Week 2 Fantasy Football Rankings Analysis - Laghezza vs. Mariano Rankings Comparisons

September 13, 2025

Week 2 fantasy football rankings analysis for 2025. John compares his custom fantasy football rankings and projections to identify players he's higher or lower than consensus.

Welcome back to our Week 2 RotoBallers' Rankings Clash Of The Titans! They say if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best — so here goes nothing. Last week, Nick and I battled to a tie thanks to Ricky Pearsall, though I'm granting him an undisputed win for the epic scale of my miss on the Jets/Steelers game. Woof.

Even though we're locked in a weekly ranking skirmish, don't get it twisted — Mariano and I are like family, and just like a real family, we don't always agree. As someone who generates custom player projections, I can find myself consumed in my own little bubble at times. So much work goes into forming opinions; they can become too rigid, but not this time...

Each and every week, I'll conduct a comparative analysis by scraping our resident expert Nick Mariano's on-site consensus projections and pitting them against my own for any major differences. Enjoy our little fantasy clash of the titans, and feel free to let me know what you think on social media.

Week 2 Ranking Disputes: Quarterback

I'm Higher Than Consensus On Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (vs NYG)

Leading off with my favorite buy-low spot under center, I'm remaining higher on Dallas' Dak Prescott than the general market. The thing about turning the fantasy page to Week 2 is there's only one data point on the ledger thus far — and it's not necessarily predictive. Think of it this way. It's the middle of the season, and someone complains to you that the Eagles smooshed your fantasy quarterback into little tiny pieces. More likely than not, the proper response is a common shrug and maybe a "hey, what did you expect?"

That's precisely how I'm seeing Prescott's encore this weekend in his home debut versus the division rival Giants. Fine, the Week 1 box score (188-0-0; 1-3-0) isn't necessarily screaming top-5 performance incoming, but it's not all bad. Dak finished the game healthy (sigh of relief), leading the league in both deep pass attempts (seven) and dropped passes (four). Run those same inputs back against a much weaker opponent like the Giants, and expectations change greatly.

Despite a talented front-four, Big Blue struggled mightily in Week 1 to finish bottom-5 defensively in yards per game (432), yards per play (6.6), plus both tackle (44.6%) and defensive success rates (47.7%). Something tells me the WR combination of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens goes nuclear, and ranking Prescott outside the top-10, or even worse, leaving him on your bench, will be a major source of fantasy regret come Monday morning.

Dak Prescott has won thirteen straight games against the Giants 😤🤠 pic.twitter.com/7NotDPZdgu

— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) September 12, 2025

I'm lower on Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (vs CAR) 

Putting faith in the Panthers... what could go wrong? Kyler Murray and the Redbirds barely escaped New Orleans with a narrow Week 1 victory, which to me says more about the inefficacy of the Cardinals' offense than harboring fears to face the Saints D. Sure, Murray's 108.8 passer rating looks good on the surface. However, pull the threads on Sunday's performance, and the whole bullish narrative unravels quicker than expected.

Murray averaged a measly 5.6 yards per attempt vs New Orleans, including an awful +17% off those tries off-target (!) with only 33% making it to the first-down marker. Yikes, let that sink in. Add in five sacks taken, and the body of work's hardly shaping into a hallmark for success. I'll end up wearing some fantasy egg on my face if the Panthers fall flat again — though I'd counter that Carolina's defense fails more so to stop opposing ground games than anything.

The Cardinals also operate slowly on offense, partly why the game total's stuck at over/under 44.5. Part of me thinks the Panthers bounce back, but even if they don't, Arizona could win without a big-time performance from Kyler.

Week 2 Ranking Disputes: Running Back

I'm Higher Than Consensus On James Cook, Buffalo Bills (at NYJ)

From first glance, I'd say the offseason rumors of James Cook's demise at the hands of backup Ray Davis were greatly exaggerated. After months of contract concerns leading to what now looks like irrational handcuff exuberance, Cook played ball hog in Week 1, commanding 18 of 22 (81.9%) of the Bills' backfield touches. Defensive attention also gets split away from Cook with perennial MVP Josh Allen under center, helping create necessary space for production. I think the best we see from Cook's yet to come.

Just one game into the season, Cook's already logged a +100 scrimmage yard game, and if his ability in the pass game's any indication (19.2% target/route, 2.2 yards/route), there are many more to come. Buffalo's going to project among the very best offenses every week and don't look now — Cook's remarkable +0.46 fantasy points per snap mimic the first clue of leveling up to superstar status on the horizon.

The Jets also just got steamrolled for 34 points by the slow-moving Steelers — and if Gang Green couldn't stop Old Man Rodgers, what are the chances of stopping Cook and the Bills as TD underdogs? (whispers) It's not great.

James Cook has 11 TDs in his last 10 regular season games 🔥pic.twitter.com/AeG3TxIMRM

— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) September 8, 2025

I'm lower on James Conner, Arizona Cardinals (vs CAR)

It's still too early for victory laps of any shape and size, but if you're rostering veteran RB James Conner, the red flags can't be ignored. Despite earning the lion's share of snaps, Conner only out-touched backup Trey Benson 16-9 and got summarily outplayed in the process. The Cardinals' third-round sophomore out of Florida State lapped Conner across the board from EPA/carry to yards/attempt and explosive play rate. Not a great sign for the veteran tailback.

Don't get me wrong — Conner's still the starter and absolutely fantasy viable. With that in mind, his days of domination via volume could very well be over if Benson continues displaying the same level of explosivity. Luckily for Conner, no matchup's been softer for RBs than the Panthers. I know I'm going out on a limb for this one, but it wouldn't surprise me if we've already begun to witness a flipping in the Arizona backfield (ducks).

Week 2 Ranking Disputes: Wide Receiver

I'm Higher Than Consensus On Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders (vs LAC)

Forget missing repetitions because of contract disputes, Las Vegas' Jakobi Meyers appeared to gel just fine with new QB Geno Smith. No matter how you slice it, Meyers popped in the Week 1 spreadsheets, from the elite +97% route participation to earning double-digit targets for roughly one-quarter of the Raiders' total air yards. That's what we call the formula for a fantasy WR1.

Now the weekend's approaching fast, and alpha tight end Brock Bowers still hasn't practiced, leaving almost no scenario in which Meyers doesn't soak up a dozen targets. Jim Harbaugh's defense never makes for too soft a landing spot, but I'm staying bullish on the focal point of a new-look Raiders' passing offense. Buy high where possible.

I'm lower on A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles (at KC)

As someone with some very expensive second-round A.J. Brown shares, this brings me zero pleasure — but needs to be said nonetheless. After spending this entire piece pushing back on overreactions, I'm honestly terrified a huge mistake's been made. Whether explained by a weird Week 1 game script or recovering from that nagging hamstring injury, earning just one target in a highly competitive divisional game worries me... a lot.

I'll be glad to stand corrected in the face of a huge Eagles' bounce back, but you can color me skeptical that it happens against a tough Chiefs' D this weekend.

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