The first week of the 2021 fantasy football season is behind us. Whether you won big or came up short, Week 2 is a new week. It’s time to adjust those lineups, which may present a few difficult decisions. Moving past recent injuries and poor performances is often easier said than done. Sometimes you need to make a bold prediction and plug in a player that could come up big for a needed extra boost in points.
Which brings you here. Each week, our Fantrax staff writers will make their fantasy football bold predictions for you to get excited about, help sway those lineup decisions, and take your team to the moon!
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2021 NFL Week 2 Bold Predictions for Fantasy Football
Melvin Gordon, Denver Broncos Running Back
Bold Prediction: 18 carries, 88 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns; 3 receptions, 30 receiving yards
26.8 PPR fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Colin McTamany, @LincoCammytan on Twitter
Colin’s Breakdown: The Jacksonville Jaguars are a juicy matchup for opposing running backs. After letting Houston Texans’ running backs, Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay, and David Johnson, each find the end zone last week, the Denver Broncos should have a game plan to get their backfield heavily involved in Week 2. Unfortunately, the Broncos will be without star wide receiver, Jerry Jeudy, for at least the next eight weeks due to injury. That’s all the more reason to lean on the run game on the road in Jacksonville this Sunday. While rookie, Javontae Williams, will have his fair share at touches, my bold prediction suggests Gordon leads the way as the trustworthy, veteran back. Look for Gordon to run wild in a game where the Broncos will likely hold a strong lead and eat up the clock against the Jags.
Kenny Golladay, New York Giants Wide Receiver
Bold Prediction: 7 receptions, 102 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
23.2 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Mike Omelan, @mikeomelan on Twitter
Mike’s Breakdown: Kenny Golladay and the Giants enter this game on a short week of rest, on the road against the Washington Football Team. The good news is that WFT cornerbacks, William Jackson and Kendall Fuller, got cooked last week by Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. The two pass catchers logged a combined 17 catches for 182 yards and one score. While Giants receiver, Sterling Shepard, has the rapport with Daniel Jones, Golladay has the 6’4″ 215-pound frame that should provide an advantage on Thursday Night Football tonight against anyone covering him. Golladay is going to have his first breakout performance with his new team according to my bold prediction.
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers Quarterback
Bold Prediction: 352 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns
30.8 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Justin Dunbar, @talkMVP on Twitter
Justin’s Breakdown: Home, sweet home, for Herbert and the Chargers as they look to hand the Dallas Cowboys their second loss of the 2021 season. My Week 2 bold prediction keeps pace with Herbert’s passing performance from Week 1 where he tossed 46 passes for 337 yards in a road win against the Washington Football Team. Herbert will have a near 70 percent completion rate going 32 for 47 this Sunday against a defense that just lost their best pass rusher, Demarcus Lawrence, to a broken foot. Dallas will have to find a way to get it together or else Herbert is going to carve them up just like Tom Brady did.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver
Bold Prediction: 8 receptions, 132 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
27.2 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Michael Govier, @mjgovier on Twitter
Michael’s Breakdown: The Packers have a “get right” game on Monday Night Football against divisional rival, the Detroit Lions. It’s as close as it can be to a guarantee that quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, will score more than last week’s 3.32 fantasy points. In fact, in two games last season, Rodgers handled the Lions defense just fine with an average of 265 yards and 2.5 touchdowns on 31.5 pass attempts. Ahead of Week 2, the Lions are down their best cornerback, Jeff Okudah, to a season-ending torn Achilles. While Detroit tries to find a way to cover top receiver, Davante Adams, my bold prediction of the week is that Marquez Valdes-Scantling gets all of Rodgers’ attention. He is going to lead the team in targets and cement himself as the clear-cut second option in this top-tier offense.
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Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver
Bold Prediction: 6 receptions, 100 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
28.0 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Ahaan Rungta, @AhaanRungta on Twitter
Ahaan’s Breakdown: Tampa Bay’s WR1 was left out of the scoring on the opening night of the 2021 season as Mike Evans hauled in just three of six targets for 24 yards. Now, ahead of Week 2, Evans is projected outside of the top-15 fantasy wide receivers. With nobody in the Atlanta Falcons secondary that the Bucs should be overly intimidated by, the leader in Tom Brady will look to spam the ball to his big, athletic, top target, especially in the red zone. In the 2020 meeting between these teams, Tampa Bay came back to win a thriller. Evans caught six passes for 110 yards. This Sunday, it’s my bold prediction that he’ll repeat that production, but will also score twice to put him in the top-three among fantasy football wide receivers in all formats.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears Tight End
Bold Prediction: 6 Receptions, 83 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
20.3 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Lauren Auerbach, @lkauerbach on Twitter
Lauren’s Breakdown: I’m rolling with a tight end for my Week 2 bold prediction. Pretty bold, eh? And no, it’s not one of the “Big Three” of Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, or George Kittle. Rather, it’s Cole Kmet. Kmet had five receptions for 42 yards in Week 1. It’s not the most overpowering stat line, but he was targeted seven times, tied for second-most on the team. He also played 73.9 percent of the Bears’ snaps. Projections have Kmet outside the top-15 tight ends, but I think he will fare much better. The Bears want Kmet involved in the passing game and I think he finds the end zone in their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver
Bold Prediction: 12 receptions, 107 receiving yards
22.7 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Mick Ciallela, @themick23 on Twitter
Mick’s Breakdown: The Las Vegas Raiders are coming off an emotional, come-from-behind, overtime thriller in their season opener. However, they will now have to travel cross-country on a short week and face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quick throws and short routes should be in store on Sunday to keep Ben Roethlisberger from sitting in the pocket. That’s Juju’s game. He was in on 91 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps. He also had a 23 percent share with an aDOT (average depth of target) of just 6.6 yards last week. Smith-Schuster figures to get a much better individual draw than Diontae Johnson in this matchup. That will add to his workload. Johnson will have to contend with Casey Hayward for much of the contest. Meanwhile, Smith-Schuster draws fifth-round rookie, Nate Hobbs. The Raiders mostly played sides on Monday night, with Hobbs exclusively playing the slot. He will not be able to keep up with Smith-Schuster on an every-down basis. Expect Roethlisberger to pepper Smith-Schuster with targets early and often in this matchup. Juju should be a WR2 in PPR formats this week and will be a WR1 if he can get into the end zone.
You buying into any of these bold predictions? For more help getting your rosters set, be sure to check out the rest of our Week 2 Rankings and Analysis!
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