What We Learned from Week 2
Week 2 continued one of the craziest starts to the NFL that we have seen in awhile. It felt as if no lead was safe this week. We had some big players play great, and some surprises as well. Here is what we learned from week 2.
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Amon-Ra St Brown is one of the best WRs in the league
Coming into the season, many people doubted that Amon-Ra could sustain his level of consistency. Not only has he done that, but he has excelled past last years stretch. The Sun God has been fantastic to start this year, clearly being the lead target for Jared Goff. He improved on his week 1 game by blowing up for over 180 yards and two touchdowns against the Commanders. He is ranked top 3 in receptions since week 1, and will likely not slow down his pace. His 12 targets are a great sign for fantasy managers that took the shot on him. He is going to be a WR1 all season, and I would be money on that.
The Dolphins have some elite fantasy talent
Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both balled out in the comeback wins against the Ravens. Tua showed that he will be a franchise caliber QB for a long time after slinging 6 touchdowns. Tua will not keep this pace, to the dismay of fantasy managers, but both his receivers are going to be high end wide receivers the rest of this year. Tyreek Hill had his best game in Miami that seeing a insane 19 targets. He took 11 of those for 190 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tyreek is always one catch away from a big play, cementing himself as a WR1. Jaylen Waddle had a lower, but still good, 17.2% target share, but made the most out of it. He also pulled in 11 receptions for 171 yards and 2 scores, one of which was the game winner. Clearly Tua trusts both his targets, leaving other player such as Mike Gesicki and Chase Edmonds in the dust, and both will remain must-starts for weeks to come.
The Bengals Super Bowl hangover is real
The Bengals have fallen to the Mitch Trubisky led Steelers and Cooper Rush led Cowboys after a historic Super Bowl appearance. The consistent factor between the two: pass rush. Joe Burrow has been getting hammered, a lot of which is to blame on the offensive line. The hype for the Bengals is dying, but the fantasy impact is remaining consistent. Burrow is remaining as a low end QB1 as of now, and Ja'Marr Chase will, as always, remain a WR1, even with a contained week 2 performance. Tee Higgens and Joe Mixon have not seen a significant hit with the Bengals offensive struggles, which is a good sign for owners. While the Bengals may have fallen to 0-2, their fantasy weapons are still producing for owners.
Kyle Pitts has been outperformed by Drake London
Red flags are flying at this points. Alarms are blaring. Kyle Pitts has been brutal for owners who invested the capital for him. Unfortunately for owners is that, at this point, Pitts worth is too low to sell and too high to bench. Unless you have a starting TE that has the potential upside Pitts has, you better hope and pray the Falcons feed him more. On the flip side, Drake London has been great so far. He has led the Falcons in targets, receptions, and yardage. He should look to remain a high target player on this team, and is a WR3 with tons of upside looking forward.
The Broncos offense has been disappointing
Russel Wilson has fallen short to start his Bronco career. He has failed to put up impressive offensive performances against the Seahawks and Texans, both dismal defenses. Russ' value as a fantasy QB has tanked, and will be hard to trust week in and out. With Jeudy leaving the game agains the Texans, Sutton has looked to be the lead role. After a high usage in week 1, Albert O has fallen out of favor with the fantasy gods as well. Javonte Williams remained solid, but also underperformed, and Melvin Gordon has maintained pace with Williams, dragging out the committee approach another week. At this pace there will be no separation from Williams to Gordon, which will keep a ceiling on Williams season outlook. Overall the hyped up Broncos offense has failed to show more than flashes against lesser opponents.
Aaron Jones throws away worries
First and foremost, AJ Dillon is not going away. That being said, the worry that Aaron Jones cannot product should also be going away. They will split touches all season, but it was a good sign that Aaron Jones got solid red zone touches, leading to two touchdowns against the Bears. He also made the most of his 15 carries, blowing up for 132 yards, including a 15 yard touchdown run. He also picked up 3 targets as well, one which he took for his touchdown. Both backs will receive a lot of touches and should be able to bring a lot of value to the table. They remain RB A and B for the packers offense, which will get both involved as runners and passers. As long as both remain healthy they are must start players, even against an upcoming matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.