Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos

Total: 46.0
Line: DEN by 5.5

QBs
Derek Carr: It wasn’t a good start for the Jon Gruden offense, though they played the toughest defense they’ll face all year. The Broncos aren’t a cakewalk, either, as they added Bradley Chubb to an already talented front-seven that’ll generate pressure. Fortunately, Carr has a solid offensive line in place that can withstand it the majority of time, as he was pressured on 28 percent of his snaps against the Rams front. If he gets time, the Broncos secondary can be had, as they’ve now allowed 20 passing touchdowns in their last 10 games, and part of that was with Aqib Talib on the roster, who they missed mightily in Week 1 when they allowed three passing scores to Russell Wilson, who was without Doug Baldwin. Carr is way too inconsistent to trust in season-long leagues, even if the matchup isn’t as bad as it seems. He’s just an ultra-low-owned tournament option that I can’t get behind right now.

Case Keenum: The Broncos were supposed to be getting a quarterback who was safer with the football, right? He threw three interceptions against the depleted Seahawks secondary, though fortunately for him, the Raiders don’t have much better. They started the duo of Marcus Gilchrist and Reggie Nelson at safety, while trotting out Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin at corner. The only one who played semi-decent last week was Melvin, who was good with the Colts last year. Keenum should be able to find his favorite slot receiver quite often, though. Being at home and favored last week didn’t stop the Broncos from throwing 39 times against the Seahawks, so why run from this matchup? Keenum should be considered a decent QB2 play, though they may dial back his freedom to do too much after his three-interception game. He’s able to be considered in cash, though you can likely get just as safe as him with a higher ceiling elsewhere.

RBs
Marshawn Lynch and Jalen Richard: It was a great start for Lynch and the run-game last week when he literally dragged multiple defenders into the end zone. It was all downhill after that, as the Raiders fell far behind and Carr actually targeted Richard a team-high 11 times in that game. It should be a much closer game this week, but the Broncos front-seven if stiff against the run, allowing just 3.46 yards per carry since the start of last year. They only allowed eight rushing touchdowns to running backs last year, though Lynch did account for one of them. In the two games, he totaled 35 carries which netted just 79 yards. While you never want to count out Beast Mode, he’s going to have to score to crack the top-24 this week. He’s just an RB3 against the Broncos. I’m not sure if Richard is that much involved or if it had to do with DeAndre Washington being inactive, or maybe it was just because of the blowout. He’s someone who’s worth a speculative add in deeper leagues, but I wouldn’t want to start him just yet.

Royce Freeman, Phillip Lindsay, and Devontae Booker: Surprise, surprise… while everyone was worried about how much Booker would touch the ball, Lindsay is the one you should’ve worried about. He played 26 snaps, while Freeman played 29, and Booker 19. It’s safe to say they’re trying to figure things out, but my best guess would be that Freeman handles most 1-2 down work while Lindsay mixes in at times and handles most of the third-down work, capping Freeman’s potential upside in the long-run because Lindsay is a great timeshare running back. Against the Raiders, they should be able to generate plenty of touches as the game will be close, at the very least. Their front-seven contains five new members, so it’s reasonable to expect some mistakes out of them. With the Broncos offensive line looking rock-solid, Freeman can be played as a low-end RB2, while Lindsay is in the RB4 conversation, though I admit I may be too low on him. The fact that he had 15 carries last week may have been more of a surprise to the Seahawks defense than anything, though the 74 snaps they had on offense helped.

WRs
Amari Cooper: Here we go again. Prior to the season, I mentioned a stat on Cooper that he saw seven or more targets just six times all season. It was always going to be hard to produce with that little of volume, though Gruden should help because he’s called Cooper the focal point. So what do we get? Three targets? It’s gotten to the point that I cannot confidently play Cooper as anything more than a risky WR3 despite him being as talented as a top-10 receiver. Targets matter. This week he’ll see a mixture of Bradley Roby, Adam Jones, and Chris Harris Jr. in coverage, which won’t help matters. They have allowed 20 passing touchdowns over their last 10 games, but can Carr throw touchdowns on a consistent basis? He’s thrown one or less in 11 of his last 16 games, which doesn’t make for great odds. Cooper is just a WR4-type option until we see Gruden back up his words that he’s going to feature him. He does make for a great tournament option who’ll be under-owned, though.

Jordy Nelson: He led the wide receivers with four targets last week, so that’s something, right? Not really. He played the slot on just 35 percent of his snaps, which hurts because Nelson can’t separate on the perimeter at his advanced age. The matchup this week is simply too tough to even consider him, as the combination of Bradley Roby and Adam Jones can hang with him. We’re not in Green Bay anymore.

Emmanuel Sanders: The Broncos No. 1 wide receiver for the rest of the year. He’s someone who moved up my boards quickly when we saw the connection between him and Keenum in the preseason and it continued into the regular season. Now he’ll match-up with soon-to-be 34-year-old Leon Hall in the slot, who has jumped from team-to-team recently. While he used to be a respectable cornerback, he’s now just a guy. Over the last four years, he’s allowed at least a 95.9 QB Rating when targeted in coverage. There’s no reason to shy away from Sanders now. In fact, double-down and play him in your cash and tournament lineups this week. He’s a high-end WR2 this week.

