Week 2 can be just as much of a trap as Week 1. While it’s easy to write off one performance as a fluke, two can be the start of a trend.
Last year, people were wise enough to ignore a Week 1 boom game from Derek Carr. His 21.3 points were good enough to be QB6 on the week. “The Panthers stink. Flukey game.” After following that up with a 22.8-point Week 2 performance, though, Carr was suddenly the QB2 through two weeks. “They beat Dallas. They look legit. Maybe we underestimated Derek Carr.”
Carr was atop every waiver wire show and article heading into Week 3. It didn’t matter that they were playing the Eagles. Carr just beat the Cowboys! Even if you don’t remember what happened, you can probably guess. Carr went 14-for-25 with 142 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Nine points in fantasy. Carr was QB28 on the week. Suddenly, starting Carr felt pretty silly. But at the time, the Saints had back-to-back decisive wins! Carr was playing his first year with a new offensive coordinator, and it seemed like a perfect fit. Chris Olave was healthy.
And as I relive this experience, I can’t help but think of Daniel Jones. The same script might be playing out right now. They’re 2-0. He’s the QB2 in fantasy. He’s paired up with an offensive coordinator who seems like a perfect fit. Michael Pittman Jr is healthy. We’ll overlook the difficult matchup in Week 3 against Tennessee since he just beat a tough Broncos team.
This may be the start of a Jared Goff-like redemption story. Maybe we’re getting Derek Carr’d.
I’ll admittedly put more weight into back-to-back performances (good or bad) than I will into the season debut. In this week’s set of rankings, I’ll start to make some bigger movements atop the rankings than last week. But this intro serves as a recent reminder of how noisy signals can be.
Check out last week’s article here, and come back every Tuesday for fresh Rest-Of-Season Rankings. And for a different opinion (even though we're often pretty aligned), check out Bob Henry's Rest-Of-Season Projections.
Alongside every player’s name will be the change in rankings from last week to this week, noted with a “+” or “-.” For players new to this week’s set of rankings, it will be marked with “NEW.”
Quarterbacks
Injuries rocked the top of this week’s rankings. Joe Burrow, Justin Fields, Brock Purdy, and J.J. McCarthy all suffered injuries and could miss potential time. That makes many movers look more dramatic than they actually are. Outside of the injuries and a few notable performances, there weren’t a ton of changes in quarterback rankings this week.
- QB1 - Lamar Jackson
- QB2 - Josh Allen
- QB3 - Jayden Daniels
- QB4 - Jalen Hurts
- QB5 - Patrick Mahomes II +1
- QB6 - Kyler Murray +2
- QB7 - Justin Herbert +2
- QB8 - Jordan Love +9 - A jump this high in the rankings may appear overreactionary, but Brock Purdy and Joe Burrow's injuries exaggerate some of the movement up top. However, Love is playing lights out. He’s leading the league in intended air yards per pass attempt and throwing to a stacked room of talented pass-catchers. He was fantasy’s QB5 just two years ago, and looks even better this season.
- QB9 - Baker Mayfield +2
- QB10 - Dak Prescott +2
- QB11 - Justin Fields -4 - Fields turned in the worst performance of his career on Sunday before leaving with a possible concussion. Perhaps we flew too close to the sun after Week 1.
- QB12 - Bo Nix +1
- QB13 - Drake Maye +2
- QB14 - Caleb Williams
- QB15 - Jared Goff +4 - A 334-yard performance with five touchdowns reminds us of the Lions’ upside after a tough Week 1 road matchup in Green Bay. Goff’s lack of rushing gives him a scary weekly floor, but the upside was on display again in Week 2.
- QB16 - Daniel Jones +4. - After many chalked Week 1 up as a flukey game against a bad Miami defense, Jones had another strong showing against the more formidable Broncos. Through Week 2, only Lamar Jackson is outscoring Jones. He looks revitalized in Shane Steichen’s offense.
- QB17 - Brock Purdy -7 - He’s considered week-to-week with a turf toe injury, but it sounds like Purdy could be back as early as Week 4. He’s a low-end QB1 when healthy, although rushing might be limited if his toe injury lingers.
- QB18 - Trevor Lawrence
- QB19 - Cameron Ward +2
- QB20 - C.J. Stroud +2
- QB21 - Michael Penix Jr. +2
- QB22 - Bryce Young +3
- QB23 - J.J. McCarthy -7 - Despite finishing the game in Atlanta, McCarthy was diagnosed with an ankle sprain the next morning. He’s struggled through most of his first two games, but his rushing upside and offensive environment still inspire hope for decent fantasy production once he returns.
- QB24 - Aaron Rodgers
- QB25 - Matthew Stafford +2
- QB26 - Sam Darnold
- QB27 - Geno Smith +1
- QB28 - Joe Burrow -23 - A Grade 3 turf toe injury will require surgery and put Burrow out for at least three months. He’s droppable in most formats.
- QB29 - Spencer Rattler
- QB30 - Tua Tagovailoa
- QB31 - Russell Wilson +3
- QB32 - Joe Flacco
- QB33 - Jake Browning NEW
- QB34 - Jaxson Dart -1
Running Backs
Running backs have been surprisingly healthy through the first two weeks. There are some changes atop the rankings as some team identities are starting to take shape. Some of the Week 1 surprises turned out to be traps, while others are worth noticing. This week’s movements were a cathartic exercise where I could own up to some of my preseason misses. It’s hard knowing what to take at face value from coaches in the preseason. Luckily, in-game usage doesn’t play coy.