Week 2 NFL DFS QB Projections: DraftKings Values & Sleepers
As usual, we saw no shortage of unexpected twists and turns in Week 1. Aaron Rodgers is likely done for the season after taking just 4 snaps, while the highest-scoring fantasy QBs from the opening week were Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Jordan Love. If you had that on your bingo card, congrats on your millions.
One smart way for you to take your own NFL DFS game to a new level is by using our RotoGrinders premium DraftKings projections to build your lineups. We’ve got you covered from a content standpoint all week leading up to what should be a fun and – hopefully – profitable Sunday afternoon.
In this space, we’ll break down a few of the top projected QBs for Week 2 in addition to a few potential sleepers at the position that can help you separate yourself from the field.
Week 2 DraftKings Projections — Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes ($8,300, 24.46 projected FPTs)
The Chiefs’ offense looked a little sluggish in their season-opening loss to Detroit, but the team is reportedly optimistic that Travis Kelce will be healthy enough to return this Sunday in Jacksonville. Vegas isn’t concerned about the offense’s underwhelming showing in Week 1, as the reigning champs have a healthy 27.25 implied team total against a tough foe on the road in Week 2.
Even in a subpar game, Mahomes was still one of the best-performing QBs of the week with his 226 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He is the most expensive QB on the DraftKings slate, which is hardly a surprise considering he’ll likely be the most expensive QB on every slate in which he appears all year. If Kelce returns, this offense will be a lot more potent. If he doesn’t, Mahomes will once again be saddled with trying to make the likes of Skyy Moore, Rashee Rice, Noah Gray, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling into a workable pass-catching corps.
Mahomes was victimized by a seemingly endless array of dropped passes against Detroit, but the return of Kelce should be enough to help this offense bounce back.
Josh Allen ($7,900, 23.57 projected FPTs)
Speaking of less-than-stellar season debuts, Monday’s loss to the Jets was a nightmarish outing for Josh Allen. The former All-Pro turned the ball over 4 times in Buffalo’s upset loss, but he’ll get a much more favorable matchup on Sunday when the Bills return home to host the Raiders. Las Vegas ranked 31st in the league a season ago in DVOA against the pass, so I’d expect Allen to come out guns-a-blazing after his embarrassing effort in the opener.
The Bills threw the ball on more than two-thirds of their offensive snaps in Week 1, which was a considerable jump from their 59.4% pass-play percentage a season ago. That’s likely a one-game-sample blip, but the matchup obviously bodes quite well for Buffalo to enjoy some success through the air on Sunday. Stacking Allen with Stefon Diggs ($8,000) should be a popular approach in tournaments this week, and with good reason.
Lamar Jackson ($7,700, 21.42 projected FPTs)
Lamar Jackson was perhaps the biggest DFS disappointment of Week 1. The Ravens’ franchise signal-caller turned the ball over twice without accounting for a touchdown in the team’s relatively easy win at home over Houston. Lamar mustered just 169 yards through the air while totaling 38 rushing yards on only 6 carries. It was a shockingly weak effort against a Texans defense that ranked near the bottom of the league in most defensive categories a season ago.
We shouldn’t overreact to one game, of course. The issue is that things likely won’t get much easier for the Ravens on the road in Cincinnati this week. The Bengals are fresh off of a humiliating loss in Cleveland last Sunday, and this defense was borderline top-10 in overall DVOA a season ago.
Perhaps Jackson and co. will endure some growing pains. This is a brand-new offensive scheme, and the Ravens are working in new pieces like Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham. It’s also worth noting Mark Andrews missed the opener, and his potential return this week would help to restore some order here. Jackson may also have to do a bit more work on the ground after JK Dobbins was lost for the season with an Achilles injury.
Justin Fields ($7,600, 20.43 projected FPTs)
The Bears suffered a calamitous loss of their own at home in blowout fashion to the Packers in Week 1. Justin Fields wasn’t awful from a fantasy standpoint, but he likely didn’t win you a tournament if you rostered him, either. This week, the Bears will head down to Tampa for a date with the 1-0 Buccaneers.
The Bucs’ offense may be a work in progress, but the defense is still laden with talent. This unit made life tough on Kirk Cousins and the Vikings last week, and they’ve been particularly stingy against the ground game in recent years. Tampa Bay finished a respectable 13th in DVOA vs. the run last season, for example.
