While every fantasy manager wants to start their studs, and they definitely should, not every team can roster studs at every position. It is especially difficult to have these every-week studs at QB, TE, and DST due to the scarcity of elite players at those positions, and many managers instead decide to “stream” the position, meaning they pick up a different player each week based on matchup. Here are some of my favorite picks for Week 2…
Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater @ Jacksonville
ESPN Rostership: 9.4%
Opposition rank vs QB: 22nd
Despite facing competition from young QB Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater won the starting job at QB for the Broncos this offseason. In just his first game, he lost second-year WR Jerry Jeudy to injury, but Bridgewater still put together a solid performance; he completed 28 of 36 attempts for 264 yards and 2 TDs. Altogether, the journeyman scored 20.46 fantasy points, good for 14th-most on the week.
Going into a matchup against a Jaguars defense that just got shredded by the lowly Texans, it seems fair to expect an even better performance from Bridgewater in Week 2 as his WRs and TEs create matchup problems for a defense with only a few slivers of talent scattered about.
In addition, Bridgewater has a Week 3 matchup against the New York Jets which should also be an exploitable matchup considering their overall lack of talent in the secondary. However, I would recommend waiting to see the Jets’ Week 2 defensive performance, as Robert Saleh’s defensive schemes can make up for some of the lack of talent.
Taylor Heinicke vs New York Giants
ESPN Rostership: 1.2%
Opposition Rank vs QB: 19th
Heinicke is a very bold play in Week 2, as he’s starting for the first time this season on a short week against the rival Giants. However, there’s a real lack of exciting streaming options behind Bridgewater in my opinion. There are things to like about Heinicke: he’s completed 67.6% of his passes in a WFT uniform between last week and a short-lived fill-in last season and he scored 24.84 fantasy points in a wildcard matchup against the Buccaneers last year.
Meanwhile, the opposing Giants have some solid pieces on the defensive side but have lacked cohesion throughout recent years, and Heinicke will attack them through the air with weapons like Terry McLaurin, Logan Thomas, Antonio Gibson, and J.D. McKissic as well as with his legs, as Heinicke has proven to be a solid rusher throughout his time filling in for Washington.
Tight Ends
Jared Cook vs Dallas
ESPN Rostership: 36.3%
Opposition Rank vs TE: 32nd
While we can’t judge a defense off just one performance – the Cowboys could not cover Rob Gronkowski last week, especially in the redzone. Meanwhile, Cook commanded a strong role as the main tight end for the Chargers in Week 1. Cook was on the field for 58% of the Chargers’ offensive plays, and he ran a route on 86.1% of the passing plays he was on the field for. He was also utilized both in the slot and even out wide. In addition, Cook saw 8 targets. Altogether, Cook put together a double-digit performance without scoring a touchdown last week. With this in mind, it’s unlikely that Cook flops in Week 2, and he has high-upside if he finds the endzone.
Gerald Everett vs Tennessee
ESPN Rostership: 12.4%
Opposition Rank vs TE: 1st
You can ignore that number 1 ranked defense versus TEs. The Titans played the Cardinals in Week 1, and the Arizona offense just does not utilize the TE in the passing game. Having watched the game, the Titans’ LBs looked very poor in coverage situations, and the Cardinals continuously used Christian Kirk to utilize this advantage.
Everett saw very high usage despite only receiving 2 targets in Week 1, as he was on the field for 72.2% of Seattle’s offensive snaps and 20 of Seattle’s 23 pass attempts. In addition, of those 20 pass plays Everett was on the field for, he ran a route on 85% of them. He was only targeted twice, but he hauled in both targets and salvaged his fantasy day with a score. I expect the Titans to put up more of a fight than the Colts did in Week 1, and Seattle to have a more pass-heavy game-script, resulting in more than 23 pass attempts for Russell Wilson, and more opportunities for Everett to see the ball.
Defenses
Cardinals D/ST vs Minnesota
ESPN Rostership: 17.7%
Opposition Rank vs D/ST: 13th
It’s a little crazy considering some of the poor performances the Cards have put up on defense in the past, but I think Arizona might be worth a long-term add in redraft leagues. They absolutely shut down what many expected to be one of the best offenses in the NFL in the Tennessee Titans last week, and Arizona has time-and-time-again spent draft capital and cap space on the defense in recent years.
This past draft, Arizona spent 4 of their first 5 picks on the defensive side of the ball, including 1st-round LB Zaven Collins. In 2020, they spent 4 of their 6 total picks on defense, including 1st rounder Isaiah Simmons. In addition, Arizona went out in free agency and signed DE J.J. Watt and LB Markus Golden, while re-signing LB Dennis Gardeck and S Chris Banjo. All these additions came with some solid pieces already on the roster, including Buddha Baker, Chandler Jones, and Byron Murphy Jr.
All-in-all, I think this is a defense that has the talent and play-calling to shut down opposing offenses all season, and, as an added bonus, they’ll see two plus matchups in the weeks ahead as they face Minnesota and Jacksonville, who both struggled to protect their respective QBs in Week 1.
Bengals D/ST @ Chicago
ESPN Rostership: 3.6%
Opposition Rank vs D/ST: 27th
The Bengals’ defense may not be amongst the best in the league (especially at cornerback), but they boast a great, roaming free safety in Jessie Bates and a strong defensive line with Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard on the edges. Meanwhile, Bears’ HC Matt Nagy is still seemingly sticking with journeyman Andy Dalton at quarterback despite having Justin Fields waiting in the wings. Meanwhile, the Bears are also down to their fourth-string LT after losing Teven Jenkins in the offseason and losing Jason Peters and Larry Borom in Week 1. I expect the Bengals to generate pressure on Dalton and, in Week 1’s game, Dalton completed just 1 of 5 passes against pressure.
