With Week 1 coming and going, we head to Week 2 with a bit more data to work with for making fantasy player picks and predictions.
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Here, we have two top plays for each position, the top-10 D/ST rankings, and a sleeper for each position.
Quarterbacks
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Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
If Week 1 of the NFL season showed us anything, the Arizona Cardinals defense is, at least right now, horrendous.
Sure, it went against the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, but going against Carr and the Raiders still presents numerous threats in the passing game.
The Raiders offensive line is far from the best in the league. Still, it held up OK against the Chargers and now have a Cardinals pass rush that couldn't generate any pressure whatsoever against the Chiefs.
Carr is a great candidate for multiple touchdowns and 275+ passing yards.
Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers
We can chalk the Week 1 game against the Bears up as a wash due to the weather, but what we did see is Lance's willingness to run with the football, having 13 carries for 54 yards.
Running back Elijah Mitchell will miss some time due to a knee injury. In his absence, Jeff Wilson Jr., who's been hot and cold for some time now, leads the backfield.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel will see more carries out of the backfield certainly. Still, this lack of a clear-cut productive back could force Lance to run even more, giving him top-10 upside each week.
He'll get a Seahawks defense this week that allowed over 5.3 yards per carry to running backs Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams a week ago.
Wide Receivers
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Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
Adams is a no-questions-asked start each week, but against the Cardinals defense, he could be in line for a WR1 week.
He'll be matched up plenty with Marco Wilson, a second-year fourth-round draft pick out of Florida.
Carr and the Raiders showed that they'll always get Adams involved last week, as he made up over 45 percent of the Raiders' targets, seeing 15, catching 10 passes and hauling in a touchdown on 141 receiving yards.
Allen Robinson, Los Angeles Rams
To kick off the NFL season, many fantasy players were hopeful for Allen Robinson. He's spent years mired on terrible teams, and now, with the Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford, his fortunes should certainly change, right?
Well, it didn't. At least in Week 1.
However, that was against the Buffalo Bills, and this week, he draws the Atlanta Falcons.
With Cooper Kupp playing primarily out of the slot, Robinson will see a mix of A.J. Terrell and Casey Heyward, two players who struggled in Week 1.
As 10-point-or-more favorites, this is an excellent spot for Robinson to get his first touchdown of the season.
Running Backs
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Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
Seeing 27 carries in Week 1, Mixon was far from efficient, averaging just three yards per carry.
He did, however, have seven receptions for 63 yards which helped balance out his fantasy finish.
Taking on the Dak Prescott-less Dallas Cowboys this week, Mixon should see plenty of work as the Bengals project to lead for most of this one.
The Cowboys will start Cooper Rush, putting them at a distinct disadvantage against the reigning AFC champions.
Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns
If you thought that under quarterback Jacoby Brissett the Browns would rely mainly on their running backs, you guessed right. In Week 1, Hunt was fantastic against the Panthers, seeing 11 carries for 46 yards and a score and four receptions for 24 yards and a score.
Going up against the Jets, they had some solid secondary and cornerback play, but that's OK as Brissett passed behind the line of scrimmage or between zero and nine yards on 50 percent of his attempts. The Browns may never pull away enough to lean on a pure rushing attack, but Hunt can do both while Chubb mixes in as the primary guy to run the ball.
Hunt should be in line for yet another touchdown against New York.
Tight Ends
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Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders
Waller is one of the best tight ends in the sport, so likening him to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce isn't a bad comparison.
In Week 1, Kelce was unstoppable against the Raiders Week 2 opponent, the Cardinals.
He finished the day with eight receptions on nine targets for 121 yards and a score.
The Chiefs don't have a guy like Adams at receiver, but with how poor this Cardinals defense is, mixed with the total at 51.5, there should be some fireworks here.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
Like with Lance, the Week 1 game between the Bears and 49ers is a non-factor when analyzing future fantasy performance.
Going up against the Packers in Lambeau Field, Kmet may not have a great matchup, but he should still be considered the team's No. 1 pass-catching option.
He had just one target in Week 1, but quarterback Justin Fields had just 17 total attempts and eight completions.
The Bears are 10-point underdogs and should need to make a comeback.
Kmet may not be a great candidate for weekly touchdowns, but double-digit targets aren't out of the question here.
Defense/Special Teams
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- San Francisco 49ers (vs. Seattle Seahawks)
- Cleveland Browns (vs. New York Jets)
- Indianapolis Colts (at Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Denver Broncos (vs. Houston Texans)
- Buffalo Bills (vs. Tennessee Titans)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at New Orleans Saints)
- Green Bay Packers (vs. Chicago Bears)
- Cincinnati Bengals (at Dallas Cowboys)
- Los Angeles Rams (vs. Atlanta Falcons)
- Baltimore Ravens (at Miami Dolphins)
Sleepers
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Marcus Mariota, Atlanta Falcons
Traveling on the road to take on the Super Bowl Champion Rams, the Falcons are certainly not a team you'll rely on to pull off an upset. However, as we saw in Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints, this team can do some things on offense.
Mariota wasn't amazing passing the ball, completing just 60.6 percent of his passes. Still, he showed off his rushing ability with 72 yards and a score.
If you're a Prescott owner looking for a fill-in, Mariota could be that steady 15-point-or-more quarterback thanks to his legs alone.
Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers
Expected to play in Week 2, this will be Lazard's first game of the season and his first time being the No. 1 receiving option for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers and the Packers experienced a harrowing moment in Week 1 as Rodgers heaved a pretty bomb downfield to wide receiver Christian Watson, but he had an unforgivable drop.
Returning against the Bears, the Packers and Rodgers will look to get the passing game going. We can expect Rodgers to deliver a steady diet of passes to Lazard. It won't be a surprise if he leaves this game with double-digit targets.
Brandon Bolden, Las Vegas Raiders
This is a deep, deep sleeper, but it feeds into the faith of the Raiders passing attack against the Cardinals.
Bolden could be a sneaky/desperate FLEX option if you're in a PPR league.
Doing virtually nothing running the ball, Bolden secured two catches for 21 yards and a score.
In Week 1, the Cardinals held Clyde Edwards-Helaire out of the end zone running the ball but allowed two receiving touchdowns.
If Josh Jacobs can't get anything going running the ball, Bolden will be an excellent third-down option for Carr.
He's a tremendous 10-point bet for deeper leagues.
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
Coming off a brutal knee injury last season, Packers tight end Robert Tonyan wasn't talked about much this offseason because no one really knew how his health would hold up to start the year. Well, Tonyan showed us he can still play, albeit in limited snaps.
Tonyan ran a route on 19 of his 20 pass play snaps and caught three passes on four targets for 36 yards.
The tight end position left us with more questions than answers after a collective dud performance from the position in Week 1. Tonyan could be a good alternative as the season progresses to shift out players like Gerald Everett, Irv Smith Jr., Albert Okwuegbunam and others.
