Fantasy Football week 2 recap

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AP

A giant American flag covers the field in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Week Two was filled with injuries with notable players falling to injury and having to leave their games. Nick Bosa, Saquon Barkley, Drew Lock, Devante Adams, Christian McCaffrey all being plagued by injuries. In other news, many random players around the league had big games for their teams. Cam Newton and Arron Jones were notable players making big plays. On the other hand, players like Mark Andrews and Julio Jones posting terrible numbers. Let us see what picks our writers made for this week.

Mac:

Best Overall Player: Aaron Jones Green Bay RB

Aaron Jones exploded on the field this week. He was everywhere, picking up big numbers on the ground and through the air. He ran for 168 yards on 18 carries with two of them being for touchdowns. He also connected with Arron Rodgers with 4 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. The Packers ended up beating the Lions 42-21.


Best Underrated Player: Josh Allen Buffulo QB

It’s time people start paying attention to Josh Allen. He has made his passing game spectacular this year, and has really put together a nice offense in Buffalo. Adding Stefon Diggs to the passing game has turned out to be a great addition. All threw 35 passes yesterday and connected on 24 of them for 417 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also ran 4 times and gained a modest 18 yards. Buffalo won a nail-biter in Miami by a score of 31-28.

Booms of the Week: Cam Newton QB NE

He’s not Tom Brady, but he is still a former league MVP. He has proven to be a great new quarterback for the new era New England Patriots led by coach Bill Belichick. Newton connected on 30 of his 44 passes for a great 397 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Newton also scrambled 11 times for 47 yards and 2 touchdowns. He led the Patriots all the way back to a score of 35-30 in favor of the Seahawks but was stopped on the goal line as time expired. 

Busts of the Week: Mark Andrews Baltimore TE

The main target for Lamar Jackson did not connect much with his star quarterback. He only caught 1 pass for 29 yards. The passing game was not a key factor in the game. There were actually more rushing yards coming from the Ravens backfield. The Ravens still beat the Texans by a score of 33-16. 

Players to Move to the Bench: A.J Green WR Cincinnati

With Joe Burrow moving in as starting Quarterback for the Bengals, A.J green has a new man throwing to him. It seems the chemistry is not the same as the one he has with Andy Dalton. He only caught 3 passes for 29 yards this week and only had 5 catches for 51 yards. The Bengals are 0-2 on the season and look to still be in rebuild mode.  

Players to Start: Nick Chubb RB Cleveland

Yes, I talked bad on Cleveland last week after a mediocre performance against the Ravens week 1. On the other hand, The Browns put together a great game Thursday night against the Bengals in a 35-30 win centered around Nick Chubb’s big game. Chubb rushed for 124 yards with 2 touchdowns on 22 carries adding 9 yards with a catch. The Browns look to have an easy game against Washington next week, so look for Chubb to have a big game.  

Louis:

Best Overall Player: Dak Prescott Dallas QB

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had an unbelievable week at home against the Falcons. Prescott threw for 450 yards passing and 1 passing touchdown. Most of his success was in his rushing attack with 3 rushing touchdowns. He ended up with 39.8 points in fantasy. Dak is one of the best quarterbacks in the league when it comes to fantasy and he showed why on Sunday.

Best Underrated Player: Tyler Higbee Los Angeles TE

Higbee is a player that had an amazing week but didn’t make many headlines. The tight end for the Los Angeles Rams only had 5 catches for 58 yards vs the Eagles. However, 3 of those 5 receptions ended in touchdowns. He ended up with 28.4 fantasy points this week, which definitely was not a “fluke”. Expect more weeks like this one from Higbee.

Booms of the Week: Calvin Ridley Atlanta WR

Calvin Ridley had a remarkable week with 7 receptions for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. He recorded 29.9 fantasy points in a wild game against the Cowboys. Ridley has been off to a very hot start this season, averaging 31.9 ppg in fantasy with 4 total touchdowns. He is definitely a rising star in the league and the Ridley and Julio duo will have opposing defenses on their heels. Expect his production to decrease a bit in the coming weeks as Julio gets back to his old self.

