Stars of Week 2

QB: Aaron Rodgers 25-42, 346 yards, 3 TDs 

RB: DeMarco Murray 29 carries, 167 yards, 1 TD

WR: Jordy Nelson 9 catches, 209 yards, 1 TD

Brandon Marshall 5 catches, 48 yards, 3 TDs

TE: Antonio Gates 7 catches, 96 yards, 3 TDs 

All recognizable names for the honor roll this week. Jordy Nelson hauled in roughly two-thirds of Aaron Rodgers’ passing yardage this week, albeit teammate Randall Cobb beat Nelson in TDs by a 2 to 1 margin. DeMarco Murray had a monster game against the Titans, but note that he did lose another fumble, so a small dark cloud on an otherwise fantastic day for him. For those thinking that Ladarius Green would be assuming the mantle of top TE for the Chargers this year? Not so fast, says Antonio Gates. What was especially spectacular about Gates’ performance is that it came against the impenetrable Seahawks’ pass defense. Gates has plenty left in the tank, we all learned on Sunday. Every once in a while we’ll honor two players at the same position with weekly top honors, and this week Brandon Marshall joins Jordy Nelson atop the WR pedestal in light of his courageous performance on Sunday night. Marshall at 75 percent health still beats most starting WRs in the NFL. 

Week 2 Takeaways – A Closer Look 

Each week we’ll take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

- Kirk Cousins 22-33, 250 yards, 2 TDs

Analysis: Injuries served as the overwhelming theme for Week 2. Unfortunately, this includes a serious ankle injury for RGIII. Many Redskins fans had been calling for Cousins to supplant RGIII, and now due to the injury, they will get their wish. Cousins performed very capably against the Jaguars, showing great decision making and hitting his targets with ease. Sure, part of the credit goes to the ineptitude of the Jags’ D, but give Cousins credit as well. While RGIII remains out, Cousins profiles as a mid-level QB2, so if you need QB help, pick him up. Feel free to start Cousins against weaker pass defenses and for bye week coverage. 

- Bernard Pierce 22 carries, 96 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis: Just last week in this space, we discussed Forsett’s ascension into the top chair of the Ravens’ RB group, with Pierce finding residence in the coach’s doghouse. Well, apparently John Harbaugh has made nice with Pierce, as he was the clear lead back against the Steelers last Thursday. While frustrating to be led on by coaches, fantasy players are use to this by now. At least we don’t have to deal with Mike Shanahan anymore. Anyways, the takeaway here is that Pierce, and not Forsett, serves as the lead dog for the Ravens. Forsett will get his share of carries (he had 8 against the Steelers), so he retains some value. But Pierce is the preferred RB to own. 

- Knile Davis 22 carries, 79 yards, 2 TDs

Analysis: In many cases, the idea of grabbing a top RB’s handcuff is overplayed. Whether or not to handcuff depends first and foremost on the quality of the backup, although a strong running team can turn ordinary players into productive ones. With respect to Jamaal Charles’ handcuff, Knile Davis – yes, you want him, because the dude can play. Hopefully Charles’ owners drafted Davis as well, but in case he’s still available in your league, grab him ASAP. Early rumblings indicate a high ankle sprain for Charles, so Davis needs to be on all rosters, and should be starting. As long as Charles remains out, view Davis as a high end RB2. High ankle sprains take quite a while to heal, so expect Davis to get the duties for quite some time.

- Matt Asiata 13 carries, 36 yards, 0 TDs (5 catches, 48 yards, 1 TD)

Analysis: I’ve had to re-write this entry three times because 1) AD was suspended, then 2) reinstated, and finally 3) due to severe public pressure, placed on the exempt list. So if more news comes through, I’ll revise again. Anyways, as we saw last weekend Matt Asiata is the next man up for the Vikings. The reviews on Asiata’s first game as the Vikings’ starter are mixed, as he didn’t generate much production on the ground, but did find the end zone on one of his five catches. We need to see more from Asiata to get a better read on his value, but at this point, he’s in RB3/flex territory until we see more. He should be owned in all leagues.

- Sammy Watkins 8 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD

Analysis: Which team had the best week in the NFL last week? No room for argument – it was the Buffalo Bills. Note that we’re not just talking about on the field. Most importantly, the NFL announced that the Bills would be purchased by the Pegula family and kept in Buffalo long term. Bills fans’ rejoice! Also cause for celebration is the Bills’ 2-0 start, and the breakout performance by Sammy Watkins against the Dolphins. What should we expect from Watkins going forward? No question that he’s got amazing WR tools, so that’s not going to be the limiting factor. Instead, Bills’ QB EJ Manuel will be the one who determines who valuable Watkins will be to fantasy owners. I place Watkins into WR3 territory, with wide swings in performances from week to week. I’m not sold on Manuel yet as a high caliber starting QB, so that’s why I would keep expectations in check. Expect occasional brilliant performances mixed in with some quieter days. 