Demaryius Thomas: He’s now fallen down the totem pole and he’s got the rookie Courtland Sutton playing nearly every snap. It doesn’t help that Thomas dropped two passes last week, but he also made some solid plays, like when he scored his touchdown last week with amazing body control on the sideline. His matchup this week may be one of the underrated ones, as he’ll match-up with second-year cornerback Gareon Conley on the majority of snaps, who has 149 career snaps to his name. The veteran Thomas should know how to take full advantage of him en route to a WR2/3-type day. If Sanders hadn’t dominated the targets like he has with Keenum, Thomas would be one of my favorite plays this week. He’s still a great play in both cash and tournament lineups, though I probably like him more in cash.

Courtland Sutton: It wasn’t a massive debut for Sutton like some had hoped, but there was a good takeaway. He played 44 snaps, which was just 9 snaps behind Demaryius Thomas, so he’s essentially a full-time player. He’s going to see Rashaan Melvin in coverage this week the majority of time and that’s not great. Melvin came on in relief for the Colts last year and played really well, allowing just a 52.7 percent catch rate and 11.3 yards per reception while being asked to cover big-name wide receivers. He’s also 6-foot-2 and 196 pounds, so he’s not going to be pushed around. Sutton is just a touchdown-dependent WR5 this week, though things will get better.

TEs
Jared Cook: Here we go again… haven’t we seen this show before? Cook makes us believe he’s something he’s not, and then returns to normal before long. In 122 career games, Cook has posted TE1 numbers just 25 times. He’s posted fewer than 7.0 PPR points 67 times. He’s a streamer who had a good week, not an every-week player. With that, the Broncos have really struggled with tight ends over their last 16 games, allowing 1,122 yards (the most in the NFL) and 10 touchdowns to them. It was Will Dissly giving it to them last week, as he racked up 105 yards and a touchdown, killing my Nick Vannett shares (picked Vannett as the streamer). Cook is a TE1 this week in a great matchup, but I urge you to sell him after this game and maximize your return.

Jeff Heuerman and Jake Butt: It seems that we correctly predicted that Heuerman would lead the tight end group in Denver, though the snap difference between him and Butt doesn’t tell the whole story. While Heuerman edged Butt in snaps 60-36, the routes they ran were much closer, as it was 26-18 Heuerman. Butt also saw three times as many targets, so it’s something we have to pay attention to this week. The Raiders allowed the most yardage in the NFL to tight ends last year, though they only allowed five touchdowns to them. It’s not a week where they need to be utilized, so let’s let another week go by before he plant our flags on one of them, though Butt is the better player.

New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars

Total: 45.0
Line: NE by 2.0

QBs
Tom Brady: It was a really good game for Brady last week when you consider the opponent and lack of weapons he has, though Rob Gronkowski is an animal who made some tremendous plays. The gameplan was solid, as he was pressured on just 17 percent of his dropbacks, which was one of the lowest totals in the league. The Jaguars are going to bring the pressure to him this week, which should lead to a similar gameplan, though he’s not going to have Phillip Dorsett catch 7-of-7 targets this week. The Jaguars have allowed just three of their last 17 regular season opposing quarterbacks to score more than 15 fantasy points, and two of those three needed their rushing totals to get there, something Brady won’t have. It’s difficult to recommend him as anything more than a low-end QB1 this week. Because of that, I wouldn’t have any stock in DFS.

Blake Bortles: The miserable play continued from Bortles against the Giants in Week 1, completing just 18-of-33 attempts for 176 yards (5.3 YPA), one touchdown and one interception. His touchdown “pass” was a rollout to T.J. Yeldon. He’s struggling right now which makes him impossible to trust, especially given he’s likely without Leonard Fournette this week. The Patriots can essentially do what they want on defense, and they looked solid against the Texans last week, racking up three sacks, an interception, and a fumble. There’s not an alpha receiver that Bortles has to throw to when he gets in trouble, which is a recipe for disaster with him. Because of that, he’s just a low-end QB2 who could post better numbers if Tom Brady and the Patriots get out to an early lead, though against the Jaguars defense on the road, it’s unlikely.

RBs
Rex Burkhead, James White, and Sony Michel: Similar to last week, the gameplan against the Jaguars should be to get the ball out quickly. How can they make that happen? Not to Chris Hogan and Phillip Dorsett who’ll be draped in coverage by Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. Nope, the running backs will play out of the slot and rack up targets as they did against the Texans. Brady targeted the running backs/fullbacks 17 times in Week 1 and it should be something similar in Week 2, making White a great play once again, especially in PPR formats where I’d play him as a high-end RB3. Burkhead was the workhorse with Michel sidelined, and now Jeremy Hill is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Jaguars run defense is arguably the worst part of their defense, though it’s not bad by any means. Burkhead can be considered a high-floor RB3, who may have a tough time finding holes on the ground. The touchdown upside is there for Burkhead and Michel, making them solid tournament plays, though this game is likely lower scoring than most think.

