What's up RotoBallers. Week 1 is complete and we hope you managed to secure the win! To celebrate, today we are bringing you our Week 2 fantasy football rankings to help prepare you for your Week 2 matchups.

Below you will find both PPR rankings and standard league rankings for Week 2, brought to you by Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades) and Edward Gorelik (@EdwardGorelik).

Lead fantasy football columnist Zach Wilkens also highlights some rankings analysis for Week 2, broken out by position, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 2. You can also check out our 2015 fantasy football ranking dashboard, for more in-depth rankings analysis on all positions including rookies and dynasty leagues.

 

Week 2 Fantasy Football Rankings - All Positions

 
 

Week 2 Quarterback (QB) Rankings Analysis

By Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades)

After a tough matchup where Drew Brees finished outside the top ten, he now gets possibly the worst defense in the NFL in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Seeing what Marcus Mariota did to them last week, I feel pretty confident slotting Brees in at QB1 this week.

The loss of Dez Bryant is huge for Tony Romo, but I’m remaining optimistic this week. Against the Eagles I have Romo at QB3. The elite-tier QBs both have super-tough matchups and with Jason Witten, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley I think Romo will be fine. He made a few bad mistakes in the first week, but sure enough he looked like a great QB when they needed it most, and Dez was already gone at that point.

Tough matchups for both Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers faces Seattle, against whom he struggled mightily in two meetings last year. However, without Kam Chancellor, the defense isn’t as good as it was. Rodgers should fare better this year, but the question is how much? With Luck I’m less worried because Cleveland was only average last week. Not having T.Y. Hilton to throw to is tough, but Luck still has several nice options to throw to.

I knew I would be high on Colin Kaepernick, but I’m a little surprised I am so much higher than the consensus. I put him at QB10, while his consensus is QB22. The Steelers defense looked terrible last week, and while the Vikings had a bad run defense I think they have a very good secondary. Kaep should look like a totally different quarterback this week. I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for Kaep and his mobility, but the Steelers are a bottom-three defense for me.

Andy Dalton passed his first test in Week 1 with a completion rate better than 70% and no turnovers. That led to a top ten day. He now gets a tougher opponent in San Diego but I’m still relatively high on him at QB15. A.J. Green didn’t seem to be running on all cylinders last week--if that changes its enough to make Dalton a good QB play this week.

Joe Flacco had a truly terrible game in Week 1, but let’s not overreact. I have him as QB17 this week. On one hand, his receivers just aren’t very good. On the other hand, the Broncos are an elite defense and the Raiders are not at all. This week's game will be a good indicator of what to realistically expect from Flacco the rest of the season. If he can’t deliver here, I don’t see him being startable at all this season.

On the opposite end of the overreaction spectrum we have Marcus Mariota. His debut was incredibly impressive, there is no denying that. Much like the Steelers, I think the Bucs are a terrible defense so I’m not going to overreact there. I have Mariota at QB23 this week--let’s see how he fares against Joe Haden and company before we send him to the Hall of Fame. Mariota wasn’t nearly as mobile as hoped, so if his passing touchdowns drop he needs to run a lot to be fantasy relevant here. He’s still a pretty big unknown, and I’m not super comfortable starting him just yet.

 

Week 2 Running Back (RB) Rankings Analysis

By Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades)

Carlos Hyde was easily the most impressive RB from Week 1. He looked like an absolute star against a defense I thought was going to be pretty good. Now he gets the Steelers defense? I wouldn’t be shocked if he exceeds 150 yards again. I’m not saying he is going to be elite the rest of the way, but he should have another big day here and has a great chance to finish as a top-5 RB this week.

Mark Ingram also had a very impressive week, hauling in 98 receiving yards. He didn’t do a whole lot rushing the ball, but the Cardinals are one of the better run defenders in the league. Ingram has a much better matchup this week. Even if C.J. Spiller returns and takes most of the targets in the passing game, I think Ingram can do a ton of damage on the ground. Speaking of Spiller, if he plays I think he’s an RB2. He could easily catch seven or more balls for 70 yards. I definitely recommend playing Spiller in PPR and I think he has a lot of upside in standard this week as well. I’m expecting a lot of points from the Saints.

It wasn’t a very good day for Adrian Peterson in his return from last year’s scandal. I definitely don’t think Peterson is done, but I question whether he is still good enough to shred through tougher matchups at this point. The Lions aren’t an elite run defense without N'damukong Suh but they are still pretty darn good. I have Peterson at RB9.

I was high on Chris Ivory all preseason and it paid off with a big in Week 1. I’m expecting another solid day as the Colts do have a shutdown corner in Vontae Davis (see Sammy Watkins’ numbers from last week). That should mean the Jets will want to run the ball a lot once again and try to control the time of possession against Andrew Luck and the Colts. I don’t expect two touchdowns again but otherwise we should see similar numbers for Ivory.

If Tre Mason returns I think he can be a low-end RB2. He should get the bulk of the carries if he does play, while Benny Cunningham takes the 3rd-down role. There has also been some talk about Todd Gurley coming back this week. I don’t think he plays a whole lot if he is active, and I also think it’s more likely they wait another week or two to give him the ball. I expect Mason to get 15+ touches and 70-80 yards with a chance for a score here. If Mason and Gurley are both out, I would have Cunningham around RB30 and an average flex play at best.

Bishop Sankey was another back that impressed last week, but I’m still not sold. We have all of last season as evidence to think Week 1 was more a fluke and the result of Mariota’s big day. Still, this is a good matchup for Sankey but I’m probably avoiding him here.

