This article is part of our DraftKings NFL series.
These are my favorite DraftKings plays for Week 2, picking strictly from the 14-game Sunday slate (as of Thursday afternoon). At the end of the page, I'll briefly touch on the Thursday night (Jets-Bills) and Monday night (Eagles-Bears) games, which are part of the Thursday-Monday 16-game slate on DK.
Make sure to keep an eye on weather leading up to Sunday afternoon, as the current forecast calls for rain and/or high temperatures at a bunch of NFL locales. This isn't something I worry about too much three or four days ahead of time, but it needs to be monitored as opening kickoffs approach.
Quarterback
Eli Manning, NYG (vs. NO), $7,600 – Manning started his season in solid but unspectacular fashion against a pace-draining Dallas team, throwing for 207 yards (7.4 YPA) and three touchdowns on a meager 28 attempts. Now facing a New Orleans squad that prefers to push the pace and air things out, Manning should get a major boost in terms of both attempts and YPA. If Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz actually stay healthy, this will be (by far) the best supporting cast Manning has played with since Plaxico Burress was a top wide receiver rather than the butt of a bad joke. Did I mention that Manning is playing the woeful New Orleans defense? Everything else is just icing on the cake.
Blake Bortles, JAX (at SD), $6,700 – Adamant though I've been that Bortles is an overrated real-life quarterback, there's no denying his ability to put up huge numbers in the right matchup. The NFL's new garbage-time king had four games of 300+ passing yards and 3+ touchdowns last season, with those performances coming against the Bucs, Titans, Texans and Saints (he also threw 3 picks against Houston). Price at No. 13 among the 28 starting quarterbacks on Sunday's slate, Bortles gets to face a San Diego defense that gave up 32 DraftKings points to Alex Smith in Week 1. As a bonus, all of Bortles' key weapons carry reasonable price tags. If Chris Ivory misses another game due to his medical concern, this would be one of the better times to pair a starting quarterback and starting running back, as T.J. Yeldon ($4,700) is a solid pass-catcher who would become one of the week's top value plays.
Other options:Matthew Stafford, DET (vs. TEN), $7,300; David Carr, OAK (vs. ATL), $7,200; Andy Dalton, CIN (at PIT), $6,400; Philip Rivers, SD (vs. JAX), $6,400; Marcus Mariota, TEN (at DET), $6,000
Running Back
DeAngelo Williams, PIT (vs. CIN), $7,100 – If you haven't noticed by now, maybe you picked up on it last week -- When Le'Veon Bell isn't available, DeAngelo Williams puts up Le'Veon Bell-esque numbers. While he may not possess his younger teammate's sublime footwork and agility, the 33-year-old Williams gets the same workload in the same offense, and he's clearly still a starting-caliber NFL running back (to put it lightly). With Antonio Brown ($9,900) carrying a sky-high price and almost certain to be the week's most popular play, Williams provides us with a way to fade Brown without totally fading the Pittsburgh offense. If Williams and Brown post similar point totals -- as they did last week -- you're much better off having DeAngelo in your lineup.
Danny Woodhead, SD (vs. JAX), $5,200 – Woodhead quietly produced at a low-end RB1/high-end RB2 level in PPR leagues in 2015, just two years removed from a 2013 campaign in which he was (also quietly) a mid-end RB1 for PPR leaguers. Not to say I was expecting the same this season, but with Keenan Allen (knee) now out for the year, the stage is set for more Woodhead heroics. Melvin Gordon will also be a big part of the offense, but even with Gordon rushing for a pair of touchdowns in Week 1, it was Woodhead who ultimately had the better fantasy performance, thanks in large part to his 50-23 advantage in snaps. In Allen's absence, the diminutive running back becomes the odds-on favorite to lead San Diego in catches per game.
Other options:David Johnson, ARI (vs. TB), $7,600; Lamar Miller, HOU (vs. KC), $7,200; C.J. Anderson, DEN (vs. IND), $6,800; DeMarco Murray, TEN (at DET), $5,700; T.J. Yeldon, JAX (at SD), $4,700; Justin Forsett, BAL (at CLE), $4,400; LeGarrette Blount, NE (vs. MIA), $4,000; Terrance West, BAL (at CLE), $3,300; Travaris Cadet, NO (at NYG), $3,000
Wide Receiver
A.J. Green, CIN (at PIT), $8,900 – Coming off a Week 1 destruction of former legend Darrelle Revis, the oft-unstoppable Green gets to face a shaky Pittsburgh secondary that he's consistently owned. As any AFC North fan can tell you, Green was a high-end WR1 for division games and more of a WR2 for non-division games the past few years. Granted, I expect that to change this season, with Green having a nice opportunity to threaten his previous career-high mark of 180 targets (2013). He should reach the Julio Jones-Odell Beckham statistical level this season, even if we disregard his massive Week 1 showing. This is also one of our few chances to get Green when his team will likely be trailing, or at least taking part in a back-and-forth game. He went for 17-250-2 on 26 targets in two games against Pittsburgh last year.
