This is for the unsung heroes waiting patiently on waivers. Sure, some of these players might have a home on the bottom of your roster, but nevertheless, they aren’t getting the respect they deserve. Well, not for this week at least. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to shine a light on those you may not have otherwise. Something, something, self-detonate. That’s how it goes, right? It’s time, guys. Let’s get into my Fantasy Football Week 2 Sleepers and Streamers.
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Fantasy Football 2020: Week 2 Sleepers And Streamers
Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins (My Ranking: QB15)
If you had been told that 87 points would be scored in the Vikings season debut, would you have believed it? Aaron Rodgers ransacked Minnesota’s dignity on defense. Rodgers put together a performance of 364 yards and four touchdowns. Ya think he’s upset about the Jordan Love pick?
Narratives aside, Rodgers’ monster performance left Kirk Cousins with plenty of work to do. After scraping together only 10 points in the first three quarters, Cousins and the Vikings scored 24 points in the fourth quarter. This was in large part due to the connection between Cousins and Adam Thielen. Cousins hit Thielen six times for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, Cousins heads to Indianapolis to face a team that was beaten down by Gardner Minshew. Can we just take moment and say, “good for him”?
Minshew torched Indianapolis’ secondary and completed 95% of his passes. Most of Minshew’s damage was done without targeting D.J. Chark. The rapport between Minshew and Chark only amounted to three connections between the pair. While Indianapolis’ offense was anything but stellar, it’s clear that they can run the ball well, and their passing game is competent. Squaring up against a Vikings secondary that’s been stripped apart, the Colts will be able to do damage on the offensive side of the ball, and Cousins, in an effort to keep pace, will have no problem picking apart this defense.
Gardner Minshew (My Ranking: QB19)
Admittedly, I’m probably being too hard on Minshew with my ranking. He looked anything but average in Jacksonville’s season opener. He and his beautiful head of his ascended into the clouds on the back of three passing touchdowns. Truly, he couldn’t miss. He now faces a team that allowed Drew Lock and the Broncos’ young receiving group a nice day through the air, all without the services of Courtland Sutton.
Lock hit on 66% of his passes and threw for over 200 yards and a touchdown. That’s not exactly breaking any records, but it’s pretty impressive when you consider that the second-year passer only had the sophomore tight end, Noah Fant, and the rookie receiver, Jerry Jeudy, to work with.
Taking the attention away from Jacksonville’s surprisingly potent passing attack, Tennessee’s offense isn’t shabby itself. Ryan Tannehill threw for just under 250 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. What’s more impressive, he temporarily resurrected Corey Davis’ career. In all seriousness, Tannehill did his damage while A.J. Brown only collected 39 yards. Passing on a defense such as Jacksonville’s isn’t a problem for a skilled veteran, and Jacksonville is going to be trailing for most of a game. Do you know what I smell? A lot of attempts heading Minshew’s way.
Running Backs
Malcolm Brown (My Ranking: RB21)
What in the Malcolm Brown? So much for a timeshare affecting the Rams’ running backs. In the case of Cam Akers, he mostly did it to himself. Brown rushed for 79 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Adding to his surprising performance were three receptions totaling 31 yards. While Darrell Henderson’s involvement in the passing game will likely increase, it’s worth noting how productive Brown was with his limited receptions.
Week 2 holds a new NFC East opponent in the Philadelphia Eagles. Okay, you may be asking yourself about the Eagles run defense and how it shut down the Washington Football Team. To that, I would reply, “it’s Washington.” There may not have been a running back that rushed for over 39 yards, but that’s a far less impressive stat when you consider that Peyton Barber ran the ball 17 times.
In fairness, Philadelphia’s defense has historically been good against the run. However, with the offense’s probable inability to put up points, the Rams are going to shove the ball down the Eagles’ throats. As the defense begins to wear down, expect Brown’s workload to render itself more productive as the game goes by.
J.K. Dobbins (My Ranking: RB27)
Do you want to know something troublesome if you’re a Mark Ingram owner? Ingram didn’t a single carry inside the 5-yard line this past week, while J.K. Dobbins had two. Even worse, both carries turned into touchdowns.
