They say you shouldn’t bet on Week 1 in the NFL: you just don’t know who to trust. That couldn’t have been truer than it was this past weekend. There were surprises: Buffalo blowing out Andrew Luck & the Colts; St. Louis upsetting the reigning NFC champs; the hometown Birds losing in Atlanta; San Francisco upsetting darling dark-horse Minnesota, for example. There were also some expected results: the Packers winning in the Windy City; Kansas City blowing out the Texans; Denver holding serve over the westward Ravens.
This week, there are lines that are screaming for bets to be placed. But first, let’s look at which individual players may be poised to lead your fantasy team to victory in Week 2:
- Drew Brees (QB, NO): Did you see what a rookie quarterback did while facing Tampa Bay’s defense last week? Granted, Marcus Mariota is no ordinary rookie. Drew Brees will be leading a team looking to avoid going 0-2 & will feast on the “Tampa 2” in the Superdome.
- Matt Ryan (QB, ATL): You saw what he & his WR corps are capable of last week. The Giants are pulling secondary pieces off the street & have less of a pass rush than even the Eagles.
- Mark Ingram (RB, NO): His fantasy owners are benefiting from CJ Spiller being down. Last week he caught 8 passes for 98 yards.
- DeMarco Murray (RB, PHI): He can play the nice guy all he wants. Deep down, he yearns to prove Jerry Jones wrong. Look for a HUGE game from him on Sunday afternoon.
- Jeremy Hill (RB, CIN): Ameer Abdullah didn’t look like a rookie in San Diego last weekend. Cincinnati’s offensive line is better than Detroit’s. The rest of the math solves itself.
- Julio Jones (WR, ATL): He didn’t do as much in the second half against the Eagles (except set up the winning field goal) but, even with a hampered hamstring, he is infinitely more talented than any member of the Giants secondary.
- DeAndre Hopkins (WR, HOU): Ryan Mallett has more innate talent than Brian Hoyer. Start Hopkins until proven otherwise.
- Jarvis Landry (WR, MIA): Start any wide receivers playing the Jaguars. In a PPR league, Jericho Cotchery (CAR) scored 14 points…just let that sink in.
- Jordan Matthews (WR, PHI) – Orlando Scandrick would likely have been responsible for covering Matthews out of the slot. Scandrick is hurt. Last week Matthews caught 10 balls for 102 yards. There isn’t a defensive back on Dallas’ roster that will be able to cover Matthews as well as Atlanta.
- Rob Gronkowski (TE, NE): Don’t ever not start Gronk…ever.
- Zach Ertz (TE, PHI): He brought in three passes for 46 yards just 5 weeks after groin surgery. The only problem is that he is a dead giveaway for a pass play when he is on the field.
- Jordan Reed (TE, WAS): He is going to continue to catch balls as long as Kirk Cousins is at the helm.
- Justin Tucker (K, BAL): He’s the best in the game right now.
- St Louis Rams Defense (@ Washington): See what that unit did against the defending NFC champs?
Finally, here’s your Vegas fix:
- Arizona (-2.5) at Chicago: The Cardinals are better than expected. Their defense will stymie the Bears in a way that Green Bay struggled to do last week.
- St. Louis (-3.5) at Washington: Nick Foles knows the Redskins & that Rams defense is stacked.
- San Francisco at Pittsburgh (-6): This is the Steelers home opener & they’re looking to avoid going 0-2. They are playing on 10 days rest. The Niners are flying east after winning a late MNF game as a home underdog.
- San Diego (+3.5) at Cincinnati: The Chargers got off to a slow start last week but managed to come from behind & beat the Lions at home. The momentum continues and they cover (but likely lose on the road).