T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant: As of now, I’m not expecting Leonard Fournette to play in this game, which is why you don’t see him here. A hamstring strain can easily be reaggravated and it’s a long season. Yeldon is more than capable, as he proved last week. They Jaguars used him in a feature-back role, as Grant played just six snaps in the game. While that number should rise, it’s clear that Yeldon is the guy. The Patriots allowed the third-most receiving yards to running backs last year. An insane stat I found is that Yeldon has totaled five or more targets in 12 of his last 26 games, including four games which netted eight or more targets. Keep in mind that those games were with Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Marqise Lee on the roster. Yeldon should be considered a rock-solid RB2 if Fournette sits this week and someone I’d be willing to use in cash lineups, particularly DraftKings because of the full-point PPR. If last week was any indication, the Jaguars don’t want Grant significantly involved.

WRs
Chris Hogan: After a weak opener, Hogan has what looks to be another dud in Week 2. The lack of usage in Week 1 was disappointing for sure, though we don’t want to overreact to one game. If you don’t own Hogan, trade for him after this game. The Jaguars duo of Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye is the best in the NFL and it’s not all that close. In the playoff matchup between these two teams last year, Hogan totaled just two catches for 20 yards, though he was at less than 100 percent. Bottom line, though, if you have another solid option, you can bench Hogan this week, as he’ll be a touchdown-dependent WR3/4-type option. He would be an interesting tournament option, though, as he did run 50 percent of his routes out of the slot, where he’d meet D.J. Hayden. While he’s not terrible, he’s not Ramsey or Bouye.

Phillip Dorsett: After catching 7-of-7 targets in the opener, Dorsett is now likely heavily owned, though he’ll find his way back to the waiver wire after this game. The matchup against A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey is too much for the fourth-year receiver, who has a career-high of 94 yards despite playing with Andrew Luck and Tom Brady. There will be other weeks where we’ll look at him, but this one isn’t it.

Keelan Cole: It was a tougher matchup in Week 1 than most thought, as Cole was going to see a lot of Janoris Jenkins, though it was impossible to know if he would shadow. It’s going to be another tough matchup for Cole this week, as he’s likely to see Stephon Gilmore in coverage, the cornerback who shut down Deandre Hopkins last week (though Deshaun Watson kind of shut down Hopkins, too). Gilmore has been really good for the Patriots, allowing just 52-of-88 targets to be completed in his coverage, with just three touchdowns. Knowing that Bortles is struggling, it’s hard to say Cole is more than a WR4 this week, though he comes with a higher target-floor than most in his range.

Dede Westbrook: Most will look at Westbrook’s team-high of six targets and think there’s production to be had, but you should also know that he played just 31 snaps, while Cole played 47 and Moncrief 43. He’s clearly the No. 3, though it helps that Moncrief isn’t very good at gaining separation. This week will probably be one where they’ll use more 3WR sets than usual, and Westbrook should benefit from that as well as the matchup. He’ll see a combination of Jonathan Jones and Patrick Chung in the slot, which is much less daunting than Stephon Gilmore and Eric Rowe on the perimeter. Allen Hurns played the slot in their playoff game last year and totaled 6/80/0. Westbrook is the type who can break a big play, though he really hasn’t yet in the NFL. If there’s a matchup where you’d like to take a shot on the No. 3 wide receiver, this might be it. Consider him an upside WR4/5 option who could blow his projection out of the water, making for a decent tournament play.

Donte Moncrief: He had more targets than Cole in Week 1, though that likely had to do with the matchups. This week isn’t much better for Cole as he’ll match-up with Stephon Gilmore, though Moncrief’s matchup isn’t very good, either. The Patriots 2015 second-round pick Eric Rowe will be on him the majority of the game, and knowing that he’s allowed just seven touchdowns on 178 career targets in coverage shouldn’t make you excited, seeing as Moncrief isn’t a yardage guy. He belongs on waiver wires until Bortles starts throwing multiple touchdowns a game.

TEs
Rob Gronkowski: What else can we say about Gronkowski that hasn’t already been said? He’s the best tight end of all-time, though Jalen Ramsey says he’s overrated. He totaled just one catch for 21 yards against them in the playoff matchup, but the Patriots won that game if I’m not mistaken. Fortunately for Gronkowski owners, he’s going to be needed to win this game. The downside is that the Jaguars have been dominant against tight ends, allowing just 664 yards to them over their last 17 games (39.1 per game). Gronkowski isn’t just any tight end and should be able to play well against Barry Church when targeted. Church has fit in well with the Jaguars, but in terms of raw skill-set, there’s much better players in the league. Fun fact: no tight end has seen more than seven targets against them since the start of 2017. I believe that ends with Gronkowski. He’s not set-up in a position to absolutely smash this week, but he’s still my TE1 and usable in both cash and tournaments if you can find the space for his salary.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins: After being forced to miss some practice time last week, Seferian-Jenkins played 55-of-63 snaps, so I think he’s fine. He’ll be asked to do a lot more than his three catches for 25 yards in this game, as the Patriots weakness against tight ends is real. While Ryan Griffin finished with nothing against them last week, if you watched that game, he was wide open on a post route, but Deshaun Watson threw it five yards over his head and two yards behind him. The Patriots allowed eight TE1 performances last year and knowing that Fournette is likely out, the Jaguars may be more willing to throw the ball on the goal-line. He’s an interesting streamer who I may throw in a few tournament lineups.