Legarrette Blount returns from suspension this week but he won’t be greeted with an easy matchup. In fact, he’ll have one of the toughest defenses he’ll face all season in the Bills. I can definitely see a goal-line touchdown for Blount, but the yardage will be low. He’d really need the score to have a good day. The Colts RBs managed just 44 rushing yards last week. I do think Blount will be the primary ball carrier despite Dion Lewis’ solid day last week. I think Lewis can still get in the 8-10 touch range and have some PPR flex value.

Chris Johnson is the expected starter for the Cardinals this week with Andre Ellington’s injury. Despite a nice matchup I’m not expecting too much from him. He didn’t look like he had much left in the tank last year, and had just a 3.7 YPC last week. I think he still has the speed to break a big touchdown run, but it’s much less likely than it was in his prime, and I don’t suggest starting him and banking on that.

 

Week 2 Wide Receiver (WR) Rankings Analysis

By Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades)

A lot of the top-tier and even second-tier wide receivers didn’t do a whole lot last week. Expect several bounce back performances this week, specifically with Calvin Johnson. Megatron only had two catches for 39 yards, but his 19.5 yards per catch is promising. A lack of targets last week was perplexing but with a healthy Calvin, I’m going to assume Matthew Stafford wakes up and corrects that. Start Megatron with confidence.

Brandin Cooks was another player with a disappointing Week 1. He did get a respectable eight targets but wasn’t very productive with the, (four catches for 49 yards). I’m expecting a much different story in Week 2 vs the Buccaneers. I’d be surprised if Cooks doesn’t have a huge day.

Moving down the list a bit, Sammy Watkins had an awful day last week and it wasn’t the fault of Tyrod Taylor. Colts CB Vontae Davis is just that good. Watkins should have a much easier day against the Patriots. I’m not expecting Antonio Brown numbers, but assuming Watkins can get open he should see 7+ targets and have a very strong day. He is firmly in WR2 territory for me this week.

I don’t totally get the Jarvis Landry love. He’s definitely a PPR stud but he is currently ranked WR13 in standard for Week 2. He had 67 yards on nine touches in Week 1, which isn't great for a receiver--he was saved by a punt return touchdown. I think the Jags are a much tougher defense than they get credit for, and I don’t see Landry doing much better than his Week 1 performance. Without a return touchdown that is far from a great day. I still consider him a WR2 but not a high-end option.

Torrey Smith’s debut with San Francisco wasn’t a great one. He had just one target which he caught for 11 yards. I know Smith excels with the deep ball but I definitely expected at least five targets. I’m banking on a better day against Pittsburgh. I’m still not eager to start him but I think he can be a quality flex play this week.

One player I’m not getting excited about is James Jones. His two touchdowns were nice but I’m focusing on his four targets and 51 yards in Week 1. I don’t see him getting more than four targets in most weeks and I think he’s highly unlikely to be a consistent touchdown threat. I’m certainly not going near him this week against Seattle.

In Dallas, the receivers really need to step up to fill the void left by Dez Bryant for the next several weeks. Terrance Williams is the most likely candidate to step up but I’m not sold. He has a nice matchup this week and has flashed potential at times in his career, but he’s also been a pretty inconsistent player. He had 60 yards on eight targets this past week and I think that can be the general expectation. I think slot receiver Cole Beasley has the potential to be a Julian Edelman type player, and in PPR formats I think he absolutely needs to be picked up. I could see him getting six catches regularly if he can develop some chemistry with Romo. 

 

Week 2 Tight End (TE) Rankings Analysis

By Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades)

Tight ends were scoring all over the place last week! Both Travis Kelce and Tyler Eifert had huge games and I loved seeing that. You are still starting both this week, but temper expectations. Especially for Kelce, but both have much tougher matchups this week.

On the other end, one of the few disappointments at the position this past week was Greg Olsen. I was surprised that the Jags were so effective at shutting him down. He got only two targets all game. With so little at WR defenses will definitely focus on Olsen, but I’m remaining optimistic here and expecting a bounce back week against Houston. If not, that could spell trouble for both Olsen and Cam Newton all season.

Dwayne Allen picked up where he left off last year - a low-yardage day that was saved by a touchdown. He will get a lot of those with Andrew Luck at the helm. With T.Y. Hilton out this week I think Allen is a pretty safe play. He is clearly ahead of Coby Fleener at this point.

In Philadelphia, Zach Ertz was coming off injury so it was extra surprising to see him getting more snaps than Brent Celek. He just about doubled Celek’s snaps and got seven targets. I don’t think he’s 100% yet but I think that is a great sign for the season. I’m not expecting too much this week but I think we are going to see bigger and better things from Ertz in the near future.

Given the performance against Greg Olsen, I’m pretty cautious about Jordan Cameron this week vs the Jags. It’s hard to say whether they shut him down because they are good against tight ends or if they just focused on Olsen as the best receiver last week. The Jags allowed 90+ yards and a touchdown to opposing tight ends in each of the first three weeks of last season. Over the final 13 games they allowed just three total touchdowns and only once did opposing tight ends exceed 70 yards. I don’t think the success against Olsen was a fluke, and as a result I’m shying away from Cameron this week.

Josh Hill received some buzz after Jimmy Graham was traded with good reason. He managed to catch five touchdowns last year on very little playing time. In Week 1 he didn’t receive a single target on 18 snaps. Call it a hunch, but I think he finds the end zone this week against the Bucs.

 

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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.