What’s going on everyone, and welcome to Week 2! I have to admit, after a few months of getting hyped up, I was let down just a bit, with some very lackluster games during the afternoon and evening. But hey, isn’t the first week always the weirdest? Isn’t that what they say? They do know! Well it is Wednesday my dudes, so let’s dive into my first glance at the Week 2 rankings, but before we do, let’s take a brief recap of the week that was.
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Players That I Was Wrong About
Carson Palmer: 24/48, 269 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT, 53.2 Rating
Yeah, it didn’t matter that the matchup was good enough for Palmer, he was just god awful. I’m surprised he only threw 3 picks. His receivers didn’t do him any favors with multiple drops, especially by his TE Jermaine Gresham in the endzone. He now has lost his star RB in David Johnson for a few months now, so his season-long outlook is pretty horrible. I’m willing to give him another chance this week against the lowly Colts, but I really am hesitant to use him moving forward.
The Seattle Passing Attack
So I’m not ready to sound the panic alarms after one week, in fact, I’m expecting this offense to light it up against San Francisco on Sunday, but I think that this offensive performance really boils down to two factors: Green Bay is really tough at home, and even though their defensive unit isn’t that great, defensive coordinator Dom Capers has Russell Wilson’s number. Again, I was high on Wilson, Graham (nice hands), Baldwin and Paul Richardson, and they definitely let me down.
Adrian Peterson: 6 rush, 18 yds, 0 TD
(Screams). I was way too high on AP heading into Week 1, and I really shouldn’t be. Lesson learned. The reason why I wanted to believe in Peterson was because of the narrative that he was returning to Minnesota, Sean Payton has a history of revenge games, and I didn’t think they could throw all day on this secondary. I was sort of right, but it didn’t really pan out at all. I’m not really sure if he’ll be involved a lot moving forward, especially if Ingram and Kamara still produce, especially the latter.
Tom Brady: 16/36, 267 yds, 0 TD, 70 Rating
Well we all were wrong about Brady. Definitely a fluke performance. I’ll be expecting them to light the world on fire versus the Saints this week.
What I’ve Learned This Week
First off, I learned to probably put more faith into the Razzball projections (subscribe today!) When I looked at the projections on Thursday, I though to myself, “Really, Matthew Stafford?” Well guess what? Rudy was right. Believe it or not, Matthew Stafford finished as the #1 QB this week, throwing for 4 TD’s. But it wasn’t just Matthew Stafford, the projections were also high on Terrance West, Todd Gurley and a boatload of other players. Also, even though I disagreed, the projections accurately predicted the disappointment of Jamison Crowder, who went into halftime with -2 points (PPR scoring).
I have a feeling I’m going to have to use the hashtag #RudyWasRight multiple times this season, so you better subscribe ladies and gentleman.
Continuing the same theme, I’ll be using the projections now as a baseline for my rankings. I won’t be copying and pasting, but I’ll be using the projections as a core for my ranks, but then adjusting the players based on my own thoughts and feelings about their weekly performances.
Alright guys, let’s now get to my Week 2 rankings!
Players That I’m High On
I may be a bit too high on him, so I will probably re-adjust, but this should be a very easy matchup for Flacco. Neither he nor Roethlisberger set the world on fire last week, but they probably both should have done better. And if Flacco can be serviceable against the Bengals, he should do very well against this defense that Big Ben should have done better against.
I spoke about this earlier, but I’m not giving up on Palmer just yet, or at least for this week. He should have done better against Detroit, and my bet his that he’ll do better against this terrible Indianapolis defense that made Jared Goff look like someone who isn’t Jared Goff. Especially now that they don’t have a running game with the injury of David Johnson, Palmer should be slinging it all over the field this week. I also really like the idea of him in DFS, especially because I’m guessing the recency bias against Palmer will be extreme.
Sure, Montgomery did pretty awful last week against Seattle, but it was a fantastic sign that he had a career-high in carries (19), and snap-rate (90%). If Week 1 is any indication of the weeks to come, we should be expecting a bell-cow runner in Montgomery, and his draws a great matchup against this Falcons defense that gave up some very big plays from Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen last week.
Well not to toot my own horn or anything, but I did say earlier this year that I believed that Cook was the best pure runner out of all the 2017 rookies, and boy did he put on a great showing Week 1 against New Orleans (to be fair, I still am a bit worried in this offensive line, and I still think that McCaffrey will be the ROY). If there were any doubts, Cook is the bell-cow runner in Minnesota by far, and now draws a nice matchup and should be very productive once again.