- Niles Paul 8 catches, 99 yards, 1 TD

Analysis: So Jordan Reed misses the game against the Jaguars and the Redskins don’t miss a beat from the TE position. Niles Paul quietly had a great game in the opening weekend against the Texans, and this week he went off against the Jags. Also promising for Paul’s future production is that he showed chemistry with Kirk Cousins. Paul is another player who passes the “eye” test, and if you need a TE, Paul can certainly help. How helpful can he be? The answer does depend in part on Jordan Reed’s presence in the lineup. Based on what we’ve seen, Paul profiles as a high end TE2 in games where Reed is out, with room to grow. In games with Reed active as well, Paul probably drops to low end TE2 or below. But, the Texans game in week 1 shows that there may be room for both Reed and Paul to be weekly contributors. We need to see more evidence of this though, so let’s wait and see.

Rapid Fire Pickups

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickup from each position, in each case 1) someone who has not been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues. In some cases, you will see players from the prior week listed again, to emphasize that the player should be rostered.

QB: Geno Smith, NYJ

RB: Ahmad Bradshaw, IND

RB: Khiry Robinson, NO *Note that Mark Ingram will be out for a month.

WR: James Jones, OAK

WR: Mohamed Sanu, CIN

TE: Delanie Walker, TEN

TE: Larry Donnell, NYG

Week 3 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Drew Brees

2. Aaron Rodgers

3. Matthew Stafford

4. Nick Foles

5. Andrew Luck

6. Peyton Manning

7. Russell Wilson

8. Cam Newton

9. Tony Romo

10. Philip Rivers

11. Jay Cutler

12. Tom Brady

13. Matt Ryan

14. Kirk Cousins

15. Colin Kaepernick

16. Andy Dalton

17. Ryan Tannehill

18. Ben Roethlisberger

19. Joe Flacco

20. Jake Locker

Running Backs

1. LeSean McCoy

2. DeMarco Murray

3. Marshawn Lynch

4. Arian Foster

5. Knile Davis

6. Giovani Bernard

7. Matt Forte

8. Le'Veon Bell

9. Eddie Lacy

10. Alfred Morris

11. Zac Stacy

12. Rashad Jennings

13. Montee Ball

14. Stevan Ridley

15. Joique Bell

16. Andre Ellington

17. Donald Brown

18. C.J. Spiller

19. Terrance West

20. Ahmad Bradshaw

21. Lamar Miller

22. Frank Gore

23. Reggie Bush

24. Darren Sproles

25. Chris Johnson

26. Shane Vereen

27. Bernard Pierce

28. Matt Asiata

29. Pierre Thomas

30. Fred Jackson

31. Khiry Robinson

32. Toby Gerhart

33. Doug Martin

34. Bobby Rainey

35. Steven Jackson

36. Shonn Greene

37. Trent Richardson

38. Danny Woodhead

39. Jeremy Hill

40. Carlos Hyde

Wide Receivers

1. Calvin Johnson

2. Dez Bryant

3. Julio Jones

4. Jordy Nelson

5. Brandon Marshall

6. Antonio Brown

7. Demaryius Thomas

8. Percy Harvin

9. Cordarelle Patterson

10. Randall Cobb

11. Vincent Jackson

12. Andre Johnson

13. Alshon Jeffery

14. Keenan Allen

15. T.Y. Hilton

16. Julian Edelman

17. Mike Wallace

18. Jeremy Maclin

19. Kelvin Benjamin

20. Roddy White

21. Pierre Garcon

22. Michael Crabtree

23. Michael Floyd

24. Larry Fitzgerald

25. Brandin Cooks

26. Marques Colston

27. Emmanuel Sanders

28. Steve Smith Sr.

29. Reggie Wayne

30. DeSean Jackson

31. Victor Cruz

32. Sammy Watkins

33. DeAndre Hopkins

34. Torrey Smith

35. Mohamed Sanu

Tight Ends

1. Jimmy Graham

2. Rob Gronkowski

3. Julius Thomas

4. Zach Ertz

5. Antonio Gates

6. Greg Olsen

7. Kyle Rudolph

8. Martellus Bennett

9. Jason Witten

10. Delanie Walker

11. Vernon Davis

12. Dennis Pitta

13. Niles Paul

14. Travis Kelce

15. Jordan Cameron

- Neema Hodjat is the fantasy sports expert for RealGM.  He can be reached via email at nhodjat@gmail.com and followed on twitter at @NeemaHodjat.