Underdog Battle Royal Week 2 Rankings

September 11, 2024

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Steve Shoup

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Quarterbacks:

Sleepers: Jayden Daniels, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff, Joe Burrow, Matt Stafford, Justin Herbert, Daniel Jones, Justin Fields/Russell Wilson

Assuming that Jackson is fully healthy, I think he’s clearly the top QB option on the week. The Ravens need to come out with a win, and I expect them to be able to do what they want on offense. The lack of pushback is a slight concern, and it’s also possible that Lamar is sitting in the 4th quarter. Still the upside is real, and the match-up is nice.

Mahomes, Murray, and Prescott are the next three and while they are different in what they bring to the table, I do think they are all in line for good games. Murray should have a much easier match-up this week, and if he can get McBride and Harrison going, he could see his fantasy points skyrocket.

I then view Richardson, Mayfield, and Daniels as a bit of the next tier. Richardson and Daniels are tougher to project because they can run for 60-100 yards and 1-2 TDs, but they probably won’t contribute a ton through the air. Richardson has a tougher match-up this week than people are acknowledging, so I am a bit more hesitant on him, but the potential is undeniable.

Daniels does have maybe his easier match-up all season vs a Giants defense, so it’s worth taking some shots on. I worry though that if the TDs don’t materialize, his fantasy value is more limited. Baker Mayfield is in line for another good match-up and a potential shootout. He was one of the highest-scoring QBs last week, despite no real pushback from Washington. Now he faces a Lions team that when he played them in the playoffs last year he threw for 349 yards and 3 TDs.

After these groups, I do see a bit of a drop-off. Either situation with likely volume concerns (Purdy, Goff, Herbert), no rushing upside (Stafford, Goff), or just poor play (Jones, Fields). Given the right match-up and circumstances, any of these guys could end up putting up enough points.

The one intriguing name is Joe Burrow. Burrow doesn’t cleanly fall into the other categories, but he does carry his own injury concerns, and if his team is healthy enough around him. What he does have going for him is his natural talent, and likely a very favorable game script.

Running Backs:

Jonathan Taylor
Derrick Henry
Kyren Williams
Breece Hall
Isiah Pacheco
J.K. Dobbins
Josh Jacobs
Christian McCaffrey/Jordan Mason
James Conner
Kenneth Walker III
Jahmyr Gibbs
Rachaad White

Sleepers: David Montgomery, Rhamondre Stevenson, Alvin Kamara, Najee Harris, Devin Singletary, Tony Pollard, Jerome Ford, Travis Etienne Jr., Ezekiel Elliott, Brian Robinson Jr.

This is probably the deepest position group on the slate with just so many good options in strong match-ups. Not only do I want to ensure I’m getting my Flex from the RB position, but I want to employ different RB strategies this week. While I love many of the names at the top, especially Taylor, Henry, and Williams, I think this could be an intriguing week to make your last two picks RBs. Or one high and one late, two in the middle etc. this is definitely an interesting week to try different approaches depending on your drafts.

Not only are you likely to see high ownership for all 12 of the top names (and Mason moves up if CMC is ruled out), but a guy like Walker or Conner could be a top 3 RB on the week, and you are getting them late and at lower ownership. Both have great match-ups and the ability to put up Alpha games. As you go into the sleepers, there are some really good spots to target as well.

Either RB in the NYG/WASH match-up should be in play. We know both Stevenson and Kamara can put up big numbers. Though Etienne shared the workload week 1, he’s a talented back who might be leaned on more when the temperature isn’t so hot.

My favorite from this group is Najee Harris. He absolutely dominated snaps and touches among RBs for the Steelers, and Pittsburgh faces a bad Broncos front. Whether it’s Fields or Wilson at QB, I expect the offense to run through Harris this week.

Wide Receivers:

Sleepers: Chris Olave, Terry McLaurin, DK Metcalf, Jayden Reed, Calvin Ridley, Brian Thomas, Ladd McConkey, Amari Cooper, Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Adonai Mitchell, Rashid Shaheed, Tyler Lockett, Josh Palmer

The Receiver position is strong, but a bit more top-heavy this week. We will see if some teams start throwing more of course, but the lack of passing volume is going to impact the receivers. So if you can find alphas or guys in a position to be an alpha for a week, I would prioritize them. Kupp and Lamb are the clear cut 1-2 this week, I’d be happy starting my team with either one.

Evans, Samuel, and St. Brown all are attached to good offenses/QBs, but those teams have a multitude of weapons so it might not always be them. One guy that I’m happy to target this week is Malik Nabers. I have season-long concerns of Nabers due to Daniel Jones and the Giants offense, but this match-up is fantastic, and I could see him having a “breakout” game.

Jefferson and Chase are two of the best receivers in the league, but their match-ups are going to be tougher this week. I don’t think you can ignore them because they’ve beaten tough match-ups so many times in the past, and the game script should be in their favor. One of my favorite lower picks is a bounce-back game from Marvin Harrison. I see this game as one that can go over, and the Rams’ secondary has some real issues.

Among the sleepers, there are plenty of strong names, but between question QB play, match-ups, or volume concerns no one massively stands out. I am probably more likely to take some late shots with Pierce or Mitchell in Anthony Richardson stacks, as I see Pittman getting drafted way higher than he should. I could see Calvin Ridley having a good game if the Titans’ offense can show anything. Overall though, this is why I favor prioritizing WR this week.

Tight Ends:

Travis Kelce
Trey McBride
Sam Laporta
George Kittle
Isaiah Likely
Brock Bowers

Sleepers: Evan Engram, Mark Andrews, Colby Parkinson, Zach Ertz, Pat Freiermuth, Hunter Henry, Luke Schoonmaker, Theo Johnson, Tyler Conklin

After a historically low-scoring TE week, it could be an interesting time actually to prioritize the position this week. Due to the lower scoring, I imagine most people will try to “wait out” the position, figuring an average score will be enough.

That worked on last week’s main slate because Likely’s elite game wasn’t counted. This week though if any tight end hits 20+ points, and most other TEs struggle to crack 10, you are looking at a major advantage in scoring differential.

More top-end TEs are on the main slate this week, with Travis Kelce being my favorite option. I think he’s undervalued on this slate, and he still is the TE with the highest upside and attached to the best QB and offense. McBride and Laporta are in good match-ups as well, and both could be in some decent shootout-type games. I don’t see the Vikings keeping up with the 49ers, but that game should be of a higher pace, so Kittle might get a few more targets.

It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if the TE you need this week is a TE from the Ravens/Vegas game. Could Likely once again have a massive week? Absolutely, it’s also possible that Mark Andrews plays a much bigger role this game, as the Chiefs did what they could to limit him. He could end up being the focal point this week. On the other side, Brock Bowers definitely showed some promise Week 1, with 6 catches on 8 targets. I expect him to be heavily involved again, and if he gets a TD or 2, he offers great value.

Other than that there are some intriguing shots you can take, but my favorite two are Luke Schoonmaker and Theo Johnson. Schoonmaker should fill in nicely for Jake Ferguson in a decent match-up. He’s shown some promise when given opportunities, and he could be a guy who is super low-owned. We know it’s a great offense that likes to feature TEs in the Red Zone. Johnson only had 1 catch on 4 targets, but he was out there for 86% of the teams offensive snaps. He’s now playing against one of the worst secondaries in the league, so a spike week is definitely in play here.