We saw what Stefon Diggs can do against this secondary, and I have no doubts that Cooks can do the same thing, especially now that the Patriots will come out guns-blazing after a disappointing Week 1 performance. Cooks should be a lock in your lineups.
Again, not ready to sound the alarms after a disappointing Week 1 performance against Detroit. This secondary is hurting without Vontae Davis, and Palmer should take advantage of this. If you have Fitzgerald, you’re starting him.
I had him up in my rankings throughout the Week, but aside from the Razzblitz, failed to really talk about him. Well, I shall be silent no more! Clay is the only receiver on the Bills that really has a connection with Taylor, and as we saw last week, will continue to have an immense redzone presence. Clay now draws a matchup against Carolina, and if the Bills passing attack wants to be productive this week and this year, it’s going to have to go through Clay.
Players That I’m Not High On
If this game was on the road I’d probably rank Big Ben outside the Top 20, and although this game will be played in Pittsburgh, this defense is still pretty scary (albeit very better against the run than versus the pass). I didn’t see the Big Ben that I wanted to Week 1 versus Cleveland, and now against the Vikings, I want to find another option. You’re always starting your studs, but if you have a better option, use him.
Sure he did quite well against the Raiders, but that was against the Raiders. This Jags defense looks very good right bow, and although I’m sure any defense looks great against Tom Savage, I don’t want to take away from how talented this defense truly is. I won’t argue against you if you want to start Mariota, but I would definitely be okay with another option instead of the young gunslinger.
By golly did he show up in Week 1 or did he show up in Week 1? I expect him to come back down to earth in a tough matchup though against this Philadelphia defense, although I still think you should probably start him. Just me giving you a warning to not expect another fantastic game from the young runner.
I don’t need to tell you that you’re probably going to bench Hyde against this fierce Seattle defensive front. Let’s keep moving.
You’re never really going to bench Green, but god does he have a tough matchup (on paper) versus this defense, especially when you consider how god awful Andy Dalton was. Again, I don’t think you should bench him, but it was just so deflating to see the offensive production that came out of Cincy last week against Baltimore.
Again, I’m not touching this passing game without Luck. And again, he has another bad matchup against Patrick Peterson and Co. Especially when you consider that Jacoby Brissett will likely be the Colts starter, I don’t need to tell you to bench Hilton (and Moncrief).
Alright guys that about does it for me. As always, feel free to leave a comment or question down below about any player you see above. And as always, I’ll see you guys later in the week to talk about our Tools and Staff Consensus Rankings!
You Can Follow Zach on Twitter @razzball_zach
Decker, Galloday, Coleman or JJ Nelson, Week 2? Also NE @ NO or NYG v Det?
@Chucky: Decker has a higher floor, and although Golladay blew up, I think I’d be more comfortable with Decker now. My ideas of this week are going to chance on Friday or Saturday compared to Wednesday morning, so when my tools article comes out, ask me again!
Kenny Britt in the top 100? I just dropped him and did so with no hesitation.
Rank these 4 in PPR: Chris Thompson, Chris Carson, Buck Allen, Kerwynn Williams.
If you had to make a cut, is there an obvious choice?
@Big E Is a Creep: well, top 100 as a “flex”, but he still sucks.
@Big E Is a Creep: I understand they didn’t play well against Pittsburgh, but Kizer looked good in the preseason, and they’re going to play from behind a lot this year, and if they want to be successful, they’re going to have to get Britt involved. I’d go Thompson, Carson, Williams then Allen. I think you can cut Allen
Hey Zach
In a 10 team ppr do I need to drop a RB to handcuff Zeke? I had Mcfadden but dropped him for K Williams. Alf is still available. My RBs are Zeke, Freeman, T Coleman, D Henry, C Thompson, K Williams.
Additionally, I play in a league where KR yardage is 1 pt per 10 yards! It seemed to me like Ginn could be a good play this week as the Pats should be kicking off frequently. Do you think Gostowski boots it out of the endzone every time or will Ginn have some chances to return? Thats a question I figured only a Patriots fan could answer!
Thanks!
@Wacha Wacha: Unless you can get McFadden, I wouldn’t try to Handcuff Zeke. I wouldn’t start Zeke, Gostkowski usually boots it past the endzone 9/10 times.
@Zach: Are we sure Alfred Morris isn’t the better ‘cuff for Zeke?
