Team of the Week

 

QB: Patrick Mahomes

No Tyreek Hill, no problem. Mahomes finished as the QB1 for Week 2 thanks to four touchdowns passes in the second quarter, and the 443 yards were the second most in his career (behind the MNF shootout against the Rams last year). Fantasy owners that invested an early-round pick in the reigning NFL MVP should be thrilled, especially seeing as he has missed some throws but is still putting up monster numbers.

 

RB: Dalvin Cook

After turning 23 touches into 120 yards and two touchdowns in the opener, Cook followed it up with another 23 touches for 191 yards and a score, including a 75-yard touchdown run. It didn’t matter that Minnesota fell behind because Mike Zimmer clearly wants to run the ball regardless, so if Cook stays healthy and handles a similar workload all season, he may be the RB1 in 2019.

 

RB: Aaron Jones

It looked like Jones owners may have been in for a long day when Jamaal Williams scored on the opening drive, but with Green Bay playing ahead, they were able to finally feed the third-year back, who saw a career-high 27 touches for 150 yards and one touchdown. The performance coming against a stout Vikings defense should give fantasy owners confidence to keep Jones in lineups against a tough upcoming schedule.

 

WR: Demarcus Robinson

With the Raiders keying on Sammy Watkins, Robinson was able to shred them for a 6/172/2 line, including chunk plays of 44 yards (for a touchdown), 44 yards again, and 39 yards (for a touchdown). The Florida product isn’t suddenly the top waiver priority ahead of Week 3, but his game shows that you can’t go wrong betting on a guy catching passes from Patrick Mahomes as a desperation play.

 

WR: Julio Jones

The touchdown jokes about Julio should have never been a thing, but they definitely aren’t now after he scored twice against the Eagles and extended his scoring streak to an NFL-high six games dating back to last season. If Matt Ryan continues throwing it up for Jones in the end zone, he could reach new statistical heights in 2019.

 

TE: Will Dissly

Mark Andrews (8/112/1) deserves consideration, but the nod goes to Dissly after he scored twice in a tougher matchup. The second-year tight end has shown excellent chemistry with Russell Wilson to start his career (four touchdowns in just six games), so the red zone production puts him on the fantasy radar in all leagues, particularly once bye weeks begin kicking in.

 

FLEX: Emmanuel Sanders

Another guy that produced in a difficult matchup, Sanders caught 11 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown, and he would have had the game-winning touchdown/two-point conversion on back-to-back plays if not for a last-second field goal by the Bears. It’s remarkable that the veteran has looked as good as ever coming off a torn Achilles in his age-32 season.

 

D/ST: Patriots

The Dolphins look like a team to stream D/ST options against all season, and New England was an extreme case because they are arguably the best unit in the league. A suffocating performance on the backend led to just 89 passing yards and three interceptions by Ryan Fitzpatrick—with two of the turnovers resulting in touchdowns by Stephon Gilmore (54 yards) and Jamie Collins (69 yards) in the fourth quarter.

 

K: Eddy Pineiro

It felt like the kicking game may have been an issue for Chicago entering the year, but Pineiro has made sure that’s not the case by hitting all four attempts so far—including the game-winning, 53-yarder on Sunday to cap off a perfect, three-for-three day. Fantasy owners can probably start Pineiro with confidence because his real-life confidence should be through the roof.

 

Surprise of the Week: Kyler Murray

Murray didn’t have a standout fantasy performance in Week 2 because he didn’t find the end zone, but the No. 1 overall pick played excellent with 349 yards through the air against one of the stingiest secondary groups in the league. Investors should be doubly encouraged that Murray did it in his first road start, and he’s shown a stable fantasy floor despite just 17 rushing yards through two weeks.

 

Disappointment of the Week: Alvin Kamara

The circumstances didn’t help with Drew Brees (thumb) leaving the game, but Kamara looked set up for a home-run spot against a Rams team that he usually shreds, and he was limited to just 14 touches for 60 scoreless yards. Maybe Sean Payton will now feed Kamara to make up for the loss of his quarterback, but Brees not being there to throw pinpoint passes is undoubtedly a ding on his stock until at least late October.

 

Rookie of the Week: Deebo Samuel

While he didn’t play a full complement of snaps, Samuel still caught five passes for 87 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, and he may establish himself as San Francisco’s clear No. 1 receiver in the very near future. The Niners are now 2-0, but they cannot waste any time getting the best players on the field with games against the desperate Steelers and maybe the desperate Browns before a matchup against the Rams.

 

Week 2 MVP: Julio Jones

Jones didn’t have the top fantasy performance of the week in terms of points, but his game-winning touchdown surely won a bunch of matchups around the world, and he proved once against that he’s the best receiver in football by catching five passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday night. Julio should continue to dominate as the clear WR1 over the next four weeks with matchups against the Colts, Titans, Texans, and Cardinals (without Patrick Peterson).