, and at 6-4, 212lbs.,he's a big target who possesses speed. Courtland Sutton appears banged up and KJ Hamler ($5,500, a good tournament play) will stretch the field, allowing Patrick room to operate. The Jaguars were second-worst in the league in terms of defensive YPA last season allowing an 8.1 mark.
Jakobi Meyers ($5,500) played all but one offensive snap for the Patriots (74 out of 75) and was targeted nine times in their season opener. While Meyers turned those targets into only six catches for 44 yards, those stats point to better games ahead. The Jets allowed Robby Anderson to get deep for a 57-yard touchdowns, and DJ Moore finished with an 8-6-80 line last week in Carolina.
Other players to consider who had a quiet Week 1: Darnell Mooney ($5,500), Marquez Callaway ($5,700), Chase Claypool ($5,900), Mike Evans ($6,700) and Julio Jones ($6,300).
Tight Ends
I had to be redundant and go back to players highlighted last week, but that's exactly what I'm going to do here. As did all of the Falcons, Kyle Pitts ($5,500) had a disappointing first week finishing with only a line of 8-4-31. However, the eight targets were a tie for the team-high with Calvin Ridley and he ran routes on 90 percent of Matt Ryan's drop backs, a high number for a tight end. While it's not the greatest matchup against Tampa, it wouldn't be surprising to see Atlanta abandon the running game and let Matt Ryan sling the ball around 50 times.
There's nothing wrong with paying up for Darren Waller ($7,000) who got a whopping 19 targets on Monday night and finished with 21.5 fantasy points. However, it should be a tougher task against Pittsburgh this week who shut down the Buffalo offense Sunday on the road. Therefore the other option to consider is the Rams' Tyler Higbee ($5600). Gerald Everett is no longer there to take tight end targets, and a lot of the numbers suggest better games ahead for Higbee. First, Matthew Stafford has always loved throwing to his tight ends, and Higbee finished second on the team in targets Sunday night. While it's a one-game sample, the aforementioned Everett and Will Dissly combined to go 5-5-57 against the Colts last week suggesting they were running wide open over the middle.
Defense
*FanDuel is offering an awesome promotion this week. If you roster a defense in the Sunday Million contest and they score a touchdown, you get a share of $100,000.
The Chicago Bears ($4,100) return home after being embarrassed Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Rams. In all fairness, the Rams look like they're a contender, and a stand alone game in a new stadium for the home team would be a tall task for any team. This week should be much easier in the friendly confines of Soldier Field as they take on the Cincinnati Bengals.
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Kevin Payne plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: Fanduel: kevinccp, Draft Kings: kevinccp, Yahoo: kevinccp.