Busts of the Week: Saquon Barkley RB NYG

This past week was a nightmare for fantasy owners that have Saquon. The absolute worst possible outcome happened as Barkley left the game midway through the second quarter with a torn ACL. Saquon only had 28 yards on the ground and 2.8 fantasy points before he was injured. Backup running back Dion Lewis will take on the starting role, but don’t expect much production out of him as long as he is running behind that offensive line.

Players to Move to the Bench: Deshaun Watson Houston QB

So far, Deshaun Watson has not lived up to his preseason hype surrounding him. He has lost his biggest target, Deandre Hopkins, over the offseason and it is really affecting him. He is only averaging 17.8 fantasy points and 1 touchdown per week. Don’t expect these numbers to increase at all this week either. Watson is going up against arguably the best defense in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers. With no “star” players surrounding him, this Steelers defense will push the pocket and make things very tough for elite quarterback Deshaun Watson to get anything going.

Players to Start: James Robinson Jacksonville RB

Thursday’s matchup between the Jaguars and the Dolphins will feature some of the worst teams in the NFL. Along with some of the worst defenses in the NFL as well. I fully expect the under the radar running back, James Robinson to have a great game. Robinson had a solid day on Sunday with 102 yards rushing, 1 touchdown, and 21 fantasy points. He has really emerged as the primary back in Jacksonville with Fournette now gone. 

Adam:

Best Overall Player: Russell Wilson Seahawks QB

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had an almost copy and paste performance from week 1 in week 2. He completed 21 of his 28 passes for nearly 300 yards and 5 passing touchdowns. He also added 5 rushes for 39 yards. He topped out at 33.5 fantasy points and is averaging a solid 33 points so far this season. If Wilson does not get hurt this year, fantasy owners will be very pleased with the way he performs for the rest of the season.

Best Underrated Player: Jonathan Taylor Indianapolis RB

Colts rookie running back Jonathan Taylor came their game against the Vikings as the starting running back. This was the first start of his career due to the Colts regular starter Marlon Mack being out with an injury. Taylor defied all odds coming into the game and had 26 rushes for 101 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown. He added 2 receptions for 9 receiving yards and totaled out at 19 fantasy points on the week. Taylor was a late-round pick up for most fantasy owners and has shown why fantasy owners should start him. 

Booms of the Week: Aaron Jones Green Bay RB

Packers running back Aaron Jones came into their game against the Lions off of a solid week one performance against the Vikings. He defied all odds and had 18 rushes for 168 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns, and added 4 receptions for 68 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown. Jones topped off at 45.6 fantasy points and is averaging numbers that Panthers running back Christian McCaffery had last year. Fantasy owners are very proud of his numbers this year and will continue to be over the next couple of weeks. 

Busts of the Week: Adam Thielen Minnesota WE

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen came off of an amazing week one performance against the Packers in fantasy but did not show out week 2 against the Colts. He only had 3 receptions for 31 receiving yards and no touchdowns. When Thielen is doing good for the Vikings offense, he can produce, but when Thielen is not on the top of his game, it shows out, and this was one of those weeks. If I owned him in fantasy football, I would give him another chance, but if he doesn’t show out, keep him on your lineup. 

Players to Move to the Bench: Allen Robinson II Bears WR

After Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson had a great week 1 against the Lions, he started his week on a sour note. On Monday after the Bears win, he took off his information on his Twitter bio that he was a wide receiver for the Bears. Some speculated that he took this off because he was wanting more money from the Bears, or was very disappointed in their coaching. In fact, it was none of that, but we do not know why he took it off of his bio. Anyways, Robinson did not perform well in week 2 against the Giants. He had 3 receptions for 33 receiving yards, and only put up 6.6 fantasy points this past Sunday. If I were a fantasy owner who had him on their team, I would put him on the bench. He will get into a clash with the Bears organization soon, and will not perform well over the next couple of weeks.

Players to Start: Tyler Higbee Los Angeles TE

Rams tight end Tyler Higbee had a not so stellar performance in week 1 against the Cowboys but had an amazing performance in week 2 against the Eagles. He had 5 receptions for 54 receiving yards, and 3 receiving touchdowns. Higbee fits really well with the Rams offense, and it showed in week 2. When the Rams are close to the end zone, they usually rely on their tight end for jump ball catches, or for routes over the middle for a contested catch. If Higbee can keep this up against Buffalo next week. He should be a solid sleeper tight end for the rest of the year.