Welcome to my weekly “DomiNaters” article! This season, I am taking the weekly “good surprise” fantasy football finishers from the quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end positions and breaking down their performances. I will also look ahead to their matchups for the upcoming week to determine if they will “DomiNate” or “DetoNate” in your fantasy football lineups. Let’s get started with our look into the most surprising Week 2 breakouts.
All stats are based on .5 PPR format.
For help setting your lineups, check out our Week 3 Waiver Wire Recommendations and our Week 3 FAAB Guide.
Week 2 Breakouts: The DomiNaters
#6 QB: San Francisco 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo (22.68 FPTS)
After disappointing in Week 1 with just 166 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT against a very beatable Tampa Bay defense, Jimmy Garoppolo was maybe the most impressive of the Week 2 breakouts at quarterback. Unfortunately for most, his 297 passing yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT was likely left on the bench. We have seen this potential from Garoppolo before. He is a solid quarterback and can present value in fantasy football. The problem is if you take a chance on rostering him, just know that you are adopting the bad with the good.
It’s not something I would typically recommend, but considering QBs are dropping like flies, I wouldn’t be against having Jimmy G as your backup QB. Play the matchups if your starter has a less than a favorable one. As far as Week 3 goes, it may appear to be a decent matchup. Especially with Ben Roethlisberger out for the season, but the Steelers defense just acquired Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Dolphins and are looking to make up for the 61 points in they gave up in first 2 weeks.
Week 3 ruling: Jimmy Garoppolo is fool’s gold in Week 3. If you do add him to your roster, don’t rush him into the starting QB position. Look for Garoppolo to DetoNate in Week 3.
#3 RB: San Francisco 49ers, Raheem Mostert (22.6 FPTS)
Tevin Coleman could miss some time due to a sprained ankle and Raheem Mostert was a benefactor in Week 2. Mostert had an impressive 6.4 yards per carry for 83 yards on the ground and tacked on 3 receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. Prior to Week 2, Mostert had 9 carries and just 1 target in the passing game. The truth is, the 49ers had 3 of their RBs finish within the top 15 RBs in Week 2. Yes, this was an impressive outing for Mostert and could lead to more volume but, I would approach with caution.
Similar to my Garoppolo take, I would definitely try and add Mostert to your rosters for Week 3 but would not immediately inject him into your starting lineup. The 49ers destroyed the Bengals 41-17 which obviously led to a favorable game script for the running backs. This will not happen every week and I’d be shocked if it repeated in Week 3.
Week 3 ruling: Grab Mostert for depth if you can but I wouldn’t let Mostert DetoNate in your starting lineup in Week 3.
#1 WR: Kansas City Chiefs, Demarcus Robinson (32.2 FPTS)
It appears that Chiefs wide receiver, Demarcus Robinson was Sammy Watkins in Week 2. He finished the week as the #1 WR, catching all 6 of his targets for 172 and 2 TDs. This definitely throws a wrench into our expectations of this offense for fantasy football. The Chiefs could take on the Patriots type offense and have a “flavor of the week” at any given week this season. It’s tricky because you absolutely want a piece of this WR corp but it does come at a risk.
At the end of the day, the upside in owning a piece of the Chiefs offense far outweighs any risk. So go and get yourself some Demarcus Robinson, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, and even De’Anthony Thomas. Personally, I’d be looking to trade everyone I just listed (with the exception of Watkins) after they’ve had a big week and upgrade at a needed position for your fantasy team.
Week 3 ruling: The Ravens come to Kansas City in Week 3. The Chiefs are going to put up points regardless of matchup. Even though Sammy Watkins had more than double the targets in Week 2 than Demarcus Robinson, Robinson caught 100% of the balls thrown to him. Don’t be surprised if Robinson’s Week 2 performance leads to additional target share in Week 3 and DomiNates once again.
#3 TE: Seattle Seahawks, Will Dissly (19.5 FPTS)
Will Dissly had a great week from a fantasy perspective. He did only have 5 targets for 50 yards but catching 2 TDs placed him in the top 3 TE performances of Week 2. Unfortunately, you just can’t trust a guy like Dissly to provide back to back meaningful weeks. Just last week, Dissly caught just 1 ball for 12 yards. In weeks 1 and 2 in 2018, Will Dissly totaled 147 yards and 2 TDs but went on to have just 2 receptions for a total of 9 yards the next 2 weeks.
The tight end position isn’t a fun one to predict but one thing is clear, do not chase last week’s points when it comes to Will Dissly and the majority of the TE position.
Week 3 ruling: The odds are, you will regret your decision of placing Dissly into your lineups in Week 3. He will more than likely DetoNate as many other TEs will.
This article is written and submitted before the Monday Night games. Should a player from that slate surpass any of the players noted above, this article will be updated by Wednesday.
Are you trusting any of these Week 2 breakouts going forward? Let us know in the comments below.
Nate Hamilton is a regular contributor in the fantasy football industry. He has provided advice & analysis on a daily basis since joining Twitter (@DomiNateFF) in August of 2013. He has written content for many well-known sites including FantasyPros, The Fantasy Footballers, Fantasy Data, and currently, FantraxHQ. He is the co-host of The Fantasy Tilt Podcast with Keaton Denlay. Nate also Co-Authored Amazon’s #1 Best Selling “The Fantasy Football Black Book” with Joe Pisapia & others in 2018. He is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association (FSWA).
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