Week 2 Fantasy Football Studs
Allow me to take your mind off of what was a devastating weekend of injuries in Week 2. Here are some of the players who performed admirably amidst the rash of injuries. You can check out The Fantasy Footballers’ full discussion of the Stud Muffins as well as a recap of Week 2 today’s episode of the Podcast. You can also read about The Fantasy Footballers’ Duds for Week 2.
Quarterbacks
Matt Ryan vs. OAK
-396 passing yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Matt Ryan looks like a bounce-back candidate after a rough 2015 season.
Philip Rivers vs. JAX
-220 passing yards, 4 TDs, 10 rushing yards
It was good to see a performance like this from Rivers in the first week without Keenan Allen. He also lost Danny Woodhead to a knee injury in this game.
Cam Newton vs. SF
-352 passing yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 37 rushing yards
Cam doing Cam things.
Tyrod Taylor vs. NYJ
-297 passing yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
T-Mobile took repeated shots downfield, this offense will be fun with a healthy Watkins
Derek Carr vs. ATL
–299 passing yards, 3 TDs, 10 rushing yards
Feel free to pick on Atlanta’s defense, they have been torched two weeks in a row.
Carson Palmer vs. TB
–308 passing yards, 3 TDs
A solid performance from the veteran QB in this one. That connection with Fitzgerald is still going strong.
Wide Receivers
Kelvin Benjamin vs. SF
–7 receptions, 108 yards, 2 TDs, 9 targets
What ACL injury? Benjamin looks uncoverable.
Travis Benjamin vs. JAX
–6 receptions, 115 yards, 2 TDs, 6 targets
Travis Benjamin filled in nicely for Keenan Allen. Tyrell Williams looked good here too (3 for 61 and 1).
Corey Coleman vs. BAL
–5 receptions, 104 yards, 2 TDs, 8 targets
It’s too bad the QB position in Cleveland is so unsettled. Coleman looks like a transcendent talent.
Eric Decker vs. BUF
–6 receptions, 126 yards, TD, 8 targets
Going back to last year, Decker has 80 yards and/or a TD in every game. He is truly a WR you can trust.
Stefon Diggs vs. GB
–9 receptions, 182 yards, TD, 11 targets
[insert bad “Diggs” pun here]
DeAndre Hopkins vs. KC
–7 receptions, 113 yards, TD, 11 targets
Having Will Fuller (4 for 104) keep defenses honest is going to really help Hopkins this year.
Sterling Shepard vs. NO
–8 receptions, 117 yards, 8 targets
Even with Cruz and Beckham in the Giants’ offense, it looks like Shepard will still get his.
Marquis Goodwin vs. NYJ
–2 receptions, 112 yards, TD, 5 targets
This was really just one 84-yard bomb. Please don’t chase these points.
Marvin Jones vs. TEN
–8 receptions, 118 yards, 11 targets
Jones is the real #1 in this offense so far. Golden Tate is a distant second.
Jarvis Landry vs. NE
–10 receptions, 137 yards, 13 targets
Landry now has 23 targets through two weeks. For those of you keeping track, this puts him on an absurd 184-target pace for the season.
Running Backs
Matt Forte vs. BUF
–30 carries, 100 rushing yards, 3 TDs, 2 receptions, 9 receiving yards
This was a very Chris Ivory-esque performance from Forte. Hopefully the Jets will dial back the workload a bit to preserve the veteran.
DeAngelo Williams vs. CIN
–32 carries, 94 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 38 receiving yards, TD
Another older RB with a monster workload, this one is probably attributable to the horrible weather conditions, but he will continue to be featured until Le’Veon Bell returns.
Isaiah Crowell vs. BAL
–18 carries, 133 rushing yards, TD, reception, 15 receiving yards
Crowell is still being undervalued in leagues. This is what a starting RB looks like.
Melvin Gordon vs. JAX
–24 carries, 104 rushing yards, TD, 3 receptions, 18 receiving yards
With Woodhead’s knee injury, Gordon could be in for a monster workload this season. The work in the passing game is encouraging as well.
Giovani Bernard vs. PIT
–5 carries, 17 rushing yards, 9 receptions, 100 receiving yards, TD
This one should’ve been filed under the WR studs of the week.
LeGarrette Blount vs. MIA
–29 carries, 123 rushing yards, TD
With a big lead and with 3rd string QB, Jacoby Brissett under center this was a perfect Blount game.
Latavius Murray vs. ATL
–8 carries, 57 rushing yards, TD, 6 receptions, 44 receiving yards
This workload is concerning, considering many projected Murray to be a workhorse back in Oakland.
DeMarco Murray vs. DET
–12 carries, 89 rushing yards, 7 receptions, 56 receiving yards
This exotic smashmouth system seems to be doing quite a bit of its running through the air. This is good news for Murray owners.
C.J. Anderson vs. IND
–20 carries, 74 rushing yards, TD, 3 receptions, 19 receiving yards
I expected a better line against a depleted Colts team, but C.J. will remain a no-brainer must-start each and every week.
Tight Ends
Greg Olsen vs. SF
–5 receptions, 122 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
Olsen is usually good for a few big yardage games; it was nice to see him get a TD in this one.
Martellus Bennett vs. MIA
–5 receptions, 114 receiving yards, TD, 6 targets
Bennett is in a tough spot, used as a blocker in Week 1, and now he may have Jacoby Brissett as his QB for the next two games. It will be difficult to trust him going forward.
Delanie Walker vs. DET
–6 receptions, 83 receiving yards, TD, 6 targets
Walker rekindled his bromance with Mariota this week after a disappointing Week 1.
Jacob Tamme vs. OAK
–5 receptions, 75 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
It seems like Tamme has flirted with fantasy relevance for a few seasons now. I’m not willing to buy in just yet, though the targets are encouraging.
Vance McDonald vs. CAR
–1 reception, 75 receiving yards, TD, 2 targets
Just take your 13 points and run. Don’t look back.
Dennis Pitta vs. CLE
–9 receptions, 102 receiving yards, 12 targets
It is good to see the “One hip quitta” back on the field. He led the Ravens in targets by a wide margin.
Defense/Special Teams
Denver Broncos vs. IND
–20 points allowed, INT, FR, 2 TDs
This defense is no joke, though it looks like they may be without the services of DeMarcus Ware for at least a few weeks with a broken arm.
Don’t forget to check out The Fantasy Footballers’ full discussion of the Stud Muffins as well as a recap of Week 2 all on Episode# 267.
You can also read about the Fantasy Footballers’ Duds for Week 2.