NFL DraftKings Lineup Walkthrough - Week 2
If you thought there were land mines in Week 1, then it was a straight mine field in Week 2. It was one of the worst weeks for running backs that I can ever remember and two of the top quarterbacks — Drew Brees and Sam Bradford — had terrible weeks. Speaking of Bradford, the Eagles really cut Tim Tebow for this?
Despite all of the dud performances across the NFL, I somehow avoided the big landmines and managed to put up a respectable score on DraftKings. My FanDuel lineup wasn’t nearly as lucky, but I’m here to break down my DraftKings lineup, so you won’t have to see that bloodbath.
Quarterback
Carson Palmer – I had my list of cash game quarterbacks narrowed down to three: Drew Brees, Sam Bradford, and Carson Palmer. I ended up with Palmer because I was worried about the game script for Brees and I was already using Bradford on FanDuel. Palmer was cheap and I had him ranked as a top-five quarterback against a shaky Bears’ secondary. Palmer had a nice outing with four touchdowns, although his yardage total was low thanks to the two D/ST touchdowns and the two long pass interference calls.
Running Back
Mark Ingram – At the running back position, I like to look for two key ingredients. An anticipated heavy workload and positive game script. Ingram fit both of those this week in a home matchup against the Buccaneers. The Saints were favored by ten. The problem was that the game script did not go according to plan, as the Saints were playing from behind all game. Luckily, Ingram scored an early touchdown to save his fantasy outing.
Carlos Hyde – If you read the blurb on Ingram, then you immediately see the problem with Hyde. He was playing on the road in a game where the Niners were expected to be playing from behind. His saving grace was the fact that Reggie Bush was out and that he was expected to have a heavy workload, regardless of game script. He had a decent fantasy outing, but he got hurt early in the third quarter, which ended his day.
Wide Receiver
Antonio Brown – This was an easy pick for me. I had Julio Jones and Odell Beckham Jr. ranked high, but I had Brown at the top of my list. He has the highest floor of any receiver in the NFL and the Steelers were missing two key pieces offensively. I expected Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers to force feed Brown and even though they got off to a fast start, he was utilized throughout all four quarters, finishing with nine receptions, 195 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion.
Jordan Matthews – I would not pay five dollars to ride this roller coaster again. The Eagles had one of the worst offensive outings I can remember in recent seasons and Matthews was shutout with just over five minutes remaining in the game. With hope dwindling, the garbage time hero came alive on the final two drives. He saved my fantasy day, and this Donald Trump GIF summed up my reaction perfectly.
Pierre Garcon – There wasn’t a whole lot of talk about Garcon heading into the week, despite being in a good spot at home against the Rams. With Desean Jackson out, Garcon was expected to be the number one receiving option in the Redskins’ offense. Not only that, but his floor was fairly high, given the nature of his routes. He catches a lot of short passes, which is exactly what he did in Week 2, finishing with six for 23 yards and a touchdown.
Tight End
Martellus Bennett – Once Alshon Jeffery was ruled out Sunday morning, I immediately locked Bennet in as my tight end. I was also looking at Jason Witten, but the Eagles have done a nice job of defending tight ends over the last two seasons. Bennett didn’t see the high-volume of targets that I was hoping for, but he finished with a respectable four catches for 48 yards. I was hoping for more, but he didn’t kill my lineup.
FLEX
Chris Johnson – I usually don’t put too much stock into coach speak throughout the week, but Bruce Arians mentioned that Johnson could see 20+ touches against the Bears’ shaky run defense. I had the Cardinals pegged as one of my favorite offenses of the week and my thought process was that I could take both the starting quarterback and running back for a very affordable $10,600. The Cardinals scored seven touchdowns on the day, unfortunately, two came from the D/ST and one was scored by David Johnson.
Defense / Special Teams
Carolina Panthers – My criteria for picking a defense is simple. I like to target big favorites, defenses playing at home, and defenses that can get pressure on the quarterback. The Panthers checked all three boxes for me this week against Ryan Malett and the Texans. I was a little weary with Luke Keuchly out, but was still expecting the Panthers to put pressure on Malett. It wasn’t a great outing, but once again, it didn’t kill my lineup, which was the name of the game this week.