DeMarco Murray and the Titans’ offense has a great Week 2 matchup against the Lions

NFL Week 2 is upon us! DraftKings is rolling out their famous Millionaire Maker tournament with $5M in guaranteed payouts. This time, the entry fee is $20 and the entry pool is much smaller at 280,000+, rather than the 1.4 million from last week.

The Carolina Panthers weigh in as the heaviest favorite with the spread at -13.5 and the New Orleans Saints at New York Giants currently post the highest over/under at 52.5. The Carolina Panthers own the highest projected team total (TT) at 29.5, while the Dolphins have a meager projected TT of only 16.0.

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Quarterback

Cam Newton (CAR): $7,900 vs. SF

“I’m not worried about my health, I’m worried about winning.” – Cam Newton

Newton and the Panthers have the highest projected team total at 29.5 and are coming off a long week, while the San Francisco 49ers are traveling to the East Coast on a short week. Thus, the Panthers being the heavyweight in Vegas with the spread currently at -13.5. The writing is on the wall in this one, so don’t overthink it.

Cam has a knack for showing off at home and quite frankly it usually annoys me. However, I love money and I’m fully aware how to profit in fantasy football. Cam excelled at home last season with a QB rating of 104.6.

My only concern in this game is that the Panthers are up by so much they have the luxury of benching Cam for a significant amount of time in the fourth quarter. The bright side of that situation is if they are up by that much, it’s likely because Cam ran amuck for the first 45-plus minutes.

Try to visualize this outcome before figuring out how much exposure you want to Cam for the Panthers’ home opener. Too much is probably not enough. I can only imagine how many times Cam inners his Clark Kent before donating footballs to all the boys and girls.

Running Backs

DeMarco Murray (TEN): $5,700 @ DET

Murray owned a majority of the rushing attempts at 13 Week 1, but that wasn’t what intrigued me. Murray’s seven targets in the air are very appealing, with four of those targets coming in the red zone. Murray was also the only running back on the Titans with carries inside the red zone.

The Lions are somewhat of a decent favorite at home with the spread currently sitting at -5.5 and the over/under is a healthy 47.5. The game flow is going to play into favor for the Titans’ players on offense, and Murray will likely be the beneficiary one way or another.

Regardless of the outcome, Murray is going to touch a lot of pigskin on Sunday and will thrive against an awful Lions’ defense that allowed 35 points last week. You can expect a solid floor of 15 touches on the ground with the added upside of five-plus targets in the air.

T.J. Yeldon (JAX): $4,700 @ SD

Yes, Yeldon was extremely inefficient with his opportunity against the Green Bay Packers last week. Yeldon was thrust into a huge workload after Chris Ivory (undisclosed) was inactive. Even though Yeldon didn’t bust out on 21 carries and six targets, it was still 21 carries and six targets. That volume of work can’t be ignored and Yeldon will likely be in for another busy day if Ivory is unable to suit up.

The Chargers somehow managed to get a big lead against the Chiefs last week. Then they somehow managed to give it all away, and then some, before getting on their flight back to San Diego. The Chargers allowed 153 receiving yards to the running back position last week, and the Jags will surely try to duplicate those numbers after watching film and seeing their pass coverage flaws in the backfield.

Wide Receivers

Odell Beckham Jr. (NYG): $9,500 vs. NO

OBJ’s first week was underwhelming and his salary increased $200, which is a good thing for us tournament players. A huge reason to Beckham staying quiet was the slow pace the Dallas Cowboys play at, leaving the Giants with only 57 total plays on offense.

The Saints defense is absolutely awful, allowing 35 points last week to the Oakland Raiders, and they play at a much higher pace than the Cowboys, ultimately resulting in more opportunities for the Giants on offense.

Odell was the team leader in targets at eight and was also targeted twice in the red zone. The Giants have the second highest projected team total at 28.5 and their defense isn’t strong enough to keep the Saints down in the game. This should be a shootout and Odell has all the upside you need and want in tournaments.

Willie Snead (NO): $5,800 @ NYG

Snead grades out as one of my highest projected wide receivers under $6K this week. Snead was tied with teammate Brandin Cooks in the targets department with nine. If you watched the game you noticed the rapport that Drew Brees has with Snead, resulting in a perfect 9-for-9 (targets/receptions).