Fields’ ability to impact the game with his legs will always give him some appeal as a fantasy target, but I’d expect extremely low ownership here in a difficult road matchup.
Justin Herbert ($7,000, 20.39 projected FPTs)
Much was made of the Chargers’ newfangled offensive scheme over the summer, but they sure looked like the same old Chargers in a Week 1 home setback to Miami. Justin Herbert managed to save an otherwise unremarkable afternoon with a rushing TD that helped him to finish as one of the highest-scoring QBs of the opening weekend.
This offense should be good, of course. They’ve surrounded Herbert with all sorts of weapons, and this week’s matchup bodes well. The Bolts will head to Nashville to take on a Titans defense that finished just 28th in DVOA against the pass a season ago. We saw more of the same from the Tennessee defense last week, as they yielded more than 300 yards through the air to Derek Carr and friends in New Orleans.
We heard Herbert was going to be more willing to take deep shots in Kellen Moore’s offense this season, though we didn’t see much of that at all against the Dolphins. This is a nice bounce-back spot, though, and the Chargers have a hefty 24-point implied team total on the road.
Top DFS Sleepers
Jordan Love ($5,500, 15.81 projected FPTs)
It’s certainly too early to crown Jordan Love as the next great Packers QB, but he sure did look the part last week in Chicago. The former first-rounder looked awfully comfortable, completing better than 55 percent of his throws on his way to 245 yards and 3 passing TDs in the destruction of the Bears. Green Bay wound up running the ball on more than half of their offensive snaps, but the game was also well in hand for most of the second half.
It’s fair to assume the Packers won’t be the most pass-heavy offense this season with a first-time starting QB, but Love is still affordable at $5,500 this week for a road date with the Falcons. Atlanta should be improved this season, but this unit still ranked 30th in overall DVOA last season, including 24th against the pass. This game will also take place in a dome, which we know is the ideal scenario for any quarterback.
This game only has a 40.5 over/under, with the Packers as slight 1.5-point road favorites. On a full slate, I doubt we see overwhelming ownership on Love, even in a potentially advantageous on-paper matchup.
Brock Purdy ($5,700, 17.39 projected FPTs)
It may be a bit of a stretch to call Brock Purdy a “sleeper” at this point. The Niners have what may be the most potent offense in football, and they’ve looked no worse for the wear since Purdy took the reins late last season. He kept rolling in Week 1, as he accounted for a couple of touchdowns in the 49ers’ easy win at Pittsburgh.
They’ll face another stiff test in LA this week against a Rams defense that looked rejuvenated on Sunday in Seattle. Aaron Donald is back, and this group held what should be a high-octane Seahawks offense to just 112 yards through the air. San Francisco does have one of the highest implied team totals of Week 2 at 26 points, however, and they’re solid 8-point favorites on the road.
It’ll be interesting to see how the field treats Purdy here. This is another slate with quite a few viable cheap QBs, so the ownership could be fairly spread out with 12 games on the schedule. Per our premium NFL projections, Purdy is the best point-per-dollar value at the position.
Daniel Jones ($6,000, 19.25 projected FPTs)
No team had it worse than the Giants in Week 1, as they were blasted at home by the Cowboys on Sunday night. We can attribute some of their poor offensive showing to the dismal weather, but the team looked downright overwhelmed on the heels of a promising opening drive.
It was just one game, though, so it’s obviously far too early to panic. Let’s not forget the Giants decided to hitch their financial wagon to Daniel Jones this offseason after his breakout 2022 campaign. Jones set career-highs in passing yards (3,205), rushing yards (708), and total touchdowns (22) a season ago.
This week, weather won’t be an issue when the Giants head to the desert hoping for a rebound against the Cardinals. Arizona is widely expected to be one of the worst teams in football again this year, and they ranked just 24th in total DVOA a season ago.
Much of Jones’ fantasy appeal stems from his rushing ability, and he should do some damage here after struggling against the Cowboys’ vaunted defense in the opener. I’m happy to buy low with Danny Dimes in GPPs at this cheap salary in one of the best matchups on the board in Week 2.