Week 1 passed and it was a doozy with injuries and surprise performances all over the place. This week appears to be more predictable, but there are still a few rankings where I severely differ from the expert consensus. Today, I’ll tell you about five of those differences and why I came to my conclusions. Then, you can check out all of my rankings for Week 2 at the bottom. I will continue to update them up until oepning kickoff on Sunday. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to let me know on Twitter.
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Ben Roethlisberger (QB #14): PIT vs MIN
I get it, Big Ben terrorizes opponents at home, but he is not the type of quarterback that you play every single week. The Vikings just might have the best pass defense in football. Antonio Brown will be shadowed by Xavier Rhodes, who is among the best in football, Trae Waynes will be on Bryant, and the Vikings’ defensive line should have pressure on the quarterback, as they often to. That isn’t exactly the safest scenario. So yes, he does have substantial upside considering who he is playing with, but more than likely, he will be like every other quarterback last season who isn’t named Aaron Rodgers, passing for less than 300 yards and just a TD or two.
Thomas Rawls (RB #20): SEA vs SF
Last season, the 49ers gave up 2,654 rushing yards. That is 166 per game and a full 24 yards worse than the next worst team in the NFL. Yes, Navarro Bowman is back and the 49ers have a few strong developmental pieces, but they should still be easily among the worst five units in football this season. Rawls missed Week 1 with an injury, but according to Pete Carroll is now 100% and ready to go. He was supposed to split carries with Eddie Lacy, who struggled in Week 1, so the bulk of the carries, especially on the goal-line should belong to Rawls. Even if he only gets 8 to 12 carries, he still has a nice floor with major touchdown upside like Mike Gillislee last week.
C.J. Anderson (RB #27): DEN vs DAL
In Week 1 against San Diego, Anderson did see 20 carries, but keep in mind that Denver somehow ran the ball 36 times. If that is his rate, then we are talking about a virtual timeshare, which in a game script and matchup like what they will see at home against Dallas, is not encouraging. Dallas may have taken a step backward this offseason on defense, but it is hard to drop too far from having the single toughest run defense in football the year prior. He is only a borderline flex play for me this week depending on who else is on your fantasy roster.
Jarvis Landry (WR #24): MIA @ LAC
As we have heard all preseason, Jay Cutler loves Devante Parker and fits well with his skill set. The issue here is that Jason Verrett is expected to shadow Parker since he never goes in to the slot where Landry lives. Meanwhile, the Dolphins offensive line has pressing concerns and Cutler is not all that great under pressure. Having a dump off weapon like Landry, who has no trouble getting open will come in handy, and likely lead to a big day for the possession receiver.
Eric Ebron (TE #8): DET @ NYG
Yes, there is no doubt about it, the Giants have a terrific pass defense. They slowed down Dez last week, but Jason Witten cleaned up against them with 7 receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. Ebron is the superior receiver at this point in their careers and is off the injury report this week. Sure, Kenny Golladay snatched two touchdowns last week, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ebron is expected to be a serious red zone weapon for the Lions this season.
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