Michael Florio’s Week 2 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Week 1 is in the books and I hope it treated you well! If not, well, it is a long season! If you want a breakdown of the things we learned in Week 1, as well as the things you shouldn’t overreact about just yet, you should listen to Wide Right Fantasy Football with myself and Matt Modica! We also discuss some plays we like and others we would look to avoid this week. Of course, I will discuss that as well in my positional rankings writeup.

Week 2 Sleepers: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

About My Positional Rankings

• First, I want to say that I have players like Aaron Rodgers, Devonta Freeman and Leonard Fournette ranked as if they will play this week. If we get news that states otherwise, the rankings will be updated. But, I would recommend checking your waiver wire to see if Corey Grant is available just in case.
• I am in on Christian McCaffrey this week, especially in PPR leagues. I know it is a no brainer that you are playing CMC week-in-and-week-out, but this week he gets the Atlanta Falcons who are solid against the run, but have allowed the most receptions to RBs each of the last two seasons. CMC should feast.
• As you can see though I am lower on Cam Newton than most. Cam has failed to reach 200 passing yards in each of the last five games he played the Falcons. He has saved some of those games with his rushing numbers, but has averaged 14.58 fantasy points per game (FPPG) in his last four starts against the Falcons. Cam is awesome in fantasy, just perhaps not this week.
• I am a fan of Tyrod Taylor this week. Not only did he lead all QBs with 77 rushing yards last week, but he faces a Saints defense that is fresh off a shalaking from Ryan FItzpatrick and the Bucs. Fitzy even added in a touchdown with his legs. Tyrod gives a safe floor due to his rushing ability and has upside this week in a game that the Browns should have to put up points.
• I am saying this anywhere people will listen, but Dion Lewis is the RB I want in Tennessee. Sorry, Derrick Henry, but the Titans came out in Week 1 and force fed him the ball. Welllll… that didn’t last long. In fact, Henry only played 29 percent of the snaps, compared to Lewis’ 71 percent. Lewis also finished with more carries, yards, targets, receptions and receiving yards. Oh, and he got the work near the goal line, punching in a touchdown from the four yard line. The only reason I have Henry as high as I do is cause I think if the Titans have a lead they will ride Henry.
• One player I’m not freaking out about is Deshaun Watson. Now, before I defend him let me tell you I had him as a bust coming into the season given the lofty expectations. Yet, after Week 1 some may have soured on him already. Watson struggled under pressure, but played well in a clean pocket. The Patriots were able to get pressure on Watson 11.9 percent of the time, the seventh highest in Week 1. Meanwhile, the Titans got pressure on Ryan Tannehill just 1.6 percent of the time, the lowest in the league. Watson should have a nice game this week.
• Emmanuel Sanders is going to be a beast this season. He was the highest targeted WR in the preseason and in Week 1. Not only that, but he ran 22 routes out of the slot. We know what Case Keenum did with Adam Thielen in the slot last year. Sanders is ranked higher than DT for me this week, but I think all the Broncos are nice streaming options. At RB, I am trusting Royce Freeman and not looking to start Phillip Lindsay.
• After the Raiders publicly came out and stated that they need to do a better job getting Amari Cooper the ball. I am a tad worried about trusting Jon Gruden and Derek Carr, but I am not quitting on Cooper yet. Plus, it was a terrible matchup as the Rams defense does a great job getting pressure on the QB and have strong corners. With Martavis Bryant back in the fold he should play the speedy decoy role (not sure why Cooper was used that way) and let the offense focus on its best player.
• The Seahawks backfield showed no favorites whatsoever. Both Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny played 44 percent of the snaps and had the same number of carries and targets. We need to learn more about this situation.
• We just saw Jared Cook put up the most points of any tight end in Week 1 against the Rams. I am trusting Ricky Seals-Jones in a great matchup this week. He is a low-end TE1 for me this week.

Good luck in Week 2 and make sure to follow me on Twitter, @MichaelFFlorio.