NFL
Fantasy Football Stud or Dud: Week 2
‘Stud or Dud’ is a new fantasy football column here at TSJ. I will be posting this column every week, discussing players who owners should start or sit in fantasy football. ‘Stud’ players are players who look to perform better than their projected points. ‘Dud’ players, accordingly, look to perform worse than their projected points. This column will take into account player opportunities and other factors like matchups.
Quarterback
Stud
Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers: Rivers had a great game against the Chiefs last week. He passed for 424 yards and three touchdowns. Most of this was dominated by a negative game script, as the Chiefs led for most of the game. Rivers will look to keep those numbers up against a Bills defense that was dominated by the Ravens in Week 1. Joe Flacco and the Ravens scored 47 points against the Bills defense without a very good supporting cast. Rivers has Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, and Mike Williams. In addition, he also has one of the best receiving RBs in the league in Melvin Gordon. Put Rivers firmly in the QB1 category and don’t be surprised if he tops 25 points.
Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears: Trubisky had a great start to last week’s game before the team fell apart in the second half. He has one of the most creative coaches in Matt Nagy, along with a spread-style offensive coordinator in Mark Helfrich. The Bears will be facing the Seahawks, who allowed Case Keenum to throw for three touchdowns in Week 1. Look for Trubisky to utilize Trey Burton and Allen Robinson more than he did in the Week 1 loss. Overall, expect a high-end QB2 or low-end QB1 showing from the former North Carolina standout.
Dud
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: Before everyone jumps on the Mahomes hype train, let’s pump the brakes a little bit. Mahomes had two long touchdowns to speedster Tyreek Hill, which is not something he looks able to do every week. Expect a regression in the touchdown department and in yardage. Kareem Hunt was also unable to get going last week — and the Chiefs offense was best last year when he was getting work. Also, the Steelers held experienced veteran Tyrod Taylor to just 150 passing yards in their Week 1 tie. Look for Mahomes to have more of a mid-range QB2 performance against the Steelers this week.
Running Back
Stud
Royce Freeman, Denver Broncos: Freeman had only 7 points in PPR and standard leagues last week, but will look for a bounce-back performance in Week 2. The Broncos will be facing a Raiders defense who let Todd Gurley run for 108 yards last week. Obviously Freeman is no Todd Gurley, but the Raiders defense was not good last year and now look worse after losing Khalil Mack. Freeman should get plenty of work in a game that should be close. Don’t expect much receiving work for Freeman, given the emergence of Philip Lindsay. Lindsay had 15 carries and three catches in the previous game. Freeman also had 15 carries but did not record a catch. Expect a high-end RB2 week from Freeman.
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants: Saquon’s debut started with a bang as he rushed for 106 yards on 18 carries. Barkley also had a 68 yard touchdown that kept the Giants in the game. The Giants RB also caught only two passes the entire game. The Giants will look to get him more involved in the passing game in their Week 2 matchup. Saquon will face a much easier matchup when the Giants take on the Cowboys on Sunday night. Last week, Barkley rushed for over 100 yards against the best defense in the NFL. The Cowboys’ defense line doesn’t compare to the talent that the Jacksonville line has. Look for Barkley to produce top-three RB numbers with a good chance to be the best player in fantasy this week. Barkley is as close to a set-and-forget lock as you can get.
Dud
Jay Ajayi, Philadelphia Eagles: Jay Ajayi started his season off with a bang, scoring two touchdowns in their Week 1 tilt against the Falcons. However, Week 1 should be looked at as an outlier. Ajayi has only scored multiple touchdowns in one other game in his career. This is not something that fantasy owners should expect from him. Ajayi has cemented himself as the lead back in Philly’s offense, but he will nonetheless get little-to-no passing work. The Eagles, instead, look to Darren Sproles and Corey Clement in obvious passing situations. In Week 2, the Eagles will face a revamped Bucs defensive line that held the Saints to 43 yards (this was mostly game-script dominated). Look for Ajayi to put up low-end RB2 to flex numbers.
Wide Receiver
Stud
Nelson Agholor, Philadelphia Eagles: Agholor was targeted 10 times in the Eagles’ Week 1 win. He finished with eight catches for a meager 33 yards. Agholor was targeted mainly on underneath routes and dump-offs. Agholor has shown flashes of the explosive receiver we saw in Super Bowl LII (with 84 yards on nine receptions). Now, with Alshon Jeffrey out another week, look for Agholor to take on the same heavy workload as he did in Week 1. Nick Foles has not shown he can be a consistent QB from game to game, but he will look to get the Eagles offense going with passes early and often. While Agholor may never get a high yardage number, he will see 6+ catches in games where he functions as the top receiving option behind Zach Ertz. Look for Agholor to produce top-tier WR2 numbers in their Week 2 matchup with the Bucs’ atrocious pass defense.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers: JuJu put up big numbers against the Browns last week, hauling in five receptions for 119 yards. These stats stand out even more considering the performance of Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben turned the ball over six times and, overall, played below his standards. The Steelers will now face a Chiefs defense that lost Marcus Peters in the offseason and starting safety Eric Berry to injury. Pittsburgh will surely look to exploit the weakness in the Kansas City defense. Antonio Brown should draw most of the secondary’s focus, giving JuJu more open looks. Look for the explosive Steelers receiver to post high-end WR2 numbers.
Dud
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Evans had a monster Week 1 debut, posting 147 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. This was mostly a product of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing for 400+ yards against the Saints. The Bucs also benefitted from DeSean Jackson topping 150 receiving yards. These are not numbers that the Bucs will post consistently this season. Evans averaged five catches and 88 yards with Fitzpatrick in 2017. These numbers are roughly what you can expect from him this week. Evans also needs to be downgraded due to the matchup against a tough Eagles defense that looks to dominate the mediocre Bucs offense. Look for Evans to post mid-to-low WR2 numbers.
Tight End
Stud
Trey Burton, Chicago Bears: Burton did not live up to the offseason hype in Week 1, managing only one reception. Bears QB Mitch Trubisky played well in the first half, but trailed off considerably in the second. Trubisky also missed Burton for what could’ve been a wide open touchdown. The Bears payed Burton very handsomely this offseason and will surely look to utilize him. Head coach Matt Nagy’s offense can also be favorable towards TEs, as Travis Kelce was a consistent threat under Nagy. The Bears will play the Seahawks on Monday Night Football. Seattle’s defense is certainly not the ‘Legion of Boom’ that it used to be and the Bears will look to exploit their now-weakened secondary. Expect Burton to produce high-end TE1 numbers this week.
Dud
Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts: Doyle had a highly productive Week 1, with seven receptions and 60 yards on ten targets. However, Doyle did lose a fumble that may well have cost the Colts the game. Doyle is also competing with Eric Ebron for targets at the TE position. Ebron, for his part, had four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. Ebron is the more explosive athlete, but Doyle is the better blocker. This will continue to split time between the two players. Look for Doyle to produce high-end TE2 numbers, rather than the TE1 numbers that many expect.
Photo Credit: Nazrul Islam via Flickr
Follow Ben Glassmire on Twitter: @brglass10