@Adam P.: My bad, yeah I would go with Morris especially because McFadden was inactive this week
10 team dynasty. .5 PPR. not really playing for this year. should i keep tyler lockett or drop him for marqise lee, perriman, agholor, marvin jones, funchess, godwin, jj nelson, or curtis samuel?
thanks.
@Brian: Keep Lockett.
0.5 PPR league…Forte and Prosise were dropped, are both worth adding? Id be dropping Smallwood and Vereen. (I like Vereen b/c I think the short passing game may function as the NYG run game, but I don’t know if the 12 targets are sustainable.)
@A.A. Ron Rodgers: Yeah, I would add both Forte (led the Jets in touches and snaps last week) and Prosise. You can afford at this point to add Smallwood and Vereen.
Happy bump day man! It’s waiver wire Wednesday
.5 PPR league I got Cohen, Golladay, Chris Carson on waivers, the Jordan Howard owner messaged me saying he’d be interested in dealing either his Corey Coleman or Tyrell Williams. Or should I up the ante Cohen + davante Parker for his Keenan Allen? Or what about if I get Corey Coleman (or Tyrell Williams), flip for any of these RBs in a separate deal w/ another owner? Tevin Coleman, gio Bernard, Powell, Derrick Henry, Charles sims?
Or if I do this , package Coleman or Tyrell + d Parker to receive either doug Martin? Mark Ingram?
Here’s my team:
RBs: lost DJ to IR, Gordon, Hunt, mcaffery, Abdullah, chark west & Chris Johnson & Cohen
My WRs Alshon, Parker, Marshall, hogan, martavis Bryant, Golladay, maclin. & I have mike Williams stashed on an IR slot, we have 2 IR spots I have DJ in one & mike Williams the other.
—
Here’s the Jordan Howard owner team:
His RBs: Howard, lynch, Hyde, AP, rob Kelley
His WRs Julio, Dez, garçon, Keenan, Tyrell Williams, Corey Coleman.
—-
Lastly based on my WRs would you make a move to get a solid WR? I can’t afford to move any RBs though after losing DJ , but maybe package martavis + Marshall? What about swapping Marshall for Eric decker? Thanks!!
@Mario: What’s happening Mario?!? Cohen and Parker to get Allen is a move I can get behind. As of now, I wouldn’t try to get Martin or Ingram as of now. I want to wait those players out. You’ve got some pretty good wideouts, and I would definitely be interested in trading away Marshall for a running back. Doesn’t have to be a top tier back, just a quality starter.
Thanks man!
@Zach:
If he says no to Cohen + Parker for Keenan . Try Cohen for garçon ? Or Cohen + Parker for garçon?
If I don’t make a deal are you ok with just hanging onto Cohen? I love his upside but I’m only moving him to upgrade my WR area
Onto Marshall; I know you said doesn’t have to be a top flight RB, would you wait a week since Marshall’s value is dirt low now? Larry Fitzgerald had a solid receiving day, about 70 yards , if OBJ is back & good on MNF it’ll only benefit Marshall for separation.
@Mario: If you can do Cohen for Garcon, I’d pull it off. And sure, wait until you can get the best offer for Marshall. I think that’s a great idea
@Zach: I’m not being sarcastic, sorry if it sounds like it hahahahaha
Do you like Jamison Crowder this week ? My other choice is Garcon but I am sure he will draw Sherman and get shut down. Thanks
@JP Morgan: If I had to choose between Crowder and Garcon, I’d go with Crowder.
hi Zach,
thanks for the rankings.
Got offerred RB David Johnson for RB Terrance West.
Should I accept?
12 team, standard league, flex (w/r)
Current roster:
qb – matt ryan
wr – Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Golden Tate
Rb – Crowell, Lynch
Te – Ertz
Flex – Terrance West
K – Gostkowski
DEF – Oak (Streaming)
Bench Rb – Perkins, Mcfadden
Bench wr – Mike Wallace
Bench Te – Julius Thomas
Bench DEF – Eagles (like to hold them for the sacks but not this week vs Kansas) or??
so, trade west for johnson?
Thanks for your comments!
@Chris: we dont have an IR slot
@Chris: not in redrafts.
@Chris: If you’re giving up Terrance West, no way. Especially now that Danny Woodhead won’t be in the backfield for a big chunk of the season.
Thank YOU my man!
how would you rank rawls, buck allen or c thompson in a PPR league
@fudgemybudge: Allen, Thompson and Rawls.