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

Total: 43.5
Line: DAL by 3.0

QBs
Eli Manning: It wasn’t ever going to be the prettiest game against the Jaguars, but Manning didn’t completely implode or anything. This week it should be a lot easier for him to find his targets, as the Cowboys don’t have anywhere near the talent of the Jaguars on their defense. There will be a lot of people who look at last year’s meeting between the two as a reason to fade Manning but remember that he was without Odell Beckham. The last time he visited the Cowboys with Beckham, he threw for 207 yards and three touchdowns. This is also a brand-new offense that the Cowboys haven’t gone up against with all of Beckham, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, and Saquon Barkley in the lineup. Their cornerback/safety unit is extremely young and has no answer for Beckham the way the Jaguars had Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. They’ve now allowed 10 of the last 17 quarterbacks they’ve played against to throw for at least two touchdowns. Manning’s not someone you want to use in cash games considering how streaky he is as a quarterback, but he’s an interesting tournament play in his first plus matchup under Pat Shurmur. As for season-long leagues, I’d consider him a middling QB2 who comes with just too much risk to justify in 1QB leagues.

Dak Prescott: So much for those Ezekiel Elliott game splits, eh? It feels like the 2018 version of Mitch Trubisky, as Prescott has absolutely nobody to throw to. While watching parts of that game, it honestly looked like he was playing in the final preseason game with some pass-catchers who were just trying to make the roster. The Giants looked much better on defense last week, though the Jaguars and Blake Bortles will often do that. Still, they were a team who gave up on their coach last year, but appear ready to rebound in 2018. Their secondary is equipped to handle Prescott’s “weapons” in the passing-game, which makes it tough to find the opportunity to play him as anything more than a tournament hopeful who scores two touchdowns with his legs. Prescott isn’t a preferred streaming option until we can see his wide receivers gain separation. He’s just a mediocre QB2 option this week.

RBs
Saquon Barkley: After being bottled up for much of the game, Barkley turned on highlight reels with his 68-yard scamper that was one of the most impressive touchdown runs I’ve seen. In fact, there were a few plays in that game that made me rewind and say “wow.” Going from the Jaguars to the Cowboys is nice, but the Cowboys may be better than most give them credit for, when at full-strength. With linebacker Sean Lee on the field, they allowed just 3.52 yards per carry last year, while they allowed 4.88 yards per carry without him. He’s healthy now, but he also didn’t look like the same player in Week 1, missing two tackles and finishing with just four tackles in the game. He can’t miss them against Barkley, because it’ll be off to the races. You’ll most definitely have maddening weeks with Barkley when he doesn’t break a long run, but he’s going to more often than not. Manning should also have a better view to find him in the passing-game this weekend. He’s an RB1 and one that should always be in-play for tournament lineups. You likely don’t need to play him in cash, though I wouldn’t fault you if you did.

Ezekiel Elliott: Welcome to the team of nothing else, Mr. Elliott. I’ve been saying all offseason that it’s going to be relatively easy for defensive coordinators to walk into a matchup with the Cowboys and say, “we’re going to stop Elliott, and if they beat us in some other way, so be it.” Elliot had a very respectable line in Week 1 with 15/69/1, but without the touchdown, he’s toast. The Cowboys offensive line did well run-blocking for Elliott, though the loss of Travis Fredrick did impact the overall performance. The Giants were getting gashed by Leonard Fournette before he left the game, which could very well be the addition of three new players on the front-seven of their defense. I don’t think one week solves that, meaning Elliott should be able to put some good runs together. He’s the lone playmaker who is getting playing time, so if they score, he’s got to be involved 80 percent of the time. Play him as an RB1, but don’t expect a three-touchdown game or anything.

WRs
Odell Beckham Jr: After mixing it up with Jalen Ramsey last week, Beckham will have a much easier time in Week 2 against second-year cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. In their Week 1 matchup, Awuzie allowed all four balls thrown his way to be caught, and keep in mind it was the Panthers pass-catchers. Under Shurmur, it’s obvious that Beckham will be the focal point, as even in the worst matchup of the year, he totaled 15 targets which turned into 11/111/0. And to be fair, there could’ve been another 20-plus yards and a touchdown that Manning overthrew him on. You don’t need to overthink this one – Beckham is a WR1 and one that is playable in all formats.

Sterling Shepard: While Pat Shurmur talked about moving players around a bit more, it was reassuring to see Shepard play 69.4 percent of his snaps out of the slot. It was a tough matchup against the Jaguars, but Shepard was still at least respectable with five catches for 48 yards. There’ll be better days, though. The Cowboys have Anthony Brown covering the slot this year, as he was a failed perimeter cornerback over the last two years, allowing 12 touchdowns on 150 targets in his coverage, as well as a 63 percent catch-rate, which is ultra-high for a perimeter cornerback. Now covering the slot, it should be easier, but Shepard is no easy task. If you’re looking for a contrarian play to Beckham in DFS tournaments, Shepard is your guy. He should be on the WR3/4 radar in what’s a great matchup.

