By @JorgeBEdwards
Another week of NFL action is in the books and with it comes new storylines for us fantasy football fans to get excited and worried about. Going forward instead of just discussing four players to observe in this column I’m going to be discussing four positional groups and multiple players within each that made headlines, for better or for worse, this week from both an offensive and defensive perspective.
4-EYED OBSERVATION #1: Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions): 347 yards passing, 3TDs, and 24.7 fantasy points later it’s safe to say Stafford redeemed him from his week 1 performance. Don’t look for that to happen this coming week against the Patriots as the Pats always seem to shut down opposing offenses on subpar teams. ALWAYS. No amount of playing from behind will save Stafford’s fantasy value in week 3.
Alex Smith (Washington Redskins): After an impressive performance in week 1 from a real and fantasy football perspective, Smith came WAY BACK DOWN to Earth in week 2 with only 292 passing yards, 14 rushing yards, and 13.1 fantasy points. The entire Redskins offense as a whole looked anemic. That being said Smith should bounce back this coming week against a high powered Packers offense with the Redskins likely playing from behind.
Case Keenum (Denver Broncos): While the “Case Keenum” experiment in Denver is resulting in “wins” in the win-loss column, this week’s win didn’t exactly translate into a win in the fantasy department for week 2. 14.5 fantasy points for 222 yards passing and 1 late rushing touchdown salvaged his fantasy day making Keenum a poor streaming option. Still Keenum is averaging 16.9 fantasy points per game (fppg) so far this season and the offense has plenty of playmakers making him a potential streaming candidate going forward. Wait a few more weeks before inserting him into your lineups, just in time for when teams start going on their bye week. By then you’ll know if he’s worth rostering.
Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys): 14.9 fantasy points was all this Cowboy could muster on Sunday night. Not shocked at all considering the lack of playmakers on offense. Still one has to imagine chemistry develops over the course of the season for Dallas which would cause Dak’s fantasy value to increase. However, until that happens he’s better off on your waiver wire.
4-EYED OBSERVATION #2: Running Backs
Tevin Coleman (Atlanta Falcons): 107 rushing yards and 14.5 1/2 PPR points later against a tough Carolina run defense and all of a sudden Tevin Coleman is a hot commodity at the running back position. Averaging 6.7 rushing yards per attempt Coleman is poised for RB1 fantasy value as long as Devonta Freeman is sidelined with a knee injury.
David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals): 3.7 yards rushing yards per attempt and 5.6 fantasy points was all DJ could give fantasy managers in week 2. Head coach Steve Wilks stated on Monday the offense would find more creative ways to get DJ the ball. I hope that’s true because if this turns out to be the norm David Johnson will go down as the biggest bust of the 2018 fantasy football season.
Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans) & Lamar Miller (Houston Texans): 5.9 & 8 fantasy points respectively in 0.5 PPR leagues this past week for both Henry and Miller PRETTY MUCH sums up what you should expect from both running backs for the foreseeable future. With health issues on along the offensive line for both the Titans and Texans future fantasy production for both backs doesn’t look good.
4-EYED OBSERVATION #3: Receivers
Jarvis Landry-WR (Cleveland Browns): No Josh Gordon? There IS a problem. The problem being Landy will likely draw #1 cornerback coverage from all opposing defenses going forward this season which has the potential to severely limit his fantasy upside. Downgrade him to WR3/Flex territory.
Allen Robinson-WR (Chicago Bears): 14.3 fantasy points in 0.5 PPR leagues in week 2? Can I get a HELL YEAH?! Robinson is clearly the go-to guy for Mitch Trubisky in the Bears passing game. Fire Robinson up as your WR2 week in and week out with confidence going forward.
Ian Thomas-TE (Carolina Panthers): 2 fantasy points in week 2. Any hope for “Greg Olsen” like production at the tight end position for Thomas was quickly extinguished this past week. Drop him back to the waiver wire and look elsewhere.
Evan Engram-TE (New York Giants): A late TD capped off his 16.2 fantasy point evening in 0.5 PPR leagues this past Sunday versus the Cowboys. Despite the many mouths to feed on this offense Manning has not forgotten about the man who was his lone consistent target all of last season. While I’m not sure you can expect this type of production week in and week out, his fantasy performance was a nice treat for Engram’s fantasy managers on Sunday night.
4-EYED OBSERVATION #4: Individual Defensive Players
Raekwon McMillan-LB (Miami Dolphins): Whew. Talk about busts. Considered to be a sleeper in IDP leagues McMillan put up another stinker in week 2 with just 3 total tackles, a forced fumble, and 4 fantasy points. So much for this second-year linebacker taking the leap to becoming a #tacklemachine.
Anthony Hitchens-LB (Kansas City Chiefs): Hitchens, on the other hand, has been doing a fantastic job adjusting to his new role on this Chiefs defense accumulating double-digit fantasy points in back to back games this season (using the FANTASY IN FRAMES IDP scoring rubric). He has earned the title of a #tacklemachine and should continue to do so all season long.
Melvin Ingram-DL (Los Angeles Chargers): You would have figured with Joey Bosa out due to injury that Melvin Ingram would pick up the load in the pass rush department. Well you’d be right. At least in week 2 where he posted 1.5 sacks, 3 solo/1 assisted tackles, and 8 fantasy points against a woeful Bills offense. It’ll be interesting to see how he progresses as the season continues. I, personally, wouldn’t insert him into my starting roster, but if more weeks like this continue I might just have to.
John Johnson III-DB (Los Angeles Rams): Johnson picked up from his week 1 15.5 fantasy point performance with an equally impressive 9.5 fantasy point performance in week 2! This guy is an IDP stud who’s worth trading for and starting every week from here on out.