Would love some guidance. I have two mediocre RBs in Lamar Miller and Crowell.
Thoughts on trading
Crowell and Dez Bryant
For
Fournette and Maclin
Please help!
@Turd Burglar: I would love to help!
I don’t think Crowell is mediocre (just give it more time). I wouldn’t pull this trade off because I think you’re giving up too much in Bryant for a close gap in Crowell-Fournette.
Zach,
My rbs were Johnson, Cook, Ingram, Perkins, Lacy in a full point PPR. Since I lost Johnson I managed to snag Cohen and Williams off waivers. Johnson is in my IR slot so it didn’t cost a player to pick up Cohen but I had to drop Lacy to get Williams. I debated between dropping Lacy or Perkins and ultimately decided on Lacy because Perkins is at least nominally still a starter for his team. Did I make the right call?
@Allan: I don’t know if I would have dropped Lacy in general, but out of Perkins and Lacy, you made the right call
Hey Zach! I think i know your answer, but which 2 TEs below you like best for this week & for ROS, in PPR 12 -teamer:
Doyle
Ebron
Witten
Fleener
Clay
@JohnnyBeGood: For this week, Clay and Fleener (took him out of the update, I don’t mind him this week), but for ROS, I’d go with Clay and Ebron. Did you read my mind? Thanks for the question my dude!
@Zach: haha oh wow, great minds think a like, thanks!!
@JohnnyBeGood: Of course!
Zach, good sir. How are you? I appreciated your advice last week. My team won. I am in a 0.5 PPR ten team league. Could you please help me with my line up for week 2? I appreciate it.
QB1- Winston or Mariota?
RB1-Freeman? Miller? Blount? Coleman?
RB2-Elliott? Blount? Miller? Coleman? Henry?
WR- C. Hogan or Galloway?
WR2-Hopkins or Hogan or Golloway?
F-L. Miller? T. Coleman? D. Henry? Blount? Golloway?
TE- D. Walker
K-Bryant
D-AZ or LAR?
@William Trill Cauley-Stein: What’s happening Willie!!! Glad I could help my man, congrats on the week 1 dub! As for now, I’d go with Winston, Freeman and Elliott, Hogan and Hopkins, Miller and the Cardinals defense. If you want my updated thoughts Friday or Saturday, leave this question under my tools article and I’ll let you know if anything has changed!
So the guys in my fantasy baseball league suckered me into taking over a keeper team that had been abandoned. I might watch a game every other week or so. I don’t hate football, I just have better things to do, but you better believe I’m not going to at least try to give these jokers a run for their money. They also condensed the league from 12 to 10 teams, so there was a ton of talent to collect from. I just started with a clean slate and came away pretty solid….I think. I did pull out a week 1 win and am #3 in points scored so far.
PPR league
I’ve got Flaco and Prescott filling the QB slots. After D. Johnson went down I moved D Freeman from Flex to RB to run along with Elliott (till his suspension goes though). In my WR slots I’ve got S Diggs and Crabtree and to round it out I have M Bennett in my TE slot. I still have two Flex spots to fill with the following: Jarvis Landry, Davante Adams, Austin Hooper, Cameron Brate and Javorius Allen.
I have Landry and Adams in there now, but don’t have much of a reason for why.
Keep my going the right direction Zach!
@Jose: What’s up Jose?! Welcome to the world of fantasy football! Let me help you dominate! You’ve got a pretty good team aside from DJ going down! I’ll be posting pretty regularly every week here at Razzball, so let me help you if you have any questions moving forward! Good luck this season!
In your flex, I would go with Adams and Landry.
@Zach: Thanks man. I’m going to need it. It’s a convaluted mess of a scoring system, but that’ll make it fun. We run a very custom Fantasy Baseball Scoring System so I figured this would be too. apart from the positions I mentioned above we have 2 LB slots, 1 EDR slot, 2 DL slots, 2 DB slots, 2 DP slots and a Kicker and Punter. Figuring out which of these defensive guys are droppable when they get hurt and who I need to hold onto is going to be a big challenge.
I can keep up to 5 guys at the end of the year. Is Tribiski worth holding onto for a keeper in place of Flaco at the end of the year? I figured I’d hold him for 6-7 weeks and see how the team was doing and reassess then?
Thanks for the advice!
@Jose: I’d hold onto Flacco if you can
Higher upside rest of season, Chris Carson or Buck Allen ??
@Alan: Carson.
