Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Week 2 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2020 Edition

Quarterback

MVP: Dak Prescott (Cowboys)

Prescott was put in an ideal fantasy situation when the Cowboys went down big early against the Falcons and per usual, he delivered big. The 5th year quarterback threw for 450 YDS/1 TD and added another 3 scores on the ground as he served as the catalyst for the Cowboys preposterous 40-39 comeback victory. He'll have a legit chance to repeat as the top fantasy quarterback in Week 3 when the Cowboys travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on a very burnable Seahawks defense.

Honorable Mentions: Cam Newton (Patriots), Josh Allen (Bills), Russell Wilson (Seahawks)

LVP: Kirk Cousins (Vikings)

The 2020 season is off to a nightmare start for Cousins. He followed up his dismal Week 1 showing against the Packers with an even worse outing against the Colts that featured no garbage time statpadding (113 YDS/0 TD's) and a plethora of picks (3). With a pop warner-level offense and horrible receiving corps outside of Adam Thielen, there's no reason to roster Cousins at this juncture. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Deshuan Watson (Texans), Drew Brees (Saints)

Running Back

MVP: Aaron Jones (Packers)

It didn't take Jones long to remind fantasy owners of the type of awe-inspiring explosions he's capable of. The Packers entire offensive attack against the Lions ran through Jones, as he registered 236 scrimmage YDS (168 rushing, 68 receiving) and 3 TD's (2 rushing, 1 receiving) on the afternoon Whatever concerns there were about rookie A.J Dillon cutting into his workload have already been squashed, so keep firing up Jones as a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside.
Honorable Mentions: Alvin Kamara (Saints), Nick Chubb (Browns), Leonard Fournette (Buccaneers)

LVP: Nyhiem Hines (Colts)

After having a sizable role in the Colts offense following Marlon Mack's early exit from last week's game against the Jaguars with what ended up being a torn Achilles, Hines surprisingly went back to being an afterthought-registering just 1 reception for 4 YDS as rookie Jonathan Taylor was treated as the bellcow back versus the Vikings. While Hines is worth keeping around for now,  he'll be a very questionable start until some clarity is provided surrounding his week-to-week usage.

Dishonorable Mentions: David Johnson (Texans), Todd Gurley (Falcons), Zack Moss (Bills)

Wide Receiver

MVP: Calvin Ridley (Falcons)

Ridley continues to make the pundits that hyped him up as a breakout candidate look smart after  hauling in 7 catches for 109 YDS and 2 TD's against the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. As long as he continues to be the preferred the vertical threat and redzone target in this high-powered offense, he'll a fixture on the WR1 map.

Honorable Mentions: Stefon Diggs (Bills), Terry McLaurin (Washington Football Team), Julian Edelman (Patriots)

LVP: Julio Jones (Falcons)

While Week 1 saw multiple Falcons receivers feast, Jones was surprisingly left out of their latest explosive performance against the Cowboys. The 5x All-Pro remarkably caught only 2 passes for 24 YDS on a day where Matt Ryan was at his best. He'll look to rebound against the Bears respectable secondary in Week 3. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Allen Robinson (Bears), Will Fuller (Texans), Adam Thielen (Vikings)

Tight End

MVP: Tyler Higbee (Rams)

Higbee was only marginally more productive in Week 2 against the Eagles (5 REC/54 YDS) than he was in Week 1 against the Cowboys (3 REC/40 YDS). What ultimately made that pretty pedestrian reception/yardage output noteworthy was that 3 of those catches were TD's. While consistent production will be hard to come by in an offense that spreads the ball around, this performance does indicate that Higbee's a preferred redzone target of theirs-which will make him worth starting most weeks including in Week 3 against a banged-up Bills defense that just  allowed Mike Gesicki to have the best game of his career thus far.  

Honorable Mentions: Darren Waller (Raiders), Mike Gesicki (Dolphins), Jonnu Smith (Titans)

LVP: Rob Gronkowski (Buccaneers)

Gronk's comeback tour REALLY isn't going well. He failed to haul in his only target of the afternoon against the poor Panthers defense as his old friend Tom Brady spent most of the day throwing downfield to Mike Evans and checking down to their running back committee (Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, LeSean McCoy). With Chris Godwin returning to the lineup after missing this week with a concussion, Gronkowski's odds of receiving any notable chunk of the target share are about to get even lower. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Mark Andrews (Ravens), Austin Hooper (Browns), Chris Herndon (Jets)

Defense/Special Teams

MVP: Ravens

Through 2 weeks, the Ravens D doesn't seem to be missing Earl Thomas at all. They secured 4 sacks, an INT and a fumble recovery TD in their easy 33-16 win over the Texans on Sunday. This punishing group will receive their first really stiff test of the 2020 season against the Chiefs in Week 3. 

Honorable Mentions: Colts, Steelers, Buccaneers  

LVP: Bills

The absence of Matt Milano at inside linebacker and the crippling Miami heat go to the Bills on Sunday-as they surrendered 28 points while registering just 3 sacks and 0 takeaways against a questionable Dolphins offense that was wretched against the Patriots in their previous game. Following this potentially heat-based flop and domination of the pathetic Jets offense the previous game, their Week 3 date with the surprisingly efficient and sometimes lethal Rams offense should provide a good answer of where this group is really at right now.  

Dishonorable Mentions: 49ers, Titans, Chiefs

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