The Saints won’t be as dynamic on offense outside of the Superdome, but they will certainly be able to put plenty of points on the scoreboard against the Giants. You should fully expect Drew Brees to chuck the ball over 40 times again this week, and Snead will definitely be a key factor to their success.

Snead feasted in Week 1 working out of the slot where the Giants allowed over 100 yards from last week. There is going to be a ton of upside for Snead this week and there isn’t any doubt that he is going to exceed his expected value.

Tajae Sharpe (TEN): $4,100 @ DET

Volume of snaps and targets have to be the first thing mentioned when touting Sharpe, who played 96 percent of the snaps on offense and led the team in targets with 11. Outside of Sharpe, no Titans’ receiver played more than 55 percent of the snaps.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota looks comfortable with Sharpe and should be able to light up the Detroit Lions defense that just allowed 385 passing yards and four touchdowns last week. Sharpe’s salary hasn’t adjusted to his volume of work and upside. This is a golden opportunity to buy-low on the talented rookie wide receiver.

Tight End

Greg Olsen (CAR): $5,600 vs. SF

Olsen pretty much showed his floor last week with seven receptions on nine targets for 73 yards. Olsen was only one of three tight ends that played 100 percent of their team snaps and that trend will continue this week if the Panthers aren’t blowing the 49ers out by the fourth quarter.

Olsen provides that oh-so-beautiful correlation with Cam Newton and the pace of play that Chip Kelly brings to this game provides immense upside. Olsen is an elite tight end option this week and grades out as my highest projected at his respected position.

DraftKings’ algorithm must have forgotten to add something when figuring out Olsen’s salary this week because it is way too cheap. His discounted salary of $5,600 is going to have me laughing all the way to the bank.

FLEX

Jeremy Kerley (SF): $3,000 @ CAR

My boy Kerley is finally getting the opportunity to succeed in the NFL, and this week will provide that again. Talented wide receivers that work out of the slot tend to provide a solid floor with plenty of upside.

Kerley will likely be the 49ers’ leader in targets again after being targeted on 17 percent of his routes, resulting in 11 targets. The game script couldn’t get any better for Kerley against the Panthers as his successful Week 1 came with the 49ers protecting a lead. This time around the 49ers will surely be playing from behind, leaving Kerley out there to eat in garbage time.

You won’t find another wide receiver at $3,000 that will very likely be targeted in the double-digits.

Defense/Special Teams

Denver Broncos (DEN): $3,600 vs. IND

The Broncos’ defense looked vulnerable against the run last week, allowing 157 yards. However, they still looked elite at getting to the quarterback and they held Cam Newton and the Panthers’ offense to only 176 passing yards.

The Indianapolis Colts’ offensive line is below average, to say the least, and the Broncos defensive packages will surely have them confused. The Broncos will be able to get to Andrew Luck. The Colts are going to lose this game and will have to try and play catch up, which will result in far too many pass attempts against elite defensive backs in Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr.

Last week Talib allowed a 52.4 passer rating when targeted and Harris Jr. allowed a 58.3 passer rating. Coming off a long week of preparation will only benefit the Broncos’ elite defense, providing a long day at the office for Andrew Luck on Sunday.

Recommended Tournament Lineup

• Cam Newton (CAR): $7,900 vs. SF
• DeMarco Murray (TEN): $5,700 @ DET
• T.J. Yeldon (JAX): $4,700 @ SD
• Odell Beckham Jr. (NYG): $9,500 vs. NO
• Willie Snead (NO): $5,800 @ NYG
• Tajae Sharpe (TEN): $4,100 @ DET
• Greg Olsen (CAR): $5,600 vs. SF
• Jeremy Kerley (SF): $3,000 @ CAR
• Denver Broncos (DEN): $3,600 vs. IND

If you have any questions or need suggestions, feel free to tweet me at any time. Best of luck this week!

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Matthew Davis is a correspondent for FantasyPros. You can find more from Matthew by viewing his archive or following him @_mattywood_.