The second NFL Sunday is in the books, so let’s take a moment to reflect on the good (Chiefs’ passing game – still), bad (Christian McCaffrey broke our hearts), and ugly (Miami Dolphins – still) from a fantasy football point of view. Take note that fantasy scores are listed in terms of half PPR scoring, and you can see the complete player results over at the nifty FantasyPros sortable results page. 

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Best of the Best

New England Patriots Defense: 37 FP
It’s rare to find a defense listed atop the fantasy results, but that’s exactly what happened in Week 2. The Patriots’ defense racked up 37 (!) fantasy points against the Miami Dolphins, which outpaced every position player from Sunday and Thursday. The Dolphins are a complete mess right now, and those who subscribe to the “streaming team defense” strategy should take notice. 

Patrick Mahomes (QB – KC): 31.6 FP
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as Mahomes had himself an impressive showing against a subpar Oakland defense. Tyreek Hill was sidelined, but that didn’t matter. Sammy Watkins only had 7.9 fantasy points (borderline bust), as Demarcus Robinson led the Chiefs with seven catches for 172 yards and two scores – more on him later. 

Dalvin Cook (RB – MIN): 26.6 FP
Fantasy King in the North? Cook turned in the fifth-highest fantasy score from the running back position last week. He’s king of that mountain in Week 2 after posting 191 total yards (154 rushing) with a touchdown. His fantasy output was boosted by a 75 yard run to paydirt, but it certainly looks like 2019 is Cook’s takeover season – health permitting. 

Julio Jones (WR – ATL): 25.1 FP
Jones got off to a slow start on Sunday Night Football but he came through with the game-winning touchdown on a beautifully executed 54-yard screen pass. QB Matt Ryan also found Jones from four-yards out in the early minutes of the third quarter. Julio ended up with a rewarding 5-102-2 line to post the second-best wide receiver performance of the week. 

Also: Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL), Dak Prescott (QB – DAL), Mark Andrews (TE – BAL), Aaron Jones (RB – GB), Chris Godwin (WR – TB).

Out of Nowhere

Demarcus Robinson (WR – KC): 32.2 FP
I just mentioned how Atlanta WR Jones had the second-best fantasy performance for a receiver this week. The top spot belongs to Demarcus Robinson, who benefitted from several insanely accurate deep passes from Mahomes. It will be difficult to assess Robinson’s fantasy baseline moving forward, but he retains extreme upside as long as Tyreek Hill is out and Mahomes is throwing him the ball. 

Emmanuel Sanders (WR – DEN): 23.3 FP
The previous write-up of Robinson is surprising, but it makes sense considering Kansas City’s offensive scheme. The 23.3 FP performance from Sanders is straight out of nowhere. The veteran receiver hauled in 11 of 13 targets for 95 yards and a score against a tough Chicago defense on Sunday. Denver QB Joe Flacco threw the ball 50 times in this game, and Sanders was clearly his favorite target. 

Raheem Mostert (RB – SF): 22.6 FP
San Francisco trounced Cincinnati by a score of 41-17, and several of the 49ers’ skill players got in on the action. RB Matt Breida ended up with 132 yards on 13 total touches, but Mostert found the end-zone with 151 total yards on 16 touches. We can probably attribute this performance to Cincinnati’s ineffective defense, as even Jeff Wilson scored a pair of touchdowns out of the 49ers’ backfield. 

Will Dissly (TE – SEA): 19.5 FP
You could look towards either tight end from this game, as Vance McDonald posted 19.3 FP himself. Dissly truly came out of nowhere to post the third-best performance for a tight end on the week. I’d like to think Dissly could step up in a Seattle passing game that likes to spread the ball around, but he’ll likely remain a touchdown-dependent fantasy commodity throughout the season. 

Also: Vance McDonald (TE -PIT), Nelson Agholor (WR – PHI), Deebo Samuel (WR – SF) 

Duds

Christian McCaffrey (RB – CAR): 6.3 FP
This is the most disappointing performance of the week. McCaffrey had the highest fantasy score in Week 1, and he was looking at another smash spot against Tampa Bay on Thursday Night Football. Give the Buccaneers credit, as they slowed down the all-purpose running back for 37 rushing yards (16 carries) with 2-16 receiving and no touchdowns. 

DeAndre Hopkins (WR – HOU): 6.5 FP
The Texans struggled against a tough Jacksonville secondary on Sunday. That leaves me even more appreciative of Kansas City’s offense, as Mahomes and Watkins were able to roast the Jaguars last week. 

Alvin Kamara (RB – NO): 6.5 FP
Drew Brees left this game early, and the entire Saints’ offense was out of sync after that. Kamara was 13-45 on the ground while being uncharacteristically quiet in the passing game with one catch for 15 yards. It’s clear that Kamara’s fantasy upside is somewhat tied to the health of Brees. 

David Johnson (RB – ARI): 7.9 FP
Okay, we didn’t expect too much from Johnson in a tough road test in Baltimore. However, let’s consider that he finished with 7.9 fantasy points even after recording a one-yard touchdown. Other than that, the Arizona RB had seven carries for 14 yards with one catch for no yardage. Season-long fantasy backers should be appreciative that his apparent left wrist injury doesn’t shouldn’t lead to missed time. 

Also: Mike Evans (WR – TB), Chris Carson (RB – SEA), T.J. Hockenson (TE – DET), O.J. Howard (TE – TB).

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Spencer Limbach is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Spencer, check out his archive and follow him @spencer_jl.