Last week had its fair share of injuries and disappointing performances. Many fantasy footballers are resorting to the waiver wire already. Our Fantasy Football Sleepers: Week 2 helps you identify players who are in a good position to have solid outings in the second slate of games.
Let’s take a look at some of those unheralded and under-the-radar starts that make solid fantasy football Sleepers: Week 2.
Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz (Washington Commanders) – Wentz is coming off a monster Week 1 in which he threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns. This week, his matchup may somehow get even better as he goes from the Jaguars to a Lions team who just had 38 points dropped on them by the Eagles. The weapons and the matchup are there for Wentz, he should be a viable option this week.
Davis Mills (Houston Texans) – In 2021, Mills was the best rookie quarterback in the league and he continued to show growth last week. He’s not a world-beater, but he posted 240 yards with two TDs and no picks. This week he gets the Broncos who just made Geno Smith look like an All-Pro and they lost star safety, Justin Simmons. There isn’t a ton of upside here, however, he could be a solid QB2 in SuperFlex leagues.
Running Backs
Rhamondre Stevenson (New England Patriots) – After a disastrous Week 1 from a usage standpoint, the fantasy world is down on Stevenson. He could pull a full 180 this week. When you watch the Patriots play he looks like the best playmaker on a team that desperately needs one. With Ty Montgomery now on IR, his 37% snap count and six opportunities are up for grabs. Stevenson is projected to now be the top pass-catching back in New England barring a surprise emergence of Pierre Strong who struggled all summer. Stevenson will gradually see an increased role and the first big jump should be this week.
Khalil Herbert (Chicago Bears) – Herbert saw nine carries last week compared to David Montgomery’s 17. Montgomery could only muster up 26 yards on 1.5 yards per carry. However, Herbert posted 45 yards at 5.0 yards per carry. It was with consistency as his longest carry was only 12 yards. When you watch these two backs run it’s clear who the more explosive rusher is. Even with limited touches, he has fantasy value and it’s hard to imagine his touches not consistently climbing moving forward.
Rex Burkhead (Houston Texans) – Despite Burkhead getting 14 carries to Dameon Pierce’s 11, seeing eight targets to Pierce’s one, and appearing to be the goal-line back, Pierce is consistently ranked higher and started over Pierce on most platforms. The fantasy world may not be happy about it, but Burkhead is clearly the RB1 in Houston right now. A smart owner will put their emotions aside and treat him as such until something changes.
Tyler Allgeier (Atlanta Falcons) – If Damien Williams is sidelined, and he’s yet to practice this week after getting knocked out early in Week 1, Allgeier becomes an interesting option. Before getting injured last week, Williams played the first 10 snaps of the game and saw two carries. This is the game plan the Falcons want to deploy. Unfortunately, Allgeier was inactive last week, but he should slide into the role this week. He is the deepest sleeper on this list. Nevertheless, he could be a tourney-winning type of DFS play.
Wide Receivers
Jahan Dotson (Washington Commanders) – For whatever reason, it appears to be lost on people that Dotson was a fairly high first-round pick this year. He was picked before Treylon Burks, but fantasy managers have never treated him like it. If any of the other top rookie wideouts had caught two TDs last week, fantasy owners would be going nuts. Just because he wasn’t talked up prior to the draft doesn’t mean he’s not as good or has less draft capital. It’s time to start showing him some respect and considering that he may be the real deal. He could light it up this week in a great matchup against the Lions.
Donovan Peoples-Jones (Cleveland Browns) – DPJ led all Browns with 11 targets in Week 1 and it wasn’t close. Amari Cooper finished second with six. There is a real chance that he’s Jacoby Brissett’s guy. The matchup this week lines up perfectly for him too. The Jets have one good player in their secondary and Sauce Gardner is likely to be locked on Cooper. Gardner isn’t good, he’s outstanding. This could lead to another high-target game against a team who doesn’t have the talent to stop him.
Devin Duvernay (Baltimore Ravens) – The assumption is Rashod Bateman is the clear-cut WR1 in Baltimore and nobody is close. However, that’s just a projection because he hasn’t done it yet. What if he’s not and Duvernay is right there with him? Bateman caught two of five targets for 59 yards and a TD while Duvernay caught all four of his targets for 54 yards and two TDs. The usage is nearly identical and Duvernay was more efficient. It could be a fluke, but maybe it’s not. Also, Bateman is expected to be shadowed by Xavien Howard while Miami is without their starting CB2. This matchup lines up well for Duvernay.
Kyle Phillips (Tennessee Titans) – Phillips was the rookie wideout talked up all summer in Tennessee, not Treylon Burks. Then he came out in Week 1 and Phillips led the team in targets, receptions, and yards. He may be the WR1 in Tennessee. Just because we didn’t see it coming doesn’t mean it isn’t so. He has a shot to be a major PPR contributor and everything we’ve seen and heard points to him being well ahead of Burks and Robert Woods.
Tight Ends
Taysom Hill (New Orleans Saints) – Hill isn’t a tight end, but he is tight end eligible. There are so many ways for him to score points that he shouldn’t be ignored. Every week we know he’s going to take a few snaps under center, get a few carries and maybe see a few targets. He’s also heavily involved in the red zone. He had a strong Week 1 with
four carries for 81 yards, one reception, and a rushing TD. This is one of the more intriguing options in fantasy football.
Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints) – Now on to the actual top tight end in New Orleans. Reports this week have stated that he has pulled away from the other Saints’ tight ends and his usage last week points to this being true. He had five targets that he turned into two receptions for 43 yards. He was the No. 3 option in the passing attack ahead of Chris Olave and well ahead of any tight end. If he’s on your waiver wire, Johnson could be worth a streaming look.
