Noto's NFL DFS Key Personnel: Week 2 (MNF Slate)

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-09-15 02:36:18 Premium Content Part of the product NFL DFS

A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. So, who better to walk you through all of the key NFL DFS positions each week? Noto has racked up multiple live final seats and several six-figure tournament wins in his DFS career, and he will mix it up in all different types of contests. In his Key Personnel article for the Week 2 MNF slate, he will walk you through his favorite NFL DFS picks, ways to pivot away from the chalk, and overall strategy for the upcoming featured slate.

It seems like just yesterday we were breaking down the Week 2 main slate… oh wait, we were. We get a rare 2-game slate on Monday night, so we decided to roll out a plethora of content here at RotoGrinders. We have the Key Personnel, the Expert Survey, and all of our experts have their tags in our NFL DFS optimizer.

NFL DFS Top Picks & Plays: Noto’s Key Personnel for Week 2 – Monday Night Football

If you aren’t familiar with 2-game slates, ownership naturally condenses given the small player pool. This doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to be different from the field, but it’s certainly tougher to find good spots that are underowned compared to a main slate. I’ll talk about the top plays, some potential pivots, and ways we can incorporate correlation into our lineups.

Top Quarterback Plays

Tier 1 – Core Plays

Justin Herbert deserves to be in a tier of his own on Monday night. I was expecting more of a run-heavy approach from Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, but they had the highest pass rate over expectation. Herbert torched the Chiefs, throwing for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. The offensive line held up extremely well in that game, so Herbert should have plenty of time in the pocket against the Raiders, who are expected to have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Herbert is easy to stack with and offers the highest floor/ceiling of any quarterback on Monday night.

Tier 2 – Strong Plays

I do find myself targeting Herbert more than the other quarterbacks on this slate, but let’s take a look at all of the options.

Baker Mayfield had one of the highest floors of any quarterback in the NFL last season. He topped 20 fantasy points in 13 of 17 games. He picked up right where he left off in Week 1 against the Falcons, as he put up 22 fantasy points. He only threw for 163 yards, but threw 3 touchdowns and added 39 yards on the ground. His touchdown rate seems unsustainable, but he’s been able to sustain it for over a year now. A matchup against the Texans should be a mediocre one throughout the course of the season. With Chris Godwin still out, there’s a tight target tree in Tampa, which makes it easier to build stacks.

Geno Smith looked good in his Raiders’ debut and attacked downfield as much as any quarterback in Week 1. He completed 9 passes that went for at least 20 yards. He has plenty of weapons to work with in the passing game and a talented rookie running back in the backfield. While I do worry about his offensive line holding up this season, the Chargers were in the bottom half of the league in EPA per dropback allowed and PFF’s grades against the pass in Week 1.

C.J. Stroud had an incredible rookie season, but the Texans looked like a completely different offense in his sophomore season. I don’t want to sound the alarms just yet, but their offense looked really bad in the opener against the Rams. Stroud completed 19-of-28 passes for 188 yards and an interception. The team had one of the lowest pass rates over expectation in Week 1. The good news is that the Buccaneers appear to be a pass-funnel matchup once again. If Houston’s scores come through the air, Stroud could be a sneaky target on this slate.

🏈 Quarterbacks – Noto’s Notes

🏆 Core Plays: Justin Herbert
💪 Strong Plays: Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, C.J. Stroud
📊 Ownership Angle: QBs from the Texans-Buccaneers game have the lowest pOWN%
📚 Correlation Plays: Herbert + McConkey/Allen, Mayfield + Evans/Egbuka, Stroud + Collins

Top Running Back Plays

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