Allen Hurns: Playing in the No. 1 wide receiver role was supposed to net more than three targets, no? The worst part was that it wasn’t even a terrible matchup against the Panthers, but he was out-targeted by both Deonte Thompson and Cole Beasley. In fact, even Geoff Swaim had more targets than Hurns. It’s impossible to trust him as anything more than a WR5 this week against the Giants, as he’s likely to see Janoris Jenkins in coverage, who held Keelan Cole to just three catches for 54 yards last week. With Cole Beasley on the roster, it keeps Hurns out of the slot, which is going to hurt a lot. He ran just three routes out of the slot last week, so don’t think I’m overexaggerating. Outside of a deep-ball that he could haul in, Hurns is a bad play until we see some sort of chemistry with Prescott.

Deonte Thompson/Michael Gallup: These two are essentially competing for the same job, as is Terrance Williams. The routes run for each of them went like this: Thompson 19, Gallup 17, Williams 11. Knowing that Gallup was expected to come off the bench, I’m not mad about his snap count, as I expect it to continue rising. The issue is that Thompson saw five targets to Gallup’s one. Not getting reps with the starters is likely to hurt Gallup over the start of the season, but I wouldn’t drop him off your roster. It’s tough to recommend either of them with the Cowboys offensive line missing Travis Fredrick, as their pass-blocking suffered more than the run-blocking. I’d still rather play Gallup of the two in tournaments, but that’s not saying much.

Cole Beasley: Who would’ve thought that Beasley would lead the team in targets? Oh, that’s right, we did. We talked about what Beasley did without Dez Bryant in the lineup back in 2016 and it just continued in Week 1 when he tallied seven catches for 73 yards on eight targets. The Giants have B.W. Webb covering the slot, which is great news for Beasley, as Webb has allowed a 116.2 QB Rating when targeted over the course of his career. He’s a bigger slot cornerback at 5-foot-11 and may have issues keeping up with the shifty Beasley, who happens to have rapport with Prescott. Once again, Beasley is likely to deliver at least five catches for 50 yards, making him a WR4 in fantasy leagues and oddly playable in primetime cash lineups.

TEs
Evan Engram: If you missed last week’s primer, you may not know that Engram has really lacked production when he doesn’t see high volume. There’s now been five games where he’s seen six or less targets, and in those games, he averages just under 17 yards per game and has failed to score in any of them. Obviously, that’s not ideal considering the rest of the pass-catchers are healthy. The Cowboys had the same linebacker unit last year (even added Leighton Vander Esch in the first-round, though he’s not starting) and held Engram to 4/54/0 and 4/44/0 in their two meetings, though it was a different offensive scheme. Knowing the lack of talent at tight end in fantasy football, you have to trot Engram out there as a TE1, but he needs to start producing on fewer targets. He’s not on my radar for cash games, but his athleticism/talent/mismatch ability should give him tournament viability any week.

Geoff Swaim: We knew it would be a timeshare at the Cowboys tight end position, though we got some clarity in Week 1, as Swaim played 58-of-64 snaps (including 36 pass routes), while Blake Jarwin played just 22 snaps (running 14 routes), and rookie Dalton Schultz played just two snaps. Swaim also finished with four targets, hauling in three of them for 18 yards. It wasn’t a great fantasy day, but the snaps are promising for the former seventh-round pick. Against the Giants, who allowed a tight end touchdown in 11-of-16 games in 2017, he deserves some consideration, especially considering the lack of talent at wide receiver. It’s tough to say that he’s in the TE1 conversation, but he’s most definitely in the streaming TE2 one, and should make for an interesting play in the primetime slate while everyone else plays Evan Engram or Trey Burton.

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears

Total: 43.5
Line: CHI by 3.0

QBs
Russell Wilson: It’s a drag that Wilson has to play with the surrounding cast he does, because I happen to think he could be even better than people think. The fact that he threw three touchdowns against Denver with his offensive line while Doug Baldwin was out says something. His receivers are now Tyler Lockett, Brandon Marshall, and Jaron Brown, a less than stellar unit, though it would’ve looked better when Marshall was in his prime. Against the Bears, Wilson will be running for his life, as Khalil Mack and Roquan Smith should be full-time players this week (they weren’t last week). But here’s the thing – he was pressured on 45 percent of his snaps last week against the Broncos and did well. It’s impossible to sit Wilson when you drafted him in the top six rounds, so plug him in as a middling QB1 this week who needs to overcome a lot once again. The Seahawks total in this game is at just 20.2 points, meaning oddsmakers don’t expect them to score three touchdowns.

