Week 2 Fantasy Football Studs
Week 2 of the NFL season is now in the rearview mirror. With two weeks of box scores, we can start to stack some data to see who the studs are likely to be on a season-long roadmap. You will start to notice that some players will begin to frequent this article while others simply pop up from time to time. If you are looking for the auditory celebration of the studs from the NFL’s second week of action you can listen to it on the podcast. Let’s get to the top performers.
Make sure you listen to today’s podcast to get Andy, Mike, and Jason’s thoughts about all the Fantasy Studmuffins from Week 2. You can also jump over to the Week 2 Duds.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady @ NO
-447 passing yards, 3 TDs
Not that I’m ever looking to bet against TB12, but the Patriots only had 3 WRs on the active roster on Sunday. So you can forgive me for not projecting 400+ passing yards and 3 scores, though they did play the Saints.
Trevor Siemian vs DAL
-231 passing yards, 4 TDs, INT, 14 rushing yards
Siemian caught some of that first half lightning in a bottle and then unleashed it on Dallas. The yardage wasn’t spectacular but when you have Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas in the mix the potential for points is always there.
Carson Wentz @ KC
-333 passing yards, 2 TDs, INT, 55 rushing yards
The sophomore QB went into one of the most hostile environments in the league and still put up an awesome stat line for his fantasy owners. I dare say Wentz can be your starter week in and week out.
Drew Brees vs NE
-356 passing yards, 2 TDs
Nothing reminds you of the subtle differences between fantasy football and real football than Drew Brees in garbage time. The Saints looked absolutely miserable and were down by 3 scores before Brees finally got in on the action.
Derek Carr vs NYJ
-230 passing yards, 3 TDs
Want to hear an awful, miserably bad, horrendous, offensive joke? The Jets.
Running Backs
C.J. Anderson vs DAL
-25 carries, 118 rushing yards, TD, 3 receptions, 36 receiving yards, TD
It is easy to forget how good C.J. is when he is healthy because he rarely is. But owners got a reminder on Sunday. With a comfortable lead, Anderson served as the early down grinder but also got work in the passing game. Jamaal Charles is a great comeback story but he is no true threat to a healthy Anderson.
Todd Gurley vs WAS
-16 carries, 88 rushing yards, TD, 3 receptions, 48 receiving yards, TD
If there were any more doubters out there Todd Gurley hurdled them on Sunday. Gurley looked explosive and was a focal point of the offense even though the Rams trailed the Redskins from the word “go”.
Kareem Hunt vs PHI
-13 carries, 81 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 28 receiving yards
Good news Hunt owners, Week 1 wasn’t a dream. Though Kareem most certainly is dreamy.
Chris Thompson @ LAR
-3 carries, 77 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 29 receiving yards
If you have Chris Thompson on your fantasy roster, congratulations! You now have an excuse for why you lost. Just say, “Oh man, if I would’ve just started Chris Thompson I would’ve had you.”
Patrick McDermott/ Getty Images
Devonta Freeman vs GB
-19 carries, 84 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 2 receptions, 16 receiving yards
100 total yards and two TDs is going to make a lot of owners happy, especially if they got to see this performance in person while enjoying a $2 hot dog and a $2 soda with free refills at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Ty Montgomery @ ATL
-10 carries, 35 rushing yards, TD, 6 receptions, 75 receiving yards, TD
Tymo is the perfect back for the Packers offense. He is big enough to get the tough yards but also has exceptional skills as a receiver. It was the latter that was put to the best use Sunday night as the Packers trailed big, and lost Nelson and Cobb at various points in the game due to injury.
Wide Receivers
Michael Crabtree vs NYJ
-6 receptions, 80 receiving yards, 3 TDs, 6 targets
Michael Crabtree is the Raiders #1 WR.
Michael Crabtree is the Raiders #1 WR.
Michael Crabtree is the Raiders #1 WR.
Emmanuel Sanders vs DAL
-6 receptions, 62 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 8 targets
The injury to Bennie Fowler paved the way for Sanders to get involved… Not really. This is the norm for Denver. Sanders and Thomas are the only pieces of this passing attack you want. Start them with confidence. They are studs.
J.J. Nelson @ IND
-5 receptions, 120 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
If you started Nelson in Week 2, you can send your thank you letter to @andyholloway.
