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It's hard to believe that Week 2 of the NFL season is here already. While Week 1 came with plenty of surprises we were reminded that Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes, Justin Jefferson picked up right where he left off leaving the Packers' defense burning in his wake, and Jonathan Taylor showed us why many viewed him as the 1.01 all offseason. Hopefully, you followed the advice of yours truly buying the dip on Saquon Barkley while playing the values that were there in Jahan Dotson and Zach Ertz in Week 1 of DFS. Now let's hope I can give you some better picks at quarterback this week as I should have better anticipated the weather in Chicago being a problem as well as Derek Carr being under duress from Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa all afternoon.
It is a shame for all of us that the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers game is on Thursday Night Football as it features the highest projected point total of the week and won't be a part of the Sunday slate. The Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders have the highest projected point total at 51.5. Neither defense looked great last week as Arizona surrendered 44 points and 488 total yards. The Raiders' defense bottled up Austin Ekeler on the ground, but their pass rush was non-existent as they didn't register a single sack on Sunday while giving up 279 through the air to Justin Herbert.
This article will run every week throughout the regular season. It won't include the obvious picks, but rather the less expensive players who are being undervalued. If you missed my Week 1 article with DFS tips and tricks, it can be found here. Values are considered quarterbacks in the 5k range, running backs who are 6k or less, wide receivers at 5.5k and under, and 4k or less for tight ends based on DraftKings salaries. In tournaments, we should be trying to stack our quarterback with one of their pass catchers and in cash games, we should be looking for players with higher guaranteed floors to get us over the 50/50 hump. No matter which one you decide to play this week, here are some bargain players with potential in Week Two. Now let's get to those picks already!
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Quarterback NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 2
Daniel Jones, NYG vs CAR | DK: $5,100, FD: $7,100
A player who has drawn the ire of the fantasy community in recent years, Daniel Jones was solid last week for the Giants. In a 21-20 win over Tennessee. Jones was 17 of 21 for 188 yards while throwing for 2 TDs and 1 INT. He also added 25 yards on the ground. While this performance wasn't eye-popping by any stretch it was good for 17.02 points and Jones finished as the QB16 on the week.
While Browns QB Jacoby Brissett didn't throw for a lot against the Panthers in Week 1, their offense was just about able to do what it wanted all game long and we should expect similar results from the Giants. With Saquon Barkley fully healthy and looking like his old self, Daniel Jones's job just got a whole lot easier. With new Head Coach Brian Daboll running the Giants the team looked noticeably better in just his first game.
Daboll was brought in to help fix Jones and make him worthy of being the 6th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Giants drafted Evan Neal from Alabama with the No. 7 overall selection and made some significant upgrades to their offensive line. Last season the Giants' offensive line was ranked 30th out of 32 according to PFF.
Jones has more mobility than he is given credit for and can provide some rushing upside for your weekly lineup. Jones suffered a brutal concussion in Week 5 of the 2021 season. Before that injury, he was averaging 23.3 points per game on top of 47 rushing yards. Is it possible we could see a resurrection of the same sort this season?
Jones is the twenty-fifth most expensive quarterback on DK this week. If you are looking to invest big resources elsewhere he is a good value option this week with upside. While the Panthers gave up the third-least points to QBs in Week 1, that was mostly due to their matchup against Brissett.
Davis Mills, HOU at DEN | DK: $5,200, FD: $6,400
A player who has been largely overlooked by the fantasy community this season, Mills can sling the rock. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 240 yards and 2 TDs last week against Houston. Mills has virtually no rushing upside for your weekly lineup, but he has enough weapons in Houston to get the job done lead by Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, Chris Moore, Rex Burkhead, Brevin Jordan, and O.J. Howard.
While he only finished as the QB20 with 15.5 fantasy points, Seahawks Quarterback Geno Smith looked very good passing against the Broncos' defense on MNF in Week 1. The Texans are 10-point underdogs on the road in Denver and Mills feels like the kind of quarterback who could pad his stats even in games against prevent defenses when Houston is trailing.
Mills was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school in Georgia before two ACL tears and the Covid-19 outbreak shortened his college career. If Mills had stayed for his senior season at Stanford and entered the 2022 NFL Draft, many scouts argued that he would have been the first quarterback taken in the draft. While he is going to need to throw for lots of yardage and 3 touchdowns to crack the top five, it is possible.