Mitch Trubisky: It was a great start to the Matt Nagy-led Bears on Sunday night, though Trubisky faltered and looked terrible in the second-half. It could be due to his lack of experience in those type of games, but he was stiff and it affected the touch on his throws (there was none late in the game). Against the Seahawks, who got Earl Thomas back from a holdout last week, he should be able to get back on track. Their starting cornerbacks are questionable at best, and they play sides, which means the Bears can pick the area of the field they want to attack. Trubisky also flashed his rushing ability on a few plays last week, which should salvage his floor when he’s not throwing the ball as well as he’d like. The Seahawks forced Case Keenum into three interceptions last week. You should wait to see Trubisky put a full game together before trusting him in 1QB leagues, though I believe his floor is sturdy enough to be a QB2 this week.

RBs
Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny: It was somewhat shocking to see the Seahawks backfield be split as much as it was in Week 1, as Carson had 26 snaps, while Penny played 25 snaps. Penny actually wound-up with one more touch, but Carson was much more efficient. This backfield is going to be a headache, but watching the game again, Carson needs to be the leader of the timeshare. The Bears are not an easy defense to run on, however, as they didn’t allow a single 100-yard rusher until Week 17 of last year. With Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, Danny Trevathan, and now Roquan Smith up the middle of the field, it won’t get much easier. If Carson were locked into 15-plus touches, I’d still play him because he’s explosive, but it’s risky playing him and expecting anything more than RB3-type numbers this week. I do believe he’s the tournament-play, because if Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer saw what I did, they know he deserves more play. Penny is a desperation RB4 who seems to be the one preferred in the passing-game.

Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen: It started out as looking like more of a timeshare than it was in the end, as Cohen was getting the ball early and often. In the end, though, Howard out-snapped him 50-28 and totaled 20 touches to Cohen’s eight. In fact, five of Howard’s touches were receptions and he looked really good in the process, which is something he’s never done very well. The Seahawks are coming off a game where they allowed 146 yards on 32 carries, though they didn’t allow a touchdown on them. All in all, the Broncos trio scored 28.8 PPR points, a number that’s attainable for the Bears running backs, who are home favorites. After last week’s debacle, you can expect Nagy to do anything to win this game, and that starts with the backs. I’d feel confident in Howard as a low-end RB1, while Cohen can be played as a RB3/flex option, especially in PPR formats.

WRs
Tyler Lockett: Once Doug Baldwin went down, Lockett stepped-up and posted 59 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos, though he totaled almost all of it on one play, a 51-yard touchdown. He played a lot of slot snaps in that game, which is where he’ll likely play in 3WR sets, as both Marshall and Brown are the bigger perimeter targets. Though Marshall has experience and should be good there, he only ran one of his 27 routes from the slot last week. That means Lockett will see a lot of Bryce Callahan, who is better than most think, despite the touchdown that most think he allowed against the Packers. It was Eddie Jackson who blew the coverage on that play, not Callahan. Still, he’s the most familiar with Wilson, which says something. Lockett can be played as a WR3 this week, though his matchup isn’t as easy as most think.

Brandon Marshall: After fighting to make the roster, Marshall is now a starting receiver for the depleted Seahawks. He’ll be going against his former team this week and lining up across from both Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara, two cornerbacks who allowed touchdowns to the Packers last week. Fuller’s was extremely contested, while Amukamara’s was Davante Adams making him look stupid. Marshall is still a monster after the catch and hard to bring down, though he’s not separating like he did earlier in his career. He’s likely going to turn into the Jimmy Graham of this offense, though, which has plenty of appeal in fantasy. Put Marshall into lineups as a WR3 who should get scoring opportunities, though his floor may be lower than most in that range.

Jaron Brown: With Doug Baldwin out of the lineup, Brown will become somewhat of a full-time player for the Seahawks, though it doesn’t say much about him that Marshall rose above him on the depth chart. Still, we need to pay attention, as Wilson needs to replace the 28 touchdowns that he no longer has playing with him (Baldwin, Graham, Richardson, Willson). Brown is 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, so he’s not small by any means. I don’t know if he’s better than Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara, the cornerbacks he’ll see this weekend, but he might not need to be with Wilson as his quarterback. Consider Brown a punt-play WR5 who could pay off in tournaments.

Allen Robinson: After racking up 61 yards in the first-half, Robinson appeared to be on his way to a big game against the Packers, though Trubisky turned bad in the second-half and couldn’t hit Robinson. We expect some cobwebs, but it’s good to see Robinson get seven targets, while no other Bears wide receiver saw more than five. Robinson will see a mixture of Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers in coverage, though considering their alignment last week, he’ll see more of Flowers. He’s a converted safety who just had his first start at cornerback last week, where he struggled mightily, allowing 124 yards and a touchdown on nine targets in his coverage. Griffin allowed a touchdown himself, but we at least saw him play at a high-level last year. Expect the Bears to attack Flowers this week, with Robinson making the most sense. He should be able to post WR3 numbers at minimum, with upside for top-12 numbers this week.

Anthony Miller: It was a debut to forget for Miller who caught just two passes for 14 yards. He wasn’t utilized in a matchup I felt he could have been, but we have to watch what the Bears are doing and see if there’s trends. As of now, he’s clearly behind Robinson, Burton, and maybe even Howard/Cohen in the pecking order, making him difficult to start with nothing to go off. He’s going to match-up with Justin Coleman this week, the 2015 undrafted free agent who’s played admirably, though he’s never been a full-time player. Bottom line here is that we cannot trust Miller until we see a connection between him and Trubisky, as well as a change in the play-calling, as three targets won’t get it done.

