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Fantasy Football Studs and Duds: Week 2

Fantasy Football Studs and Duds: Week 2

Rookie running backs have left their mark early in the 2017 NFL season. Injuries have left their mark on the fantasy season as well. Following some big-name injuries Week 1, Greg Olsen broke his foot, Sam Bradford missed Week 2 entirely due to a knee injury, and Corey Coleman was rumored to have broken his hand. Just another day to tilt playing fantasy football.

Order was restored to a certain degree this weekend. Mike Evans put the talk of the Chicago Bears defense containing No. 1 receivers to bed. Amari Cooper was held out of the end zone while Michael Crabtree, perhaps the biggest stud of the week, caught three touchdowns against the hapless New York Jets. Rob Gronkowski also made a nice play against the New Orleans Saints for his 69th career touchdown.

With two games in the books, trends are starting to develop. Offensive philosophies are becoming a bit clearer, and now is the time to start thinking about the holes on your roster.

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Studs

Kareem Hunt (RB – KC)
The rookie phenom was shut down by the Philadelphia Eagles for a long time Sunday. Then, in the third quarter, Hunt’s 53-yard touchdown run opened the floodgates. Hunt followed that run by giving the Chiefs the game-sealing touchdown late in the fourth quarter from two yards out.

Since 2014, only four running backs had rushed for 50 or more yards and caught at least five catches against the Philadelphia Eagles. Once again, the Chiefs found ingenious ways to get the ball to their playmaker. Also, once again, it appears that Andy Reid has struck gold in the NFL Draft when looking for a running back.

Suffice to say, Hunt is now knocking on the door to the “elite” tier of running backs for 2017. For DFS purposes, DraftKings is already thinking he is in an elite tier. The only question remaining is whether or not he can finish the season as the No. 1 running back in fantasy football.

C.J. Anderson (RB – DEN)
Anderson received the lion’s share of the carries Week 1 for the Denver Broncos. Most fantasy players are natural skeptics of course. After Week 2’s performance, Anderson needs to be taken seriously. For that matter, Anderson’s quarterback, Trevor Siemian needs to be taken seriously as well.

The latter part might be why Anderson’s performance is particularly noteworthy. As long as opposing defenses have to account for Siemian, Anderson’s job stays that much easier. Anderson is averaging 4.42 yards per carrying and has 199 yards on the ground. He also had the best fantasy day for a Week 2 running back. Anderson is producing well beyond his seventh-round ADP. Zero running back teams should be ecstatic.

Ty Montgomery (RB – GB)
Another week, and another solid performance from Montgomery. Leading up to Sunday night’s prime-time matchup, there was much talk about the Atlanta Falcons defense and pass-catching running backs. While the game script didn’t quite go the way many predicted, Montgomery’s usage did. Montgomery was the RB2 on Sunday, behind only the aforementioned Anderson.

Perhaps the funniest aspect of fantasy sports is that statistics are black and white at first glance. Montgomery’s shovel pass touchdown counts as a reception, but it’s a glorified running play. Furthermore, Atlanta receives another ding in their “pass” defense.

Moving forward, the biggest question for the Green Bay Packers is Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb’s health. Without that part of the Packers’ offense, the pressure on Aaron Rodgers becomes significant. Montgomery, however, has an entrenched role as both the primary running back and a reliable pass catcher. Should Nelson or Cobb be forced to miss any time, Montgomery could be seeing a big enough slice of the workload pie that would make Eddie Lacy violate his weight clause.

Jermaine Kearse (WR – NYJ)
A popular sentiment in fantasy football this year was to avoid the New York Jets unless streaming the defense going against them. After two weeks, Kearse is making a very strong case for being on your roster. Seriously.

During the Jets’ Week 1 loss, Kearse was targeted nine times, catching seven passes for 59 yards. On Sunday, he caught four of his five targets for 64 yards and two touchdowns. That, my friends, is a trend.

Another trend is how bad the Jets are. That’s not going to change overnight. Well, to be fair, it’s not going to change at all this season. That’s a good thing for Kearse, however. As long as the Jets are losing big, they’re going to throw, throw and throw some more. If you want to save some FAAB dollars on the waiver wire, entertain your wild side and pick up a Jets receiver. What could go wrong?

Duds

Ezekiel Elliott (RB – DAL)
Scattered thunderstorms provided more tenacious to the Denver Broncos defense than Zeke on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys trailed the majority of the game and Elliott never seemed to gain momentum.

The Cowboys offensive line didn’t help open up holes in the sky or on the ground. Elliott’s ability to earn yards on his own didn’t pan out either. His longest gain of the day was a garbage time reception (6:13 left in the fourth quarter) for nine yards. He was the same disappointment on the ground. A long run of five yards was the highlight of the day. An hour delay due to lightning could bear some of the responsibility this week, though. It gave the Cowboys a long time to think about the game thus far. Things were not good at that point either.

The Cowboys don’t have it easier over the next three weeks. Next up on the slate is the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and Green Bay Packers. Fortunately, for fantasy’s sake, Elliott doesn’t have much competition on the depth chart. Opportunity is plentiful for Zeke to continue to eat. The practice status of quarterback Dak Prescott is worth monitoring this week. Prescott took a scary hit where his knee buckled in an awkward angle.

Le’Veon Bell (RB – PIT)
Progress and patience folks.

Le’Veon Bell severely disappointed this weekend in a tough match-up. On the other side of the coin, the workload was there. Bell caught all four of his targets for only four yards. His 27 carries netted 87 yards (3.2 YPC).

Mama said there’d be days like this. Bell’s workload was plentiful against a stout Minnesota Vikings defense led by Mike Zimmer. It’s important to remember that Bell didn’t attend training camp nor did he play in the preseason.

With two games under his belt, expect Bell to regain his spot as an elite fantasy option soon. A trip to face the Bears next weekend could be just what the doctor ordered to send Bell to the stud side of this article.

Russell Wilson (QB – SEA)
Wilson had another poor performance to start the season. To Wilson’s credit, his first touchdown pass this season won the game on Sunday. As a two-touchdown favorite, it’s a bit underwhelming to see the final stat line, though. Especially since that touchdown is his only of the season.

Interestingly enough, it’s come to be normal when he faces the San Francisco 49ers. In his 11 regular season games against the 49ers, Wilson has thrown for more than one touchdown only twice.

A trip to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans next Sunday could be Wilson’s third let down of the young season. If you have non-Blake Bortles or Andy Dalton options on your roster, playing the matchups in Week 3 might force Wilson to the bench.

Tyreek Hill (WR – KC)
Hill didn’t live up to the same billing as his teammate Hunt. The Eagles did their part to keep Hill in front of them at all times, and they succeeded. Despite the injuries in their secondary, the Eagles cornerbacks were able to limit Hill’s runs after the catch.

As is the case with Bell, though, patience needs to be exuded. For Hill owners, it just comes in a different form. Hill is a home run player. Without the “big play,” he will post pedestrian numbers in many leagues. Sunday against the Eagles, Hill simply was unable to turn numerous opportunities into bigger plays. The blame isn’t as big as one would think, however. Give a lot of credit to the Eagles cornerbacks for wrapping him up quickly.


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Matt Giraldi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive or follow him @Mgiraldi.

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