The 30-year old Ingram still led Baltimore’s running backs with 10 carries, but there was no denying the fact that he looked slow, while Dobbins was far sprier. Neither Ingram nor Dobbins ran particularly well in the season-opener, but that won’t continue for a team that led the league in rushing yards last season.
Both Dobbins’ and Ingram’s efficiency will improve, but the carry breakdown is far closer than some, myself included, imagined. Should Dobbins continue to be the trusted back inside the five, Ingram’s value is going to plummet.
Wide Receivers
Darius Slayton (My Ranking: WR35)
Aside from a few stellar throws from Daniel Jones, Darius Slayton was the lone bright spot in New York’s Monday night showdown with the Steelers. Scoring twice and accruing 102 yards on six receptions, Slayton is expanding upon a dynamite rookie campaign.
Looking at the box score, Shepard and Slayton had the same amount of receptions, but if you were tuning in, you knew who was actually making plays. Slayton put up nearly ten more yards-per-reception than Shepard’s 7.8.
Another striking difference between the two was the respective target totals. Shepard caught all six of his receptions, while Slayton hauled in six of his nine targets.
Golden Tate should be back in the fold this week, but his role in the offense is comparable to Sterling Shepard’s, and while he’ll siphon away a couple of targets from Slayton, there’s no denying who has the real potential to be a fantasy asset against a Bears defense that allowed just shy of 300 yards against the Lions last week.
Robby Anderson (My Ranking: WR37)
As a fantasy player with a lot of shares in D.J. Moore, I have one, lone tear flowing down my cheek. Yes, Moore technically led the team in targets at nine, Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel crept up behind him with eight targets apiece. A second troubling stat is that Anderson played for 55% of snaps, while Moore had just north of that at 58%. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Anderson caught six of his eight targets while Moore was sub 50%. Yeah, it was a bad day for me…
The Panthers play the Bucs this week, and although the Bucs defense is a major improvement from the Raiders, I’m expecting Tom Brady & Co. to step up their play and put up some points, meaning that Teddy Two Gloves is going to put the ball in the air. If the target distribution is on par with Week 1’s, Moore drafters everywhere are going to be pulling their hair out. Or, should I say I’ll rip out the other half?
Tight Ends
T.J. Hockenson (My Ranking: TE9)
Kenny Golladay, you were sorely missed last week. In your stead, Quintez Cephus, the fifth-round rookie, received a total of 10 targets. What say you?
Unfortunately, Mr. Golladay and his agent have not replied to my inquiry.
Quintez Cephus aside, T.J. Hockenson caught each of his five targets last week and recorded 56 yards and a touchdown. If Golladay is unable to return from his hamstring injury, Hockenson is going to have to do more of the same. And yes, Cephus was targeted twice inside the ten versus Hockenson’s single target, but let me ask you a basic question. Who scored?
Leaving seven-year-old comebacks behind, Cephus only caught three of his 10 targets, and he put up 13 less yards than Hockenson. Stafford won’t keep going to the well if he can’t trust his rookie receiver. Even if Stafford locks on to his rookie again, there will be plenty of targets to go around in a game where Detroit will be playing from behind against an Aaron Rodgers led team that decimated Minnesota’s secondary last week. Oh, and I forgot something…who scored?!
Noah Fant (My Ranking: TE14)
Following Monday night’s performance against the Titans, I’m scared to get a knock on my front door from Noah Fant himself, asking why I have him so low in my rankings. The second-year tight end hauled in five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Forgetting stats for a moment, Fant passes the eye test when watching him. He’s fast, agile, and strong. His playmaking ability at the tight end position makes him unfair to cover.
The Broncos were lacking Courtland Sutton in their loss to Tennessee, and unfortunately for Denver, there’s no guarantee that he’ll suit up in Week 2. Sutton will be an exciting start if Sutton misses more time, but even among Sutton’s presence, Fant is clearly the second-best receiving option on this team. While rookie, Jerry Jeudy, impressed in his debut, he still played fewer snaps than DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick. This snap count won’t continue, but clearly the team is easing their rookie in.
For now, at least, Fant is the Broncos’ No. 1 option in the passing, but if Sutton returns, Fant only gets relegated to the No. 2 guy. Not too steep a fall, huh?
If you enjoyed my Week 2 Sleepers and Streamers, check out my Week 2 Standard Scoring Rankings, only on Fantrax!
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