Daily Fantasy Sports week 2

Week 1 is in the books, onto week 2 we go! It seems like only yesterday I was writing my recommendations for the opening weekend. Somehow since then, a week has flown by and we are on the cusp of another packed footballing weekend.

The hits…

Week 1 saw some standouts from the picks. Cam Newton unsurprisingly settled right into his role under centre in New England. He managed 25.7 Draft King points on his Patriots debut against the Dolphins. John Brown also enjoyed success against the New York Jets, scoring 19.0 Draft king points. Though this was nowhere near enough to put him in the upper echelon of Wide Receiver ranks in week 1, it’s a modest score for a budget receiver! The Ravens Defense/Special Teams were beaten by only the Saints DST, notching 15.0 points against the Browns.

…And the misses

We had some misses too. Miles Sanders sadly didn’t feature due to injury. Hayden Hurst didn’t quite enjoy the same level of success that many Tight Ends did against the Seahawks in 2019. Tarik Cohen also failed to make the impact expected of him, especially with David Montgomery seemingly on a reduced snap count. It’s important to own your misses as well as your hits in this game!

The aim again will be to seek out those budget bargains. Who can you potentially look toward to bring success at a reduced price range? In an ideal world, we could have a squad of all of the best players. However, as we know, our budget won’t allow that! 

As was the case in week 1, week 2’s player price will reflect Draft Kings prices. The points scored will also reflect Draft Kings point-scoring, which differs slightly from standard Fantasy points.

QB – Ryan Tannehill ($5,900) vs Jacksonville Jaguars

This one I was confident with! Ryan Tannehill flew out of the blocks in week 1, leading his Titans to a win in Denver. He scored a modest 19.4 points in that game. This week, he welcomes a rejuvenated Jacksonville to Tennessee. I don’t think any of us quite expected the Jaguars to perform as they did against the Colts. Especially after the Colts’ strong start in that game. Jacksonville looked like a dumpster fire going into the season, with many expecting a handful of wins at best. This week, however, they face a different beast. Derrick Henry will most likely continue to do what Derrick Henry does. In turn, this will open up the passing game for Tannehill and his talented receiving corps. He outscored Dak Prescott in Week 1 in points, and yet he has a price of $900 less for this week’s matchup! Really good budget enabler at QB, a position which is usually priced quite high given the points output potential.

RB – J.K. Dobbins ($5,100) @ Houston Texans

The price appeals here. Houston struggled to contain the Chiefs in week 1, keeping them guessing with their fast-paced varied offence. Clyde Edwards-Helaire enjoyed a great debut in that game. Expect to see Dobbins having similar success. Yes, Mark Ingram is still a factor and could eat into the carry shares. Week 1 did, however, see Dobbins enjoy his share of goal-line carries, of which he converted into two touchdowns on the day. Houston struggled to contain the Chiefs rushing attack, and Baltimore has the threat of Lamar Jackson to keep them just as honest. This feels like it could be the bargain of the week.

RB – David Johnson ($5,800) vs. Baltimore Ravens

This is such a tough match-up for the Texans. Their offensive line didn’t look great in week 1. Week 2 looks no easier, as they come up against the formidable Baltimore Ravens. With that said, a shining light for Houston came in the form of David Johnson. In week 1, he managed 77 rushing yards on 11 attempts, with 32 yards through the air. He also began his Houston career with a touchdown in the opening quarter of the game. What I hate here is the match-up. With that said, the more familiar he becomes with this offence, the more of a threat he will pose. I’m not convinced with this, solely for the opposition’s quality. You are getting a top-quality Running Back for a reasonably low price though for the week.

WR – Michael Gallup ($5,600) OR CeeDee Lamb ($4,700) vs Atlanta Falcons

This week sees a much more favourable match-up for the Cowboys. Gallup had a pretty quiet week 1, but having watched the game back, he could quite easily have surpassed 100 yards had the offensive pass interference call not gone against him. The Falcons don’t have the same quality of Defensive Back the Rams have. Add to that the fact Blake Jarwin is now out for the season. This makes the Dallas Receivers even more appealing than they already were as those targets will be distributed to Gallup and co. I expect to see Gallup’s work to increase this week and for Dak Prescott to have a field day with the Falcons secondary.

For the same reason, I would recommend giving Lamb a look this week. He’s not as established in the Cowboys offence as Gallup is. However, he showed in week 1 against the Rams that he’s very much a key part of this offence, hauling in 5 of his 6 targets for 59 yards. We all knew about CeeDee’s talent coming into the Draft this year. He showed flashes on his debut and I expect he will continue to become more involved in the slot especially now that Blake Jarwin is out. It’s quite staggering to see he is almost $1,000 less than Gallup, despite outsourcing him in week 1. Cooper is still the preferred target for Prescott in Dallas. He does command the attention of the opposition’s best Cornerback every week though. So expect to see the ball finding its way to Gallup and Lamb frequently.

WR – Paris Campbell ($4,500) vs Minnesota Vikings

Finally, it looks like we are seeing the Paris Campbell we expected to see in 2019. Granted he didn’t feature for the full season. But in week 1 alone, he totalled 71 yards on 6 receptions for a modest 14.0 points. The snap count is key here though. Campbell was on the field for 82.4% of the Colts offensive plays. Through week 1, only one team ranked worse than the passing defence of the Vikings. They allowed 315 yards and 4 passing touchdowns in week 1. This is a great matchup for Campbell and one he should feature in heavily. The price is also very attractive here, $4,500 is low for a receiver who scored similarly to some of the league’s best Receivers in week 1!

TE – Jonnu Smith ($4,200) vs Jacksonville Jaguars

For much the same reasons as I have recommended Ryan Tannehill, this one looks just as appealing. The Jaguars gave up 69 yards to tight ends in week 1. Jonnu Smith worked closely with Tannehill in pre-season training to make sure the two struck up a connection. Many have expected 2020 to be a big year for Smith now that Delanie Walker isn’t around in Tennessee. He scored a touchdown in week 1 against the Broncos and faces a seemingly less challenging (at least on paper!) defence in week 2. Again, the price is perfect here if you’re looking for a budget in an inconsistent position. In comparison, Eric Ebron is more expensive ($4,300) and finds himself sharing the workload with Vance McDonald in Pittsburgh. Smith doesn’t have that problem and is the Titans clear number 1 Tight End.

D/ST – Rams ($2,800) @ Philadelphia Eagles

This could be a tough matchup for the Rams. The Eagles looked to be getting their season well underway before Washington derailed them in their opening game. We’ve all seen the pictures. Wentz being swarmed by the Washington Defensive Line, while his Offensive Line watches on. This isn’t a good Offensive Line, and Philadelphia still has issues throughout their offence with niggling injuries. If they don’t improve this week, it could be a field day for Aaron Donald and co. If they get to Wentz with the same regularity that Washington did, expect plenty of sacks and a high potential for turnovers. Defences don’t tend to score great in this format, but the potential is there this week for the Rams Defense.