Two weeks of the NFL season are in the books, and I’m relatively sure half the league is on a backup quarterback at this point (do not look this up, this is a No Fact Check Zone). And I have to be honest with you, I leaned too hard on certain offenses to start this year (cough, the Jaguars, cough), who seem to be a complete mess. I am offering an official mea culpa for those streamer recommendations, and I hope this crop of players rostered in under 50% of leagues (with one available in at least 90% of leagues) could make up for missing on Trevor Lawrence so badly. Onward!
QUARTERBACKS
Sam Darnold versus New Orleans (17% rostered)
The Samhawks were able to beat up on what is apparently a dreadful Steelers defense last week, with Darnold throwing for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks. His season-long numbers aren’t great, mainly because the 49ers have completely figured out the Seahawks’ offense, and Kyle Shanahan spent a year studying Darnold’s weaknesses (the weakness lies in any tiny bit of pressure). Luckily, the Saints have the second-lowest quarterback pressure rate on the season (23.5%), so that shouldn’t be a problem. Darnold likely gets the opponent’s floor here, as they are averaging 243 passing yards and 2.5 touchdowns against the Saints… and one of those quarterbacks was Mac Jones.
Mac Jones versus Arizona (7% rostered)
Hey, speaking of Mac Jones, he’s another streamer/sleeper this week! It’s looking like this might be his last start, or given how Christian McCaffrey’s 2024 season went, the second of his sixteen starts. He struggled to get a flow going early last week in New Orleans, but eventually figured out that he can throw it to good football players, and they can do the rest. McCorkle ended with 279 passing yards, three touchdowns, and zero picks. The Cardinals beat up on the aforementioned Saints in week one, but let Bryce Young go for 328 passing yards, three touchdowns, and a pick last week.
Mac Jones will also play in the 49ers’ first home game of the season, which means he will play extra strongly, fast, and accurately because he will hear my scream, “MCCORKLE,” at him from my season ticket seats. Ok, maybe not that last part. Disregard that.
Tyrod Taylor at Tampa Bay (1% rostered)
The Jets already ruled Justin Fields out for week three with his concussion, which means that it’s the return of TyGod Tyime. Tyrod Taylor filled in admirably for Justin Fields as the Jets and Bills played out the string last week. He finished his two drives with seven completions on 11 attempts, for 56 yards and a touchdown. Taylor will get a pretty soft landing with the Buccaneers, who allowed 24.02 fantasy points to Michael Penix in week one and 14.98 fantasy points to C.J. Stroud last week. Those are big numbers, as Penix had 5.3 fantasy points in his other game this year, and Stroud had 9.72. Taylor won’t blow your doors off, but he’s also likely to top Justin Fields’ dreadful 27 passing yards from last week.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Cedric Tillman versus Green Bay (38% rostered)
The Green Bay Packers took the Lions and Commanders to the woodshed in weeks one and two, where both teams had late “make it look respectable” efforts to get them to a 14-point loss and a 9-point loss, respectively. But they allowed both Deebo Samuel and Isaac TeSlaa touchdowns through two games, mostly because they turned into blowouts. The defense softened in the second half, turning bad days into decent ones, and ultimately turning the excellent Packers defense into a neutral fantasy matchup (seventeenth in fantasy points allowed to opposing wide receivers).
While Jeudy is the WR1 on this team, Tillman isn’t that far behind. He’s twenty-first in the league in targets with fifteen through two games, just one behind Jeudy. He is also currently WR23, scoring 26.4 fantasy points so far on the season. He’s not going to blow the doors off, but he should be a lovely floor play as a streamer this week.
Elic Ayomanor versus Indy (17% rostered)
Ayomanor graduated from my draft crush to a little bit of an offseason hype bunny for me, to my sub-10% rostered streamer, to now a regular streamer. It’s been quite a glowup for the Stanford rookie, who was selected in the fourth round (though I had a second-round grade on him). He’s slowly creeping up on WR1 duties in the offense with Calvin Ridley, and he’s the recipient of Cam Ward’s only career touchdown pass. Ayomanor hasn’t had a kick the door in-game yet, but that could still be on the horizon. The Colts are proving to be a better-than-we-thought defense, but they mostly lock up the WR1 thus far in the season, letting the WR2 thrive. Last week, they locked down Courtland Sutton, holding him to one catch for six yards. But Troy Franklin thrived, pulling in eight of eleven targets for 89 yards and a score. That could easily be Elic Ayomanor this week