Sunday Fantasy Football Takeaways: Saints' Offense on Fire behind Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara; Josh Jacobs Leads Big Day for RBs
Discussing some fantasy football takeaways from week 2 NFL games on Sunday.
The Sunday slate of NFL games in week 2 was fantastic. It included some close games, upsets and plenty of big-time performances.
Let’s talk about some of the biggest fantasy football takeaways from the day.
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Saints’ Offense is on Fire
In week 1, the New Orleans Saints absolutely slaughtered the Carolina Panthers. The team kept things rolling in week 2 with a 44-19 drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys.
After scoring on nine straight drives in the opener, New Orleans scored the first six times it had the ball against Dallas.
Derek Carr only completed 11 of his 16 passes, but for 243 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a touchdown run. The only blemish was a pick in the third quarter.
Carr and the offense are hot right now, and they have another pretty favorable matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 3. Expect Carr and some of the offensive playmakers to be big-time waiver wire pickups this week, and then part of trending start/sit decisions before the game kicks off.
Running back Alvin Kamara nearly is up to 300 total yards, with five touchdowns through two weeks. He went for 115 rushing yards and three scores on 20 carries in week 2 - he added 65 receiving yards and a score on two catches and three targets.
Availability has been an issue for Kamara, but when he’s healthy, Kamara needs to be in your starting lineups.
Boom-or-bust wideout Rashid Shaheed was a boom again on Sunday. He made four catches on as many targets for 96 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown grab. He added 13 rushing yards on three carries.
Shaheed has been great through two weeks, and a pretty favorable matchup in week 3 should make him a good waiver wire target and starting option for week 3.
Chris Olave got rolling with 81 receiving yards on four grabs and six targets. He added a seven-yard run.
Olave struggled in week 1, but eased the minds of fantasy owners with a good showing in week 2. He can safely be started in all league types, especially in week 3.
You Don’t Need to Pass
In a league so dominated by quarterbacks and the passing game, running backs enjoyed a good week of action in week 2. Six players have recorded 20 or more rushing attempts this week, while seven RBs have 100 or more rushing yards.
Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs was an absolute workhorse and helped the Jordan Love-less Packers defeat the Indianapolis Colts. He rushed 32 times for 151 yards, but was kept out of the end zone. Jacobs lost a fumble going into the end zone, which was his lone blemish on a fantastic day.
Jacobs should remain a must-start RB until Love is back. Jacobs probably should continue to start with Love for the first game or two as well, as the Packers aren’t likely to put their franchise QB in harm's way.
Washington Commanders’ Brian Robinson Jr. rushed 17 times for 133 yards on Sunday. He added a three-yard catch on one of his three targets.
Robinson is owned in just about every fantasy league, but started in a little under 70% of them last week. That number should rise going into week 3.
J.K. Dobbins was great again in week 2, rushing for 131 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. He caught his lone target, but it didn’t go for any yards.
That’s now back-to-back 100+ yard rushing games to open the season for Dobbins. He also started in less than 70% of leagues this week, so that number should be higher going forward.
Arizona’s James Conner went for 122 rushing yards and a score on 21 carries in week 2. He added a two-yard reception on his lone target.
Conner has scored once per game so far, and is getting enough touches to trust as a starter in all league types. He has a stiff test against a stout Lions’ run defense in week 3, so we’ll see if he can keep things rolling.
Jonathan Taylor was a bright spot for the Colts’ offense on a down day on Sunday. He rushed 12 times for 103 yards and added 32 receiving yards on two catches and four targets.
Fantasy owners have to be thrilled with that kind of production, especially because his touch total was fairly low. Green Bay sucked the air out of the ball and dominated the time of possession, so a more normal game flow could lead to some more monster showings for Taylor if the line can keep blocking that well.
San Francisco’s Jordan Mason went for 100 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries on Sunday. He added a four-yard catch on his lone target.
Mason was a surprise start in week 1, and now looks like he’ll start for at least the next three weeks as Christian McCaffrey deals with an injury. San Fran doesn’t have a true backup RB that they trust right now, and that makes Mason a must start every week.
New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson had 23 touches on Sunday, going for 81 yards on the ground and nine through the air.
Stevenson got 28 touches in week 1, so this is starting to shape up to be a big season for the Pats’ No. 1 back. Antonio Gibson also was effective, gaining 103 total yards on 11 rushes and a catch, so both could be starting options against the right defenses.
The Buccaneers are Legit
Tampa Bay earned a big win on Sunday, downing the Lions in Detroit.
Baker Mayfield was solid again, throwing for 185 yards, a touchdown and a pick on 12-of-19 passing. He added 34 rushing yards and a score on five attempts to boost his fantasy total.
I think most expected a bigger passing day from Mayfield, but the rushing score still helped him be a solid fantasy performer this week. He has some more favorable matchups coming up, so expect Mayfield’s own and start percentages to keep rising.
Chris Godwin had another good showing, catching seven of eight targets for 117 yards and a touchdown. He’s got 200 yards and two scores through two weeks, while Mike Evans has just 103 yards, but two scores.
Both wideouts are good starting options in all league types right now.
What’s Wrong with the Ravens?
After a tough loss in week 1, many expected the Baltimore Ravens to come out angry in week 2. Instead, Baltimore blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead to the Las Vegas Raiders and are now 0-2.
Lamar Jackson performed fine, completing 21-of-34 passes for 247 yards, a touchdown and a pick, while adding 45 rushing yards on five carries. He remains a good starting fantasy option, regardless of how the team is doing record-wise.
Derrick Henry was also pretty good, rushing for 84 yards and a score on 18 attempts. He added a 12-yard reception and remains a weekly starter in fantasy.
Zay Flowers was also good. He caught seven of his 11 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. He’s been utilized a bunch so far and needs to be starting every week too.
What I’m trying to point out is that even though Baltimore is struggling to get wins, their fantasy studs can still help your team to wins. Continue to trust them until they give us a reason not to.
The Rams Might be Toast
Los Angeles lost several players to injury in week 1, with the biggest being Puka Nacua. The Rams were destroyed 41-10 by the Cardinals in week 2, and LA lost Cooper Kupp to an ankle injury.
There’s still some talented players on the Rams’ offense (Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams), but down Nacua and maybe Kupp now, and the fantasy options for the Rams are quickly dwindling. Not having the top two receivers could also hurt the fantasy stock for Williams and Stafford.
The Rams are set up to win now, and this season probably could not have started any worse for the team. If things don’t get turned around soon, I expect the Rams to start retooling their roster with some trades during the regular season, and then trying to build around Nacua and Williams (maybe?) for the future.
Los Angeles’ top fantasy players will be hard to trust without Nacua and Kupp around. We’ll address the situation in more detail once we know the long-term status of Kupp.
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