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Week 2 Fantasy Football Rankings: Position-by-Position Breakdown

Fantasy Football
September 15, 2015

In case you weren’t a believer in the Atlanta Falcons’ Julio Jones as perhaps the No. 1 fantasy wide receiver in the NFL before Week 1, what he did against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night might have changed your mind.

Jones had nine receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns to begin the season. With a spotty New York Giants defense hosting Jones and the Falcons in Week 2, he’s poised to go off again. The Giants gave up 356 yards through the air to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, despite the fact that Dez Bryant had only 48 yards receiving as he left with a foot injury. Jones should have his way against the G-Men.

If we were ranking biggest fantasy stud of the week—regardless of position—Jones would be No. 1. As it stands, he is clearly the best option at receiver for Week 2.

Here’s a look at the Week 2 schedule and the top five fantasy players at every other position.

Quarterback

This is meant as no disrespect to the Tennessee Titans’ awesome rookie Marcus Mariota, but if a player in his first NFL regular-season game throws for four touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, what do you think will happen in Week 2 against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints?

In Week 1, Brees was getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers and letting them pick up yardage, per Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders:

Brees finished the day with 355 yards and a touchdown.

Against Lovie Smith’s Cover-2 defense and the Bucs’ lack of talent in the secondary, you have to like Brees to have a big game.

Running Back

The Green Bay Packers knocked off the Chicago Bears in Week 1, but it wasn’t because of their run defense. Matt Forte and the Bears ran for 189 yards on the ground as the Packers had no answer for the ground game.

There’s bad news on the horizon for the Pack in Week 2. Marshawn Lynch and a highly motivated Seattle Seahawks team are marching into Lambeau Field on Monday night. We could see Lynch go into beast mode again.

Lynch had a respectable 73 yards on 18 carries on Sunday. Unless the Packers find a way to stop the run, Lynch seems like a lock to go over 100 yards in Week 2.

Tight Ends

Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph is one of the best receivers at his position, but he hasn’t really had a breakout season as of yet. This could be the year he finally takes advantage of his talent.

He was excited about the season leading into Week 1. Per Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, Rudolph said:

“My expectations are very high. We have so many big-time threats.’’ He could be the biggest threat the Vikes have on Sunday. No team gave up more passing yards than the Detroit Lions in Week 1. It looks like they missed having Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line.

Teddy Bridgewater might just target his tight end early and often against the Lions.

Defense/Special Teams

The St. Louis Rams pulled an upset in Week 1 over the Seahawks, and they have a great chance to move to 2-0 as they visit Washington in Week 2. The latter didn’t look good offensively, and we learned the Rams defensive line is excellent at getting pressure on the QB and opportunistic when it comes to forcing turnovers.

Even though the defense gave up 31 points, the Rams sacked Russell Wilson six times and picked him off once, and Tavon Austin returned a punt for a touchdown.

If you can, take the Rams defense this week against a weak Washington offense that scored just 10 points against Miami in Week 1.

Kickers

The Chicago Bears had issues in the red zone in Week 1. That’s nothing new. It’s also old hat to watch Robbie Gould drill field goal after field goal when the team’s drives stall. Gould is the closest thing to automatic in the NFL, and he’s the top-ranked kicker this week.

The Bears host another good defense this week in the Arizona Cardinals.

Chicago ran the ball well, and Jay Cutler played fine before throwing a key interception in the fourth quarter in Week 1. The Bears offense isn’t horrible, but they still don’t know how to punch the ball in the end zone with regularity. Gould had three field goals in Week 1. Don’t be surprised to see him kick that many again vs. the Cardinals.

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