Week 2 Fantasy Football PPR Rankings & Projections: Lamar Jackson To Torch Houston Defense

We are onto Week 2 as Week 1 brought us plenty of excitement and restored some normalcy in our lives. For the most part, the big names hit this weekend and did everything you expected them to. There were maybe a few names, yeah I am looking at you Michael Thomas, who left us with a dud. Injuries were expected to occur at a higher rate than normal this season due to the lack of preseason and unusual lead up with training camps. Marlon Mack, Blake Jarwin, and Le’Veon Bell were three bigger names to go down. Jarwin and Mack are dealing with potentially season-ending injuries.

Week 2 Quarterback Rankings

There will be very little change between the top two quarterbacks this year in terms of fantasy rankings. Lamar Jackson once again checks in at number one in a very favorable spot against Houston. Jackson is coming off of an excellent Week 1, completing 20-25 passes for 275 yards and three scores. Jackson had just 45 yards on the ground. Patrick Mahomes might have a small issue for fantasy if they continue to blowout opponents as he stalled out a bit in the second half after 211 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Dallas had a frustrating game against the Rams but Dak Prescott was able to move the ball, as now they just need to finish off drives. Prescott was set to be a top-five QB this year for fantasy and that should kick off against Atlanta, who were torched by Mr. Unlimited this past week. Atlanta ranked 21st against the pass and with a nonexistent pass rush and a work in progress secondary, Dallas should have a field day.

Philip Rivers gets a big rise in the rankings and this isn’t totally an overreaction to Week 1, but the volume was huge for Indy’s passing game and Rivers fits well with these weapons in terms of racking up yards. Minnesota’s defense might be worse than we expected as they were going to take a step back on that side of the ball before the season even began.

Week 2 Running Backs Rankings

The running back leaderboard is certainly not what you expect it to look like in certain places as Malcolm Brown, Nyheim Hines, and Peyton Barber were all top 15 scorers this week. Even in a tougher matchup, Christian McCaffrey checks in at number one. It isn’t as good of a matchup, but McCaffrey is kind of like a top basketball player. He is still going to drop 20 points on you even if he has to work a little harder. Alvin Kamara is coming off a solid Week 1 against this Bucs defense and while the touches were a little odd at times he has resorted back to the big touchdown ways. This is a good spot against the Raiders on Monday Night Football.

Seattle didn’t run much against the Falcons, nor did they need to. Ezekiel Elliott is in a great spot as Dallas should be able to jump out to a lead against this Falcons defense. Dalvin Cook found the end zone twice in Week 1 and gets a matchup where he should be involved more with a closer score. The Colts struggled to stop, undrafted rookie, James Robinson in Week 1.

A few backs are in tougher matchups this week with Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire going up against tougher run defenses. Barkley’s usage is definitely what makes him a top-five play each week regardless of matchup. Edwards-Helaire is on a team that scores 40 a game and produces in every matchup, while Jacobs’ workload in the passing game was a major plus against Carolina. The Saints are very tough against the run, but Jacobs has climbed into that consistent option.

With the season-ending injury to Marlon Mack, both Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines get a major bump in the rankings. Their touches are a lot more solidified. Devin Singletary’s fantasy value might have taken a major hit with the usage of Zack Moss and Josh Allen in the run game. New England’s running backs had a nearly split workload in addition to Cam Newton’s rushing usage. The Patriots backfield all gets a downgrade.

Week 2 Wide Receivers Rankings

Davante Adams had a whopping 17 targets in Week 1 against Green Bay, and he hauled in 14 of them for 156 yards and two scores. Adams volume is going to make him a weekly number one guy, and this is a great matchup against Detroit, who ranked 28th against the pass. They also made Mitch Trubisky look like Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter last week. The Lions were also missing Jeff Okudah, who was supposed to be the Darius Slay replacement. Not this matters much for Adams, but this secondary is easy pickings right now.

As mentioned above, Michael Thomas was a big let down this past week. He is in a bounce-back spot against the Raiders secondary, which ranked 31st against the pass in 2019 and had some major breakdowns against the Panthers. Some were worried DeAndre Hopkins wasn’t going to see the exact volume he had in Houston, and Week 1 he is already on pace to be right back in those target numbers. He had 16 targets, catching 14 of them for 151 yards. Hopkins gets a pedestrian Washington secondary.

Atlanta’s offense is built to have two top-ten wide receivers, especially when they are Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley and you have Matt Ryan throwing to them while the defense allows 30+ points. This is expected to be a major shootout and names like Russell Gage, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup are going to get a major bump this week.

Allen Robinson saw nine targets in Week 1, which was the most on the Bears. While Anthony Miller had the touchdown, Robinson is still a volume hog and has a plus matchup against the Giants in Week 2.

Week 2 Tight Ends Rankings

Mark Andrews is coming off of a 5-58-2 line against Cleveland and gets Houston this week, which is another great matchup. Andrews and Marquise Brown are the clear top targets for Jackson and the efficiency of this offense continues to shine. Andrews will be a top-three play each week that he is healthy. Travis Kelce was a top-five scorer at tight end and had six targets, catching all of them for 50 yards and a score. George Kittle struggled to put up a monster score, which many were expecting going up against what was the worst defense in the league against tight ends in 2019. It is a good rebound spot for the 49ers as a whole.

There are a couple of tier two and tier three tight ends in a good spot this week. Hayden Hurst gets a plus matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, who allowed over 1,000 yards to tight ends in 2019. Jared Cook gets the Raiders, who allowed 10 tight end touchdowns last season and the second-most fantasy points per game. With Kenny Golladay potentially out again, there will be plenty of targets to go around and TJ Hockenson had a strong Week 1. This should be a favorable game script for the Lions offense as well.

It was Dallas Goedert who had the big game, even though Zach Ertz also had a touchdown. Carson Wentz was under fire often and this offensive line is in rough shape. Overall the Philadelphia offense has little to depend on outside of these two names. Both will have strong volume again and the Rams were a middle of the road defense against tight ends last season.

Week 2 Kicker Rankings

The story each week for me and kickers is to find those high volume options who are involved in high scoring team totals. That is why Justin Tucker, Harrison Barnes, and Wil Lutz find themselves as the top options each week. There are a few names to keep an eye on outside of those high scoring affairs as Dan Bailey gets Indy on the road and the Carolina-Tampa game features Ryan Succop and Joey Slye. While Zane Gonzalez looked rocky in Week 1, the volume was there again as Arizona moves the ball and gives him plenty of opportunities.

Week 2 Defense Rankings

San Francisco struggled against the Cardinals in Week 1, but I find this says more about the Cardinals offense more than it does about the 49ers defense. They get the Jets who just looked abysmal in Week 1. The offensive line struggled and they have very little playmakers for Sam Darnold to get the ball to. Buffalo and Pittsburgh also find themselves in a great matchup against bottom half offenses. Chicago didn’t look great against Detroit on the defensive side, but they get a chance to redeem themselves against a turnover-prone Giants offense.

Arizona might be the surprise team in the top ten, but they have a lot of talent on the defensive side and Washington is not an offensive juggernaut. I expect Arizona to be able to force Washington to push a bit more which creates chances for sacks and turnovers. Speaking of sacks, Carson Wentz was sacked eight times on Sunday. While Washington’s defensive line is very good, the Eagles are dealing with a depleted O-Line. The Rams will be able to capitalize on that, especially with Aaron Donald taking most of the focus in the middle.