RADIO
Week 1 of the 2019 regular season started off with a whimper on Thursday, as predicted, as Aaron Rodgers looked shaky in his new offense, albeit against a strong Bears Defense on the road. But boy did Week 1 finish with a bang in Monday night's back-and-forth affair between the Saints and Texans that ended in a dramatic game-winning kick from Will Lutz.
We hope you enjoyed it all, and there's plenty more to come. Heading into Week 2, the best advice is to NOT overreact if your studs were quiet in the season opener. On the flip side, don't always jump to conclusions on those statistical explosions out of nowhere. We're here to help you avoid those common fantasy football pitfalls.
Below are 10 potential busts for Week 2 of the 2019 fantasy football season.
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Potential Quarterback Busts for Week 2
Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints @ Rams
Brees didn't look right in the first half of the Week 1 win over the Texans, but he bounced back to lead his team to a comeback victory in the end, going 32-for-43 (74.4% completion rate) for 370 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
The 40-year-old signal-caller still has plenty left in the tank in an explosive offense. Brees is a beast in the dome at home, but he's been a different quarterback on the road for most of his career. In 2018, Brees had a worse completion percentage (72.7% road/76.3% home), only 11 of his 32 TDs, four of his five interceptions and a worse QB rating (99.3 road/133.3 home) away from the dome.
LA's defense is stout at all levels, and they made Cam Newton look bad in the opener, limiting him to 239 air yards, negative-two rushing yards, no touchdowns and one interception while sacking him three times.
Kyler Murray - Arizona Cardinals @ Ravens
If not for the fourth quarter in Week 1's tie against the Lions, fantasy owners would probably already be cursing the first overall draft pick. Murray salvaged his line with a big comeback and finished 29-for-54 for 308 yards (53.7 completion percentage) with two touchdowns and one ill-advised pick. The final line looks decent, but Murray only averaged 5.7 yards per completion and had a QB rating of just 32.6.
The rookie will face a much stiffer test on the road against a daunting Ravens Defense in Week 2. Baltimore manhandled the lowly Dolphins in Week 1 and ranked fifth in the NFL last year in limiting opponents to 210 passing yards per game. Don't expect a high ceiling from Murray on Sunday.
Others: Baker Mayfield (@ Jets), Russell Wilson (@ Steelers)
Potential Running Back Busts for Week 2
Leonard Fournette - Jacksonville Jaguars @ Texans
It's only fair to downgrade all of Jacksonville's skill players with the move from quarterback Nick Foles (collarbone) to rookie Gardner Minshew, and that includes Fournette. The Jags coaching staff would probably prefer to hand the ball off more to Fournette to take some pressure off the rookie, but they'll probably be more successful throwing the ball against Houston.
The Texans were third-best in 2018 in stopping the opponent's ground game, giving up only 82.7 rushing yards a game. Minshew looked capable in garbage time against the Chiefs, but Fournette might be more of a high-end RB2 instead of an RB1 with the downgrade under center.
Devonta Freeman - Atlanta Falcons Vs. Eagles
You may ask how Freeman can get worse than eight carries for 19 yards (2.4 yards per carry) in Week 1. To be fair, the Falcons were playing from behind all game and became one-dimensional. But Freeman didn't look good in his limited touches and is coming off a lost season due to injury.
It won't help that he'll be going up an Eagles defensive front in Week 2 that gave up a measly 28 yards on the ground in the season opener. Philly held their opponents under 100 rushing yards per game in 2018 as well, so if Atlanta is going to avoid an 0-2 start this year, it'll likely be through the air.
Phillip Lindsay - Denver Broncos Vs. Bears
Lindsay was an excellent surprise as an undrafted free agent for the Broncos in 2018, but can he keep the bar high in his sophomore season? Week 1 wasn't a good start in Oakland, as he had just one more carry than Royce Freeman and did less with his attempts (3.9 YPC).
Lindsay and Freeman nearly split the offensive snaps 50-50 on Monday night, with Lindsay playing 53% of the snaps and Freeman in on 50%. If that trend continues and Freeman gets goal-line touches, Lindsay's floor will be considerably lower in 2019.
The entire Denver offense is likely to struggle against Chicago's elite defense in Week 2, making Lindsay more of an RB3/flex. The Bears allowed a league-low 80 rushing yards per game in 2018 and also held Aaron Jones and company to just 47 rushing yards last Thursday night.
Others: David Johnson (@ Ravens), Joe Mixon (Vs. 49ers), Kerryon Johnson (Vs. Chargers)
Potential Wide Receiver Busts for Week 2
Josh Gordon - New England Patriots @ Dolphins
We know that Gordon is a freak athlete with tremendous upside in New England's offense, but how will things shake out once Antonio Brown is added to the mix and he's jockeying for targets with both Brown and Julian Edelman?
While Gordon does have a healthy 17.5 yard-per-catch average in his career and had 73 yards and a score in Week 1, he also played just 67% of the offensive snaps and was targeted just four times in the season opener.
The Dolphins, Gordon's Week 2 matchup, did allow a whopping 379 receiving yards in the opener, but he could be boom or bust if Brown makes his debut this Sunday. And if New England gets out to a huge lead, all bets are off that they'll leave Gordon in the game or continue passing.
Stefon Diggs - Minnesota Vikings @ Packers
Minnesota threw the ball just 10 times in the Week 1 win over Atlanta. That won't always be the case, but the Vikes are definitely committed to establishing the ground game under offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.
The bigger cause for concern is Diggs' health. He battled a hamstring ailment in practice last week and historically hasn't produced much when playing through injuries. If he's still slowed by a bum leg, it could be a second straight disappointing week against a Packers secondary that is vastly improved.
Allen Robinson - Chicago Bears @ Broncos
Sunday's Bears-Broncos matchup in Denver has defensive battle written all over it. Robinson turned a healthy 13 targets into seven catches for 102 yards in the season opener, but he's likely to be followed around by Broncos shutdown cornerback Chris Harris Jr. a lot in this one.
Derek Carr mostly avoided throwing Harris' way on Monday night and picked on Isaac Yiadom instead. If Mitchell Trubisky follows suit in Week 2, Robinson will be looking at a much more modest workload on the road in a tough environment.
Others: Tyler Lockett (@ Steelers), Kenny Golladay (Vs. Chargers), Dede Westbrook (@ Texans)
Potential Tight End Busts for Week 2
Zach Ertz - Philadelphia Eagles @ Falcons
Ertz remains one of the top tight ends in fantasy, but his production may take a bit of a dip in 2019 with the Eagles running more two-tight end sets featuring Dallas Goedert, and Carson Wentz has a ton of other options to go to. Ertz will get his targets and catches, but he could be more touchdown-dependent. He's facing a Falcons team that held Kyle Rudolph to a donut in Week 1.
Greg Olsen - Carolina Panthers Vs. Buccaneers (Thursday)
The Tampa defense presents a great opportunity for the veteran tight end. Olsen was on the field for 94% of the team's offensive snaps in Week 1 and was targeted nine times by Cam Newton. He only caught four of those targets, though, and jacked up his back in the process. The 34-year-old expects to play despite a questionable tag, but don't be surprised if he's limited after playing in only 16 games the previous two seasons due to injuries.
Others: Vance McDonald (Vs. Seahawks)
