Fantasy Football, Week 2: Quarterback rankings for 2-QB leagues
By Dan Salem
We had some wild quarterback performances in Week 1, so who’s your best play in Fantasy Football Week 2? We rank the second-tier passers for 2-QB leagues, aka SuperFLEX.
Week 1 quarterbacks put up some major surprise performances. Some were spectacularly good. Others were…not. Lamar Jackson finished as the top overall quarterback from Week 1 thanks to facing the Miami Dolphins. Case Keenum easily found his way into the top 12. The immortal Gardner Minshew maneuvered into the top 24 thanks to the Nick Foles injury.
That’s more than can be said of the likes of Baker Mayfield, Ben Roethlisberger, Jared Goff, Jameis Winston, or Cam Newton. None cracked the top 24, making them worthy of the bench in SuperFLEX leagues, if you can believe it.
This is going to be a common occurrence in fantasy football. Specific, one-off matchups are hard to predict. It’s what makes the game fun to play; the unpredictability. But you can’t let one week of outcomes overwhelmingly shape your opinions moving forward.
Onto Fantasy Football Week 2 quarterback rankings for SuperFLEX or 2-QB leagues. The top 12 are slam dunk starters, so no explanation is necessary. Players 13-24 are where the real debate lives.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate Fantasy Football Week 2 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Fantasy Football Week 2 – The Top 12
Patrick Mahomes (Dan’s Ranking: 1, Todd’s Ranking: 1), Tom Brady (Dan: 3, Todd: 2), Carson Wentz (Dan: 2, Todd:5 ), Deshaun Watson (Dan: 6, Todd: 3), Dak Prescott (Dan: 7, Todd: 4), Lamar Jackson (Dan :5, Todd: 7), Jared Goff (Dan: 8, Todd: 6), Philip Rivers (Dan: 4, Todd: 11), Drew Brees (Dan: 9, Todd: 8), Matt Ryan (Dan: 10, Todd: 10), Cam Newton (Dan: 11, Todd: 12), Aaron Rodgers (Dan: 16, Todd: 9)
13. Russell Wilson (Dan: 15, Todd: 13)
Todd Salem: In Week 1, Wilson offered what many expected out of Matt Stafford. He barely threw the ball and barely looked down the field. My motto is to give star players a longer leash to see if a bad (fantasy) trend develops.
Dan Salem: I’m willing to give Wilson a one week mulligan. He’s got major upside against the Pittsburgh defense which was just shredded by New England. I don’t know how much Seattle will need him to do, however.
14 (tie): Josh Allen (Dan: 12, Todd: 18)
Todd Salem: The running is for real. The opponent is terrible defensively. Allen will make a lot of mistakes but should counteract those with enough fantasy points. He may be turning into an every-week superflex option.
Dan Salem: He’s in my top 12, Enough said.
14 (tie): Matthew Stafford (Dan: 13, Todd: 17)
Todd Salem: If this is the type of Lions offense we are going to get, Stafford will be in top-12 consideration. He threw the ball 45 times for 385 yards. We assumed the style of play would hold him down. His arm talent never will.
Dan Salem: He played very well to start the season and gets another favorable matchup in Week 2. The Chargers defense is currently suspect and I’m riding vintage Stafford for as long as it lasts.
16: Ben Roethlisberger (Dan: 18, Todd: 14)
Todd Salem: Facing Wilson in Week 2, this will be a good test of who deserves top 12 consideration moving forward.
Dan Salem: Until proven otherwise, I do not trust the Steelers offense or Big Ben. They get a tough Seattle defense, which does Roethlisberger no favors this week. Hopefully he proves me wrong.
17 (tie): Andy Dalton (Dan: 14, Todd: 21)
Todd Salem: Oh, so Andy Dalton is going to sling the ball all over the field now, even without A.J. Green? Let me see it at least once more before actually believing it.
Dan Salem: Last week proved Dalton still has it and now he gets an even better matchup. The 49ers needed help to slow down Tampa Bay’s offense. Dalton can pick them apart as well.
17 (tie): Baker Mayfield (Dan: 20, Todd: 15)
Todd Salem: The Browns will need to be more careful with the football. Perhaps pressure of expectations got to all of them in Week 1. The outcome surely knocked them back into reality.
Dan Salem: Because Cleveland’s offensive line was unable to protect Mayfield in Week 1, I don’t trust him against the Jets. He’s had a wrap on his wrist this week and New York’s defense is aggressive.
19: Kirk Cousins (Dan: 19, Todd: 19)
Todd Salem: You can’t even fault Cousins for a dud Week 1. His team dominated and didn’t need to throw.
Dan Salem: The Vikings don’t need Cousins to shine, which is bad news for fantasy football owners. Playing the Packers is an unknown. Do they have a great defense? Stay away if you can.
20: Jameis Winston (Dan: NR, Todd: 16)
Todd Salem: My patience for established veterans does not apply to Winston. He’s on as short a leash as is possible. I’ll give him another chance on a short week since there are simply too many weapons on this roster to put up multiple duds in a row. Fool me twice, shame on me.
21: Jimmy Garoppolo (Dan: 17, Todd: NR)
Dan Salem: Garoppolo didn’t exactly shine against the Buccaneers, but he gets a second chance against an equally suspect defense. I think he might need another week or two in order to find his groove. He’s a solid play because of the upside.
22. Kyler Murray (Dan: 23, Todd: 20)
Todd Salem: The entire Arizona team struggled for much of Week 1. Did they figure things out late in the game or catch lightning in a bottle? I want to see Murray go toe-to-toe with Jackson in this game.
Dan Salem: I was impressed with Murray in Week 1, but the Cardinals are such a risky team to back. Baltimore is much better than Detroit, so I don’t expect as much from him.
23: Case Keenum (Dan: 22, Todd: 22)
Todd Salem: I’ll ride the hot hand at this stage in the rankings. Dallas’ defense has holes, even if it is looking pretty solid.
Dan Salem: Keenum is worth riding for another week, but Dallas presents a potential matchup problem. He’s worth the risk, but its still going to be hit or miss for him.
24: Jacoby Brissett (Dan: 21, Todd: 24)
Todd Salem: What if that Chargers defense is excellent for the second consecutive season? Brissett held his own and sees a better matchup here. He needs more weapons to be a consistent weekly play though.
Dan Salem: I liked what Brissett did to start the year, as he outshined Rodgers and Mayfield to name a few. Tennessee might be very good, but I’m not buying it just yet. Brissett is a solid sleeper pick as the Colts offense offers upside.
Next. NFL Week 2 Best Picks Against the Spread (ATS). dark
25. Derek Carr (Dan: 24, Todd: 23)
Todd Salem: Carr had a solid day against a defense that should be superior to the one he faces this week. I don’t believe his performance will stay on this level, but you can ride him as the Raiders attempt to keep up against Kansas City.
Dan Salem: I loved what Carr did against the weak Broncos, and Kansas City did not play great defense last week. This means the door is open for another solid week from Carr.