Over the prior articles for Week 2, we focused on how we could use overreaction to Opening Day in our favor. That’s not as straightforward in DFS, where the prices haven’t shifted dramatically as a result. If anything, we will set some expectations around which players might be avoided by others — and target them ourselves.
Based on our expected Week 2 DFS game flow analysis and Week 2 Games to Target published earlier, we can carry our thoughts into actual lineup positions. The long list of players that fit the requirements set forth by the projected flow of the game was cut dramatically by the requirements set forth by salaries.
Below are Sporfolio’s DFS Week 2 Plays:
Quarterback
Matt Ryan – Every single year we see that the key to success in DFS during Week 2 of the football season is to not overreact to what happened in Week 1. It may seem crazy to jump on board with the Falcons, but looking closer at Matt Ryan’s career, the history is well on our side. Ryan has thrown for over 4,000 yards in every single season since 2011, and in many of those years, his team ultimately had a losing record. The point is that even when his teams haven’t been good, Ryan has found a way to produce. His team is likely to struggle much of this season, and may largely struggle this week, but we expect Ryan to show he is still a totally capable quarterback in this league. He has great weapons around him, a positive game script for high volume, and a matchup against a defense that is nearly impossible to run against but can be susceptible through the air. Simply put, Ryan has everything working in his favor this week, and thanks to last week’s horrible showing, he can be rostered at a nice discount this week.
Tyrod Taylor – Despite calling for the ‘upset’ last week, we couldn’t have foreseen the performance quarterback Tyrod Taylor put together on Opening Day. Now, despite not expecting a win from Taylor and his Houston Texans, we are looking for the quarterback to put up fantasy numbers. That’s the point. Houston will find it difficult to pull off another ‘upset’ — especially on the road against the Cleveland Browns — but the volume will be there for Taylor to give something to DFS players.
Trevor Lawrence – Like the aforementioned Taylor, Trevor Lawrence was an outlier of expectations on Opening Day. He struggled — which was predictable — but also threw for more than 300 yards and found the endzone three times. Why shouldn’t Sunday provide a similar setup? Of course, the level of competition is raised, as the Denver Broncos should have one of the better defenses in the league, but Lawrence will be forced to throw again. We know he’s capable of turning volume into fantasy points, and it’s the main reason we would target him in Week 2.