Top Tier

Russell Wilson, SEA – For the sake of being too repetitive I will refrain from using the slogan that has been used when talking about Wilson all offseason and instead let everyone reading this know that in Week 1 Russell Wilson did in fact COOK! Against the Colts we saw Wilson throw for 254 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-16 win over the Colts. Wilson only attempted 23 passes in this one but connected on 78.3% of those throws.  In Week 2 he faces off against a Titans defense that just let Kyler Murray come into their home stadium and light them up for 289 yards and four touchdowns of his own. Wilson is going to be a favorite of among many looking to spend up this week.

Tom Brady, TB – I’m not using hyperbole when I say that Brady actually looks to be getting better after what we saw out of him in Week 1 of the NFL season as he completed 32-of-50 passes for 379 yards and four touchdowns against the Cowboys. Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, and Chris Godwin for those four scores. In Week 2 the Buccaneers are again at home and this time face off against a Falcons team that could not contain Jalen Hurts in Week 1 as he completed 77% of his passes for 264 yards and three scores…. This one is looking like it is going to get ugly.

Justin Herbert, LAC – In Week 1 Herbert went on the road and faced one of the leagues best defenses in the Washington Football Team and came out of it with 337 yards while completing 66% of his passes with one touchdown and one interception.  He connected with Keenan Allen on 9-of-13 attempts for 100 yards and Mike Williams added eight catches on 12 targets for 82 yards and a score. Austin Ekeler actually had zero targets in this game which was a shock to many given his receiving skills is considered his best skill. In Week 2 the Chargers are home and welcome in the Dallas Cowboys who were torched by the aforementioned Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 1 but also proved they too can score the football. If this one plays at the same pace, we could be looking at some high-end fantasy performances in this one.

Mid-Tier

Matthew Stafford, LAR – I think we may see Stafford as the highest rostered QB in DFS this week. We just saw him complete 20-of-26 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears in Week 1. The Rams now go and face a Colts team that allowed Russell Wilson to throw four touchdowns while completing 78% of his throws. Not just that, but the Rams receivers plus Stafford makes for one of the more affordable stacks as well, especially on DraftKings where Cooper Kupp is just $6,000 and Robert Woods is $5,700. 

Jameis Winston, NO – I don’t really know what to make of Winston and his Week 1 performance because the Packers were really THAT bad. That said, I won’t completely discredit the fact that he completed 14-of-20 passes for 148 yards and five touchdowns…yeah, five of his 14 completions went for a touchdown. That number will be hard to top, especially with the Saints receivers being a weak part of their offense right now. All that said, we know that Winston can throw the football and he can certainly throw for touchdowns. Stack him up with Kamara this week against the Panthers and I think you will be more than happy with the return on investment. 

Trevor Lawrence, JAX – Nobody saw the Texans blowing out the Jaguars the way they did in Week 1 but because Jacksonville played so poorly on defense it allowed for some garbage time production from Trevor Lawrence and he took full advantage as he finished with 332 yards and three touchdowns and three interceptions. Jacksonville has a pretty strong receiving group with Marvin Jones, D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault so if they are going to trail in a lot of games this season there will be plenty of chances for Lawrence to do what he just did. In Week 2 the Jaguars are at home and will face a Broncos team that just lost corner Ronald Darby to IR after suffering a Week 1 injury. It won’t be pretty, but Lawrence can get you there.

Value Tier

Joe Burrow, CIN – I will be honest, I am surprised to see Burrow so cheap, especially on DraftKings where he is under $6,000. In Week 1 against the Vikings he completed 20-of-27 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns as he connected with rookie Ja’Marr Chase and sophomore receiver Tee Higgins for the scores. This trio, along with Tyler Boyd, may make up the most underrated receiving core in the NFL. In Week 2 they go on the road to face a Bears defense that is not at all what it once was even if they still have Khalil Mack. We watched that secondary get lit up by Matthew Stafford and the Rams in Week 1 and they may be in for a repeat performance this week by Burrow and Co.

Teddy Bridgewater, DEN – He is an incredibly unsexy pick but in Week 1 he completed 28-of-36 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. The Broncos have a much easier matchup this week against a Jaguars team that let TyRod Taylor throw for almost 300 yards and two scores. The injury to Jerry Jeudy is certainly a tough loss but the Broncos still have Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler who are more than capable of being very productive receivers in this matchup. If you really wanna save some cash this could be a spot where Bridgewater has yet another ceiling game.

Mac Jones, NE – Here is the thing, Jones actually looked very sharp in his NFL debut against a tough Miami defense, completing 74-percent of his passes for 281 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots play calling has come into question this week after option to be more conservative with the play calling once the team started to drive towards the end zone. Ultimately New England lost the game on a fumble by Damien Harris despite the fact that Mac Jones had driven them down the field to that point. With the Jets weak defense on the horizon in Week 2, we may see Josh McDaniels let the kid throw a bit more and see exactly what they have in Jones if they put more of the offense on his shoulders.

Fade

Baker Mayfield, CLE – For some reason everyone wants Baker Mayfield to be a thing and I think we need to stop. This matchup against the Texans is going to be attractive but please just stay away. Instead play Nick Chubb who may have legitimate 200-yard rushing upside in this matchup against the Texans. Sure, we may see Odell Beckham Jr. back for this game and yes, Jarvis Landry is an appealing option in PPR formats but PLEASE just accept that Baker Mayfield is nothing more than an average quarterback that needs the absolute best game script to be successful and this one just doesn’t seem like it will be that.

Josh Allen, BUF – Allen did not look great in Week 1 as the Steelers defense showed up and had Allen under fire for most of the game. Coming off an MVP-esk level season in 2020, we saw Allen complete just 58.8% of his passes in Week 1. Buffalo now travels down to Miami to face yet another aggressive defense that has a very good secondary. This one is a fade for me.