Non- ppr, 12 tm: Would you waive Hogan for Kupp?
10 tm, non-ppr: Would you start Alex Smith or Bradford over Cousins? if so, which one? Or would you get Kizer?
thanks
TFD
@The Fantasy Dick:
Nvrmnd the QB question, looked at rankings..lol
but is Kupp gonna better all season than Hogan?
thanks
@The Fantasy Dick: I think I’d rather have Hogan ROS than Kupp
Drop Jamaal Charles or Zay Jones for Marlon Mack?
@Filkarri: If you have to drop one of the two, I’d go with Charles.
Got offered Goff and Jeremy Hill for Hyde.
Sounds shitty but here is my situation. 16 team league we start 2 rb, 3 wr and a flex. Std scoring With 25 yards a point but 4 pts for 400 yards and 6 pts for 500 yards.
My roster
1 qb: Palmer, Semien
2 rb: Gurley, Hyde, Kelley, Mack, Darkwa, Smallwood
3 wr: Evans, Diggs, J Matthews, Dorsett, To Smith
1 flex
@Nightpandas: Are you getting Goff and Hill? I think I would rather keep your team the way it is.
@Zach: yup I would get Goff and Hill
@Nightpandas: hey Zach what about giving up Hyde for Carr in this format? Or am I better off riding Palmer
@Nightpandas: I love Carr ROS but you might as well hold onto Palmer because I don’t like your RB core without him
12 tm, standard. We start 2 WR, 2 RBs, Flex
My RBs: David Johnson, Dalvin Cook, Kerwin Williams, Gore, Mack
My WRs: Jeffery, k. benjamin, garcon, maclin, hogan
Should I offer Gore/Maclin for Britt/Cohen to a team a little weak at WR? Will the person laugh at this offer or even consider it?
Or to another team offer Gore/Maclin for Rawls/worst WR?
rolling the dice by spending FAAB on Williams, hopefully he gets decent run until Luck comes back and I can count on Indy’s running game a bit more :/
thanks
TFD
@The Fantasy Dick: I don’t think you should give up Gore and Maclin just yet after one week. Let’s wait on that.
Love your site! I read it almost everyday for most sports, I’m happy to help your ad revenue.
I’m in a 12 team PPR league. Slots are 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 D/ST, 1 K, 1 Flex
QB: Mariota, Prescott
RBs: Ajayi, Tevin Coleman, Vereen, Kerwynn Williams
WRs: Julio Jones, Hopkins, Tyreek Hill, Crabtree, Martavis Bryant, Ginn Jr., Agholor
TE: Eifert, Witten
D/ST: Rams
K: Does it really matter? (Tavecchio)
Should I drop the Rams straight up to pick up the Raven’s D, or should I drop Agholor (or someone else) for them just to use this week?
Also Rob Kelley is on waivers, should I try to pick him up using either Agholor, Ginn, or the Rams D ?(assuming whichever isn’t already dropped to pick up the Raven’s D)
@It Ertz When I Pee: Thanks a lot man! I would keep onto the Rams D/ST because I really like them ROS.
I wouldn’t pick up Kelley to drop one of the three just yet.
@Zach: I got offered Hopkins for Gronk! I have the WR depth and no elite TEs, so it could work, what do you think?
Hey Zach,
I think I know your answer already but which flex player do I trust more this week?
Bilal, Cohen or Garcon?
Garcon going to get shut down by Sherman.
Bilal in a time share with Forte but he is ranked higher than Cohen,
Cohen is an unknown. Last week might have been a fluke or that’s his ceiling we saw.
@The Shady KHunt: What’s happening Shady!
I would rather have Powell now than Cohen or Garcon.
Zach would you trade your devontee freeman for amari cooper and tevin coleman?
@Jose: Yes! Depends on the rest of your RB core and the scoring system, but I don’t mind it
Hey, Zach. Cook or Ebron ros in a full point ppr league? Also, Shepard or Wright for a bench spot? And lastly, Luck was dropped. Should I pick him up and stash him with hopes he comes back alright? My qb is Wilson. Thanks for all the help!
@Jerry: Sup Jerry! I’d go Cook, then Wright, and yes if it doesn’t cost you anything. Thank YOU!
14 team league 0.5 ppr
wilson
mccoy elliott cook anderson prosise williams
hill brown davis lee wright
graham
Ive been looking to upgrade a wr. Is anderson for pryor a good enough deal?
@Lubey: Hell yeah!