Running Back NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 2
Javonte Williams, DEN vs HOU | DK: $6,500, FD: $7,300
A player who would be one of the most expensive running backs in DFS every week if the roster also didn't feature Melvin Gordon, Williams looked great in Week 1 where he hauled in 11 of his 12 targets for 65 yards on top of rushing 7 times for 43 yards. He had a red zone fumble at the goal line, but it was mostly due to Russell Wilson mismanaging the play clock and allowing the opposing defensive tackle to jump the snap and blow up the play.
Williams's 12 targets in the passing game were fantastic for his fantasy production, but is it a sustainable trend going forward? Due to Russell Wilson's smaller height than the average quarterback he does not throw over the middle as often as his peers. Due to the reality that Wilson only throws toward the sidelines, this could be fantastic for Javonte's weekly fantasy output as it renders him relatively game-script-proof.
The Texans gave up the 6th most fantasy points to running backs last week after Jonathan Taylor gashed them on the ground. Given what looks like a juicy matchup for Denver this Sunday, Williams feels like a must-start. While having Gordon out there will inevitably steal some higher-value touches from Williams at some point during the game, that is also why he is only $6,500 versus over $9,000 now, isn't it?
Javonte was near the top of NFL running backs in some important metrics in 2021. In YAC he was tied for second with 3.3, in broken tackle percentage he was first at 15.8%, and in evasion percentage, he was first with 21%. It was easy to see from MNF that he is a budding superstar who just needs more touches. Williams runs with a rare blend of power and speed and many have comped him to a young Le'Veon Bell.
Darrell Henderson, LAR vs ATL | DK: $5,700, FD: $6,200
A player who flew way too far under the radar over the summer, Henderson surprised on opening night after playing most of the game for the Rams. He had a couple of nice runs but was mostly running into a brick wall all game as the Bills' defensive front dominated. Henderson finishes with 13 carries for 47 yards while catching 5 passes for 26 yards.
In 2021, Henderson had seven games of 15+ PPG in half PPR formats. Given how much he played in the opening game, the backfield appears more his and not Cam Akers for the time being. While Henderson has had his share of injuries in the past few seasons, it seemed pretty clear that head coach Sean McVay was comfortable with him being the lead back as he featured an 82% snap share.
While Alvin Kamara and the Saints running backs didn't do too much against the Falcons' defense last Sunday, many have the Falcons ranked as a bottom-tier unit for 2022. Taysom Hill rushed 4 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, so the numbers are partially skewed since Hill is listed as a tight end on most fantasy websites.
With a value at under 6k on DK, Henderson looks to be a great value on what should be a bounce-back game for the Rams offense.
Antonio Gibson, WAS at DET | DK: $6,200 FD: $7,400
No one has had a more tumultuous offseason than Antonio Gibson. After being delegated to fielding kickoffs in the preseason and the Washington Commanders stating that newly drafted Brian Robinson Jr. was going to be the lead running back, everything changed in DC after Robinson was unfortunately shot in a carjacking attempt. While thankfully Robinson survived, he will be sidelined for several more weeks opening up the door once again for Gibson.
Gibson looked good in Washington's Week 1 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars after he rushed 14 times for 58 yards and caught 7 of his 8 targets for 72 yards while scoring over 20 fantasy points. Gibson was a converted wide receiver in college at Memphis, so the receiving upside is there for him.
This week the Commanders play the Lions who gave up four rushing touchdowns in their Week 1 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Lions' defense has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs in their last eight regular season games.
While the Commander's backfield could become a three-headed monster and an absolute nightmare for fantasy purposes once Robinson returns, for the time being, the lead back opportunities in the backfield belong to Gibson. The frustrating part about Gibson is he has been a good NFL player during his two seasons in the league, but the feeling doesn't appear mutual from Washington. Most of us who watch football on Sundays look at Antonio Gibson through the eyes of Jack Black in the film, Shallow Hal. Unfortunately, the Commanders see him as the less aesthetically pleasing version.
Wide Receiver NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 2
Allen Robinson, LAR vs ATL | DK: $5,500, FD: $5,700
Robinson's debut for the Rams against the Bills was nothing short of a disaster. The Rams' offensive line was bombarded all night while Quarterback Matthew Stafford was under more pressure than Hillary Clinton during a Benghazi hearing. The football gods just want Allen Robinson going from Blake Bortles to Mitch Trubisky to John Wolford, don't they?
Robinson saw just two targets and had 1 reception for 12 yards leaving many fantasy managers panicked. It's easy to forget that the Bills have what may be the NFL's best defense this season and they were hungry. The Rams signed Allen Robinson to a three-year / $45 million contract this offseason and all plans are for him to be the team's most featured weapon besides Cooper Kupp.