Jermaine Kearse @ OAK
-4 receptions, 64 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 5 targets
While I don’t expect Kearse to score every week, he can no longer be ignored as he has established himself as the leading WR on a team that will have to throw, a lot.
Mike Evans vs CHI
-7 receptions, 93 receiving yards, TD, 9 targets
This was an unusually efficient day for Mike Evans. He was definitely worth the wait for owners who were forced to hold him on the bench through the Week 1 bye.
Alshon Jeffery @ KC
-7 receptions, 92 receiving yards, TD, 13 targets
It was only a matter of time before Jeffery and Wentz started clicking. I personally didn’t expect it to be this soon, but the pair got it done for owners against a tough defense on the road.
Allen Hurns vs TEN
-6 receptions, 82 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
This was a perfect Jaguars game for owners forced to add and use Hurns in the wake of Allen Robinson‘s injury. Hurns benefitted greatly from the garbage time created by Blake Bortles. Don’t forget that Robinson wasn’t the only WR on this team to be productive in 2015. Hurns can be a useful fantasy asset going forward.
Jarvis Landry @ LAC
-13 receptions, 78 receiving yards, 15 targets
Remember when everyone was so excited for the Cutler connection when DeVante Parker got 4 targets in a preseason game? Good times.
Martavis Bryant vs MIN
-3 receptions, 91 receiving yards, TD, 4 targets
The stat line is surprising because watching this game you’d expect even better numbers. Bryant was an absolute nightmare for the Vikings secondary repeatedly beating guys deep and drawing defensive penalties.
Joe Sargent/ Getty Images
Dez Bryant @ DEN
-7 receptions, 59 receiving yards, TD, 15 targets
I don’t want to be that guy, but if Dez doesn’t get in the end zone he would be featured in an entirely different article.
Davante Adams @ ATL
-8 receptions, 99 receiving yards, TD, 10 targets
The injuries to Nelson and Cobb do not appear to be significant. I would caution owners against expecting a consistent workload for Adams going forward.
Tight Ends
Rob Gronkowski @ NO
-6 receptions, 116 receiving yards, TD, 9 targets
Gronk did his thing against the Saints. I am not concerned (yet) about his groin injury. Gronk said after the game that he is “fine” and I think that if this game was ever in doubt that he probably could’ve made a return.
Travis Kelce vs PHI
-8 receptions, 103 receiving yards, TD, 10 targets
There should be some sort of rule in place to prevent freak athletes like Kelce to skulk around disguised as TEs. Kelce is an absolute beast, and as long as aggressive Alex Smith sticks around, Kelce owners are going to be very happy.
Jason Witten @ DEN
-10 receptions, 97 receiving yards, TD, 13 targets
Jason Witten is the consummate professional. The fact that he routinely breaks down coverage while dad-running out there is a testament to how savvy he is as a route runner.
Delanie Walker @ JAX
-4 receptions, 61 receiving yards, 4 targets, 1 rushing TD
In a bizarre bit of play calling the Titans handed the ball to Walker on a jet sweep at the goal line. It bewildered the announcers of the game so much that they even referred to Walker as a gadget player. I’m not sure that’s the case, but it goes to show that regardless of how crowded the offense appears to be, Walker will still get his.
Honorable Mentions
Javorius “Buck” Allen vs CLE
-14 carries, 66 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 35 receiving yards, TD
Melvin Gordon vs MIA
-9 carries, 13 rushing yards, 7 receptions, 65 receiving yards
Carlos Hyde @ SEA
-15 carries, 124 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 19 receiving yards
I don’t usually comment on the honorable mentions so I’ll just leave this here: 8.27 ypc.
Jalen Richard vs NYJ
-6 carries, 58 rushing yards, TD, 2 receptions, 51 receiving yards
Chris Hogan @ NO
-5 receptions, 78 receiving yards, TD, 6 targets
Keenan Allen vs MIA
-9 receptions, 100 receiving yards, 10 targets
Brandon Coleman vs NE
-4 receptions, 82 receiving yards, TD, 6 targets
Rashard Higgins @ BAL
-7 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 11 targets
Benjamin Watson vs CLE
-8 receptions, 91 receiving yards, 8 targets
Zach Ertz @ KC
-5 receptions, 97 receiving yards, 10 targets