For the fantasy football player, success in daily fantasy formats comes down to your ability to find value, to identify players who are faced with great matchups, and to maximize the relationships among the players on your roster (otherwise known as correlation). In other words, what are this week's best buys on the fantasy football schedule?
Each week, I'll go through each offensive position and give you a few players I'm considering for my head-to-head lineups, as well as some of the better team defenses for you to select in order to round out those fantasy rosters. These are usually players who are getting as much volume as possible, while also coming in at value prices. I'll also include some players I'm considering for my tournament pool play. And while things may change between this posting and game time, I'll do whatever I can to keep people updated on my various social media channels all the way up until kickoff on Sunday.
With all of that in mind, here are my favorite plays for Week 2.
Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson ($7,200 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel), Denver Broncos vs. Houston Texans: No player on the main slate faces as big a change in environment as Wilson does in Week 2. He will go from a highly charged Week 1 matchup on the road against his former team to playing his first home game in the friendly confines of Mile High Stadium. Plus, he'll be facing off against a Houston defense that looks to be ripe for the picking. Last season, the Texans were routinely challenged down the field, allowing a league-high 8.3 yards per target, and Wilson owns the highest deep-pass TD rate since 2018. This is a great landing spot in Week 2 for tournament stacks and bring-backs.
Derek Carr ($6,200 DraftKings, $7,300 FanDuel), Las Vegas Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals: Carr may be the biggest QB value this week on DraftKings as the Raiders have the highest implied team total of the entire slate. The Cardinals' defense is going to be one that I plan to attack in most weeks, and this week will be no different as Carr is in play for both cash games and tournaments in Week 2.
Joe Burrow ($6,600 DraftKings, $7,900 FanDuel), Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys: The Bengals are 6.5-point favorites on the road this week. Looking back to 2021, Burrow averaged 293.4 passing yards in those 10 Bengals wins and threw three-plus TD passes in five of those victories. Things got a little weird last week for the Bengals offense, as the Steelers came out and punched them right in the mouth and Tee Higgins left the game early with an injury. Things should start to normalize for Burrow and the Bengals this week against a Cowboys defense that got picked apart in Week 1 by the Buccaneers.
Also interested in
Trevor Lawrence ($5,300 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel), Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts: Lawrence "looked the part" last week and showed great improvement across all metrics compared his 2021 averages. Last season, the Colts allowed the second-highest red zone completion percentage and, as well as the Jaguars moved the ball in Week 1 (with all of their new offensive weapons and a more mature Lawrence) I would expect Jacksonville to take advantage of that deficiency on the other side of the ball. The Colts rank in the bottom 10 in terms of both blitz percentage and pressure rate since the beginning of 2021. If Lawrence gets some opportunities to throw from a clean pocket, he should see success at an extremely cheap price on DraftKings.
Running backs
Nick Chubb ($7,100 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel), Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets: I'm not considering Chubb for my head-to-head games because of his lack of usage in the passing game, coupled with many RB options at a similar price point who can provide a better floor in DraftKings PPR scoring. Still, Chubb has as much high-end upside to break the slate open as anyone else at the position. The Jets allowed touchdowns on a league-high 5.3% of carries last season and this year's Browns offense (given the absence of Deshaun Watson for the first three months) is going to rely heavily on establishing the run. Only Jonathan Taylor has the "big splash" ability that Chubb possesses. I would not be surprised to see Chubb challenge in tournaments in Week 2.
D'Andre Swift ($7,000 DraftKings, $8,200 FanDuel), Detroit Lions vs. Washington Commanders: Last season, the Commanders defense ranked 31st in the league in terms of passer rating when their opponents targeted running backs. Ironically, the only team less efficient defensively was the Lions. Swift only got targeted three times in Week 1, but was tremendously efficient on the ground tallying 144 rushing yards on only 15 carries. I would expect a bump in his targets and hopefully a 50/50 split on goal-line carries with Jamaal Williams across all games. The fact that this game has a high probability of going over the 48.5-point total only makes me more excited to roster Swift in Week 2.
Saquon Barkley ($7,300 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel), New York Giants vs. Carolina Panthers: Barkley was underpriced on DraftKings in Week 1 ($6,100) and I believe he's still underpriced in Week 2. His workload is exactly as we had projected, with nobody to challenge him for snaps. In fact, he led the league in Week 1 with 83% of the snap-share at running back. Carolina is an inefficient defense when it comes to stopping opposing running backs, the Giants are favored and get to play at home. Barkley is going to be one of the most popular players on the slate, regardless of position.
Also interested in
Darrell Henderson Jr. ($5,700 DraftKings, $6,200 FanDuel), Los Angeles Rams vs. Atlanta Falcons: With Cam Akers either being in the doghouse or simply not ready from a health perspective to take on a massive share in the running game, Henderson projects to get over 75% of the RB snaps and touches for the Rams. The price did not adjust nearly enough and Henderson is the biggest value at the position on DraftKings.