Tajae Sharpe, TEN (at DET), $4,100 – I figured Sharpe and Rishard Matthews would vie for the No. 1 wideout role in Tennessee, but as it turns out, I was either giving Matthews too much credit or Sharpe too little. The rookie had seven catches and 11 targets on 64 snaps in Week 1, whereas Matthews played fewer snaps (35) than Harry Douglas and drew fewer targets (four) than Andre Johnson. With Matthews safely buried as a DFS option for the time being, Sharpe is the clear top receiver on a team that figures to spend much of its season playing from behind. A possible matchup with Lions CB Darius Slay does give me pause, but I'm guessing Sharpe hasn't quite earned the shadow treatment just yet.
Chris Hogan, NE (vs. MIA), $3,500 – One of my favorite 2016 breakout candidates, Hogan had an encouraging workload Week 1 in Arizona, playing 55 of New England's 71 offensive snaps, compared to 61 for Julian Edelman, 39 for Malcolm Mitchell and just 19 for Danny Amendola. While Hogan only accounted for four of the team's 33 targets, it's worth noting that no Patriot had more than seven, with Jimmy Garoppolo spreading the ball around to an unusual degree. As the clear No. 2 wide receiver in a high-powered offense, Hogan will almost certainly cost at least $4,000 (and likely closer to $5,000) by mid-season. If you're wondering what to expect, Brandon LaFell's 2014 stat line (74-953-7) is a reasonable proxy. Should Rob Gronkowski (hamstring) sit again, Hogan just might be my favorite wide receiver play of the week. He did make the most of those four targets last week, catching three passes for 60 yards and a score.
Other options:Odell Beckham, NYG (vs. NO), $9,500; Julio Jones, ATL (at OAK), $9,200; Allen Robinson, JAX (at SD), $7,800; Amari Cooper, OAK (vs. ATL), $7,600; Emmanuel Sanders, DEN (vs. IND), $6,000; Michael Floyd, ARI (vs. TB), $5,900; Willie Snead, NO (at NYG), $5,800; Marvin Jones, DET (vs. TEN), $5,500; Allen Hurns, JAX (at SD), $5,400; Travis Benjamin, SD (vs. JAX), $4,400; Will Fuller, HOU (vs. KC), $4,200; Eli Rogers, PIT (vs. CIN), $4,100; Vincent Jackson, TB (at ARI), $4,000
Tight End
Gary Barnidge, CLE (vs. BAL), $4,000 – This has to be the biggest fantasy boost any player has ever received after losing his starting quarterback to an injury. I'm far from the first person to point this out, as Barnidge was an absolute monster when paired with Josh McCown last season, averaging 6.1 catches for 86.1 yards and 0.86 touchdowns in the veteran quarterback's seven starts. In case you haven't noticed, McCown still won't have anybody else to target, as first-round rookie Corey Coleman has come crawling out of the gate to start his career. Don't be discouraged by Barnidge's zero-burger last week -- he played 51 of the 52 available offensive snaps, and it's more of a commentary on Griffin's incompetence.
Other options:Antonio Gates, SD (vs. JAX); Julius Thomas, JAX (at SD), $4,400; Eric Ebron, DET (vs. TEN), $3,500; Jacob Tamme, ATL (at OAK), $2,900
Team D/ST
New England Patriots (vs. MIA), $3,000 – The New England defense held its own in a dreadful Week 1 matchup, limiting the high-powered Arizona offense to 21 points in the desert. Things get much easier this week, with the Dolphins heading to Foxboro in the aftermath of a surprisingly feisty Week 1 showing in Seattle. Of course, it wasn't the Miami offense that came up big in that came, as Ryan Tannehill and Co. were predictably overwhelmed by Seattle's monstrous defense. Facing another tough defense on the road, Tannehill won't be able to avoid turnovers for a second straight week. With the Patriots heavily favored, a New England D/ST-LeGarrette Blount ($4,000) stack carries quite a bit of appeal.
Other options: Seattle Seahawks (at LA), $3,800; Baltimore Ravens (at CLE), $3,000; Washington Redskins (vs. DAL), $2,800; Detroit Lions (vs. TEN), $2,800; Oakland Raiders (vs. ATL), $2,700
Extended Slate
New York Jets at Buffalo – As discussed in the past, it's a near-certainty that every key player in the Thursday Night game will carry a higher ownership percentage than he would in the same matchup for a Sunday afternoon game. I'm therefore inclined to fade across the board unless there's an obviously, undeniable value -- the kind that arises when a starter is injured and his dirt-cheap backup is set for a heavy workload.
With Sammy Watkins (foot) uncertain to play, Robert Woods ($4,000) and Charles Clay ($3,300) could both take on expanded workloads...but I can't imagine anyone would be excited to roster either player. LeSean McCoy ($6,500), Matt Forte ($6,600), Eric Decker ($6,500) and Brandon Marshall ($7,500) are also in play, due to their sky-high ceilings, but again… are you really excited to roster any of those guys in a difficult matchup with the Thursday ownership spike? If forced to pick, I'll go with Marshall, who produced as a high-end WR1 last season but is priced as a high-end WR2.
Philadelphia at Chicago – This game carries far more intrigue, with Eagles TE Zach Ertz (ribs/shoulder) likely unable to play and Jeremy Langford ($4,600) badly underpriced for a three-down starting running back. Langford is an elite option, while WR Jordan Matthews ($6,900) and TE Brent Celek ($2,600) are both viable, assuming Ertz is absent. But mostly, get Langford in your lineups (no rush, you have until Monday).