While many have a poor taste in their mouth from the Rams' offense looking like Jeff Fisher was still coaching it, all signs are pointing to the Rams rebounding well at home against the Falcons in Week 2. No need to panic. Hit the gas on Robinson with confidence and ride the wave to victory this week.
Jahan Dotson, WAS at DET | DK: $4,200, FD: $5,500
A player who was featured in Week 1 as a value play, Dotson makes the list yet again. He was outstanding all offseason in Washington and looks to be settled in as the number two receiver on the team behind Terry McLaurin. While he had just three receptions in Week One, two of those Dotson hauled in for touchdowns, including one where he displayed some incredible route running abilities for a rookie.
It was easy for many to forget that Dotson was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft after he finished up his senior season at Penn State with 91 receptions for 1182 yards (13.0 YPC) and 12 touchdowns where he also had a 30 percent target share. While Dan Campbell can try as many motivational speeches as he wants, it's no secret that the Lions' defense still needs some work.
Eagles Wide Receiver AJ Brown feasted against the Lions' secondary last week with 10 catches for 155 yards. Dotson is not yet on that level, but at his price that hasn't adjusted much despite him having a great Week 1, we should press and continue to ride this one until the wheels fall off.
While it may feel gross to say out loud, Carson Wentz looked solid in his Week 1 debut for the Commanders. We don't know how their defense will be this year and the team could be featured in a handful of shootouts that can be favorable for fantasy. Dotson is an electrifying talent with the type of deep speed to go for a long touchdown at any time.
Greg Dortch, ARI vs LV | DK: $3,500, FD: $5,500
A player that Underdog and other fantasy websites had to add just before the season, Greg Dortch is currently the number two pass catcher on a Cardinals wide receiving group that has been hit hard with Rondale Moore sidelined with a hamstring injury and the high-flying DeAndre Hopkins still sidelined for five more games.
An undrafted free agent in 2019, Dortch signed with the Cardinals this summer and made the team. Dortch was targeted nine times in Week One and caught 7 passes for 63 yards in a game where the Cards lost handily to the Chiefs. The Cardinals-Raiders game has the most projected points of all the games on the Sunday slate, so this one appears like it will have a high chance of being a shootout.
While Dortch is still relatively unproven, he did enough in Week 1 to give us confidence in playing him for another week. He had 13.3 fantasy points last week and finished as the WR27. Marquise Brown is more of a deep-threat type of receiver and needs to show that he can work the underneath and middle routes more to earn consistent volume. Given the fast pace of the Cardinals' offense plus several players out, Dortch is a relative bargain on DFS even if it may not look pretty during the game.
Tight End NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 2
Zach Ertz, ARI at LV | DK: $4,500, FD: $5,200
The highest projected scoring game on the Sunday slate, the Cardinals appear to be in for another high-scoring game against the Raiders. Zach Ertz didn't have the best of games in Week 1 where he only caught 4 of his 2 targets for 14 yards, but he did have a touchdown. He is a solid value in DFS due to the high projected O/U for the Cards-Raiders game and there aren't many options for Kyler Murray to choose from currently.
Last season, Ertz was sent to Arizona halfway through the 2021 season but put up some impressive numbers with 56 catches for 574 yards and 3 scores over 11 games. There is some room for Ertz to produce for fantasy this season until De'Andre Hopkins is back. In six games without Hopkins in 2021, Ertz had nearly a 24% target share and finished in the top 10 in 71.4% of his games.
If you aren't someone who usually likes to spend big at tight ends, Ertz is your guy.
David Njoku, CLE vs NYJ | DK: $3,700, FD: $4,900
David Njoku frustrated fantasy managers in Week One after he caught just one pass for 7 yards even though he played on 89% of the downs. Njoku was used more as a blocker as the Browns' game plan was to feature Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt as much as possible to wear down Carolina's defense on the road and gut out a win.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett wasn't great in his first start, only completing 18 of his 34 passes for 147 yards and 1 touchdown. The good news is the Browns have a very favorable matchup against a Jets defense that allowed the 5th most points to opposing tight ends last season. There is a good chance that the Jets will feature rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner against Amari Cooper this week which could open things up for Njoku.
At some point, the Browns' offense is going to need to start airing it out to win some games until Deshaun Watson is back from suspension. Njoku has an elite athletic profile for a tight end and is capable of making some big plays. If you want to invest your resources elsewhere this week he can be a value for you with just one long touchdown.
Thank you for reading my article. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or follow me on Twitter if you enjoyed this piece. Best of luck this week!
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