Wide receivers
Ja'Marr Chase ($8,000 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel), Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys: Chase is who we thought he was, posting a massive score line in Week 1. This week, the Bengals square off against Dallas, where scheming Chase onto Anthony Brown in coverage will likely bear fruit. Brown was targeted by the Buccaneers on nine passes in Week 1 and allowed seven catches for 108 yards. You'll have to pay up to get him, but with the specter of Tee Higgins missing this game, Chase may be on track for a 35% market share of Joe Burrow's targets in Week 2.
Michael Pittman Jr. ($6,700 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel), Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars: Jonathan Taylor sits at $9,900 on DraftKings and, while he is still a fantastic play from a floor-and-ceiling perspective, it's much easier to get shares of the Indianapolis offense by paying $3,200 less for Pittman. Opponents completed a league-high 71.9% of passes when targeting wide receivers against the Jaguars last year. With Pittman seeing the massive amount of targets that project to be coming his way on a weekly basis, he will remain an extremely solid play until DraftKings prices him up to reflect that workload.
Jerry Jeudy ($5,600 DraftKings, $6,300 FanDuel), Denver Broncos vs. Houston Texans: It's hard to separate Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, but since my editor won't let me write a novel in this space, I'll focus on the cheaper of the pair this week. The Texans allowed the third-most yards per WR target last year (8.91, a full yard ahead of the league average). After a rocky Week 1 from a coaching and play-calling standpoint, I think the Broncos will get back on track this week at home against the Texans. When it comes to tournaments, I am an advocate of double-stacking pass-catchers with a quarterback. Lineups featuring the trio of Wilson, Sutton and Jeudy are most certainly in play for me this week.
Christian Kirk ($5,700 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel), Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts: It's not shocking that Kirk finished Week 1 with the largest market share of targets for the Jaguars. They paid him an awful lot of money this offseason to be their "alpha" wide receiver and lined him up in the slot throughout the preseason and Week 1. This should assure a high conversion rate on targets-to-catches. Kirk totaled 120 air yards in Week 1, the fifth-best week of his career. He also added three red zone targets. The Colts allowed the second-highest red zone completion percentage last season (more than 10 percentage points ahead of the league average of 56.4%).
Also interested in
Allen Robinson II ($5,500 DraftKings, $5,700 FanDuel), Los Angeles Rams vs. Atlanta Falcons: Robinson was schemed out of the Rams' game plan in Week 1 for multiple reasons, not the least of which being that the Bills played 97% zone defense and the Rams possess the world's greatest zone-beater in Cooper Kupp. The Falcons play a lot more man-to-man defense, which is something that Robinson excels at beating. Plus, the Falcons allowed the eighth-highest passer rating when opponents targeted wide receivers in 2021. I believe that the public is going to shy away from Robinson due to recency bias, so I'm more than happy to take the discount in price and tournament percentage in Week 2.
Greg Dortch ($3,500 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel), Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders: Dortch is this week's "if/then" conditional selection. If Rondale Moore's hamstring does not allow him to go on Sunday, then Dortch steps into a high-volume role in a game where a lot of points are expected to be scored.
Tight ends
Dalton Schultz ($5,200 DraftKings, $5,600 FanDuel), Dallas Cowboys vs. Cincinnati Bengals: While admitting that there will be a downgrade in offensive efficiency going from Dak Prescott to Cooper Rush as the Cowboys quarterback, we also have to acknowledge that the Cowboys will still throw the football -- especially if they are trailing in this game, one in which they are 6.5-point underdogs. Schultz totaled seven targets last Halloween when Rush made his last start in a game where both CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper were on the field. Schultz has a solid floor of targets and is a DraftKings-specific play in full-PPR with bonuses in Week 2.
Hayden Hurst ($3,600 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel), Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys allowed the sixth-most yards per short completion last season and, with the absence of Higgins this week, Hurst should see an elevated market share of targets. One of four tight ends on the main slate who saw multiple red zone targets in Week 1, Hurst led that group in the percentage of dropbacks (69.2%) on which he ran a route.
Mark Andrews ($6,600 DraftKings, $7,400 FanDuel), Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins: I'm willing to go back to the well with Andrews in Week 2 as he led the TE position in air yards in Week 1. Miami allowed the fifth-highest completion percentage when tight ends were targeted last year. Andrews presents a great opportunity to pay up to be contrarian this week as many will be looking at super-cheap TE options on this slate.
Also interested in
Logan Thomas ($3,400 DraftKings, $5,200 FanDuel), Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions: Detroit allowed the second-most yards per pass last season and didn't see much of a difference in Week 1 against Philadelphia. When he's been healthy, Thomas has been nothing short of elite in terms of involvement, with 17 targets on 66 routes over his last three games played.
Defenses
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($3,300 DraftKings, $4,200 FanDuel) at Saints
Miami Dolphins ($2,300 DraftKings, $4,000 FanDuel) at Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals ($2,200 DraftKings, $3,900 FanDuel) at Cowboys
Disclaimer: Al Zeidenfeld (Username: Al_Smizzle) plays on his personal account in games for which he offers advice. He may also deploy different players/strategies than what he advises.