Taylor Gabriel: This would’ve looked like a promising matchup a few weeks ago when Earl Thomas was a holdout, but he’s back now and he already intercepted a pass last week. Gabriel is going to see a lot of Shaquill Griffin, and when he doesn’t, he’s likely to have Thomas hanging out over the top of Tre Flowers. It appears that Gabriel will have a role similar to the one he had in Atlanta, so he’ll have big weeks here and there, though they’ll be unpredictable. With Thomas back, I’m betting against that this week, making him a boom/bust WR5.

TEs
Nick Vannett and Will Dissly: I cannot tell you how disappointed I was last week when Dissly totaled 105 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos. We knew the matchup was good, which was why Vannett seemed like a great streaming play. Now you have fantasy owners going to their waiver wire to snag Dissly. Guys, listen up. The snap count: 35-33 Vannett. The routes run: 23-20 Vannett. They drafted Dissly to be an extra offensive lineman, as he’s not going to be the next Jimmy Graham. Vannett actually ran 11 routes from the slot, which should be good for his fantasy production in the long run. The Bears will have Adrian Amos in coverage the majority of time, which isn’t a good thing, as Amos has been one of the better safeties in the league. He’s a big part of the reason that the Bears allowed just 708 yards and four touchdowns the entire year to opposing tight ends. It’s best to sit this one out and play the wait-and-see game, though my guess would be that Vannett is still the tight end to own.

Trey Burton: There are actually fantasy owners considering dropping Burton after one week. Guys, R-E-L-A-X. He saw six targets against the Packers, and even though he only caught one for 15 yards, the targets are what matter most here. Trust me, I’ve talked about it this offseason more than I’ve cared to. The Seahawks are likely to be without linebacker K.J. Wright once again, though Bradley McDougald played extremely well last week against the Broncos, making a diving interception that was on highlight reels (had two interceptions in the game). He’s played sparingly over the last few seasons when Kam Chancellor had to miss time, so seeing him play like that in a full-time role was impressive. It’s not the best matchup for Burton to go-off, but he’s still going to be targeted enough to generate a TE1 projection. I wouldn’t run away from him this week.

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals

Total: 44.0
Line: BAL by 1.5

QBs
Joe Flacco: A week after dissecting the Bills defense, Flacco will play a Bengals defense who’ll be without Vontaze Burfict once again. They did just allow Andrew Luck to throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.6 percent of his passes, though safety Shawn Williams was ejected early in the contest. If you’re planning on being sly and playing Flacco in a tournament lineup, don’t. He’s played the Bengals 19 times in his career against Marvin Lewis’ defense and has totaled 19 touchdowns with 23 interceptions, including at least one interception in each of their last nine meetings. The receivers are the best he’s had in a while, but you shouldn’t expect more than a QB2 performance in what should be a low-scoring affair.

Andy Dalton: It wasn’t a great showing by Dalton in Week 1 against an inexperienced Colts team, but it did help that Joe Mixon proved that defenses need to account for him in the passing-game. The Ravens are not a defense to target in fantasy, whether they have Jimmy Smith or not (who’s suspended for this game), as they’ve actually held 14 of their last 17 opponents to 244 passing yards or less. There’s also been just four games where a quarterback has thrown more than one touchdown. Dalton was one of those quarterbacks, though it was in Week 17 when it didn’t matter for fantasy. In their first meeting last year, Dalton totaled just 170 yards, no touchdowns, and four interceptions. While it won’t be that ugly, Dalton is not on the streaming radar this week.

RBs
Alex Collins and Javorious Allen: If you didn’t watch the game and only looked at the box score, you’d be wondering if Dixon is the starter. To answer your question… no. Collins was the clear-cut starter (and scored a touchdown early on), but fumbled in the second quarter, leading to him being benched. While he did return to the game for a few snaps later on, it was a mix of Allen and Dixon for the remainder of the game. On top of that, Dixon suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for multiple weeks. The Bengals run defense didn’t miss Vontaze Burfict much against the Colts last week, but they were playing against a Colts offensive line who was missing their starting left tackle, starting running back, and starting three new offensive lineman. It’s going to be a risk trusting Collins as anything more than a high-end RB3 with Dixon active, but knowing he’s out, Collins is in the must-start RB2 column. He’s locked into 15-plus touches and Burfict is out once again. The last time these two teams met, Collins posted 96 total yards and a touchdown. Allen isn’t the worst RB4 option in PPR leagues, as it figures to be a timeshare similar to last year, with Collins being the clear front-runner.

Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard: Prior to the season, I’d talked about Mixon’s workhorse role (in his player profile) prior to hurting his ankle last year. His workload was near 70 percent of the touches, which would have been among the top-six at the position. That continued to start 2018, as he totaled 22 touches to Bernard’s 2 touches. While I don’t see that split going forward, it’s clearly Mixon’s backfield. With that being said, the Ravens aren’t the Colts and it won’t be so easy. They allowed just 3.9 yards per carry with Brandon Williams on the field last year (4.21 without) and he’s healthy for this meeting. Three-down back LeSean McCoy was only able to muster up 21 total yards against them last week. Yes, his offensive line is bad, but Mixon’s is far from good. He should be considered just a low-end RB2/high-end RB3 this week who I’d keep out of my DFS lineups. As for Bernard, he’s likely to be used more in this game, but what does that even mean at this point? 5-8 touches? He’s just a bench stash at this point and not a very good one.

WRs
Michael Crabtree: If you missed Crabtree’s touchdown grab last week, go back and watch the highlight because it was impressive. The downside is that Crabtree clearly isn’t the only one who’ll see targets in this offense, as the distribution was pretty even among the wide receivers. He’s also got the toughest matchup on the field this week, as he’ll match-up with William Jackson, who is an up-and-coming shutdown cornerback. He did allow a touchdown to T.Y. Hilton last week, but Crabtree’s more of the prototypical receiver that the physical Jackson should be covering. He’s just a low-end WR3 this week and one you should fade in DFS.

John Brown: After scoring against a decent Bills secondary, Brown has a better matchup against the Bengals, as he’s going to see Dre Kirkpatrick the majority of time. The former first-rounder had a decent game against the Colts, but he didn’t see anyone with the speed of Brown in coverage, as William Jackson had him throughout the day. It’s not to say that Brown doesn’t see Jackson as well, but it shouldn’t worry you as much as you think, as he’s more of a physical corner who allowed a touchdown in coverage to T.Y. Hilton last week. Brown is a sneaky WR4 who could produce once again, though he’s going to need to see more than four targets in order to be considered for DFS cash games. As usual, Brown is a decent punt-play in tournaments.

Willie Snead: After not generating much steam throughout the offseason, Snead tied Crabtree for the team-lead with six targets. It’s hard to say if it had to do with the conservative play-calling after they jumped out to a mega-lead, as he played just 42/80 snaps. The Bengals have Darqueze Dennard covering the slot and while he was decent in coverage last year, he’s not someone you need to avoid in matchups. Still, it’s hard to imagine Flacco throwing for a whole bunch of yardage or touchdowns in this game, so starting his No. 3 receiver doesn’t sound all that appealing.

A.J. Green: After playing well in a road game (like we thought he would), Green returns to home to play against the Ravens stout pass defense that allowed just four 100-yard receivers all of last year. They also allowed a league-low six touchdowns to wide receivers, while no other team allowed less than eight. They’ll be missing Jimmy Smith, but having Brandon Carr and Marlon Humphrey isn’t a bad consolation prize. Green is always going to be in season-long lineups, but he’s more of a WR2 this week than the WR1 you drafted him as. I’d limit my tournament exposure to him and avoid him in cash-game lineups.

John Ross: Yes, he scored a touchdown in Week 1, but he still saw just two targets (both were end-zone targets). The benefit is that you were able to see that Ross isn’t a one-trick pony, as he scored a touchdown on a fade route. Just like Green, he’ll see a mixture of Brandon Carr and Marlon Humphrey in coverage. Carr is an older cornerback who can’t hang with Ross’ speed, so it’s possible they have the second-year cornerback Humphrey take him. Knowing that the Ravens have held 14 of the last 17 quarterbacks they’ve played to 244 yards or less, it’s not a week to take a flier on Ross as anything more than a WR5.

Tyler Boyd: In a very good matchup, Boyd saw just three targets despite the Bengals falling behind early. On top of that, he was matched-up with Kenny Moore, who is nothing to fear. The Ravens have Tavon Young covering the slot, who was last year’s fourth-round selection. He’s been competent, though he did allow five touchdowns on 83 targets in coverage last year. In two games against them last year, Boyd was Jekyll and Hyde, finishing with 1/11/0 in the first game, but 5/91/1 in their second meeting, though it was in Week 17 when nothing counted. With John Ross on the field, it’s hard to see Boyd being a fantasy contributor outside of a game here and there.

TEs
Nick Boyle: As expected, the Ravens used a three-way timeshare at tight end in the season opener. Boyle led them in snaps with 52 of them, though Maxx Williams wasn’t far behind with 44 of them, and rookie Mark Andrews played 24 himself. With the passing options that Flacco has, it’s going to be very difficult to trust any of them on a weekly basis. Even though the Bengals aren’t a very good defense against tight ends (especially without Vontaze Burfict), I can’t see a situation where you’d need to play Boyle.

Tyler Eifert: It was good to see Eifert on the field last week and he looked good while hauling in three catches for 44 yards, which including a 29-yard play where the Colts were too concerned with Joe Mixon and it led to Eifert being left unattended. This might happen more often than it should going forward, and the Ravens were a defense that allowed 6/53/2 to Tyler Kroft in their Week 17 matchup last year. Eifert is definitely on the streaming radar in Week 2 and someone who should be considered a low-end TE1/high-end TE2 in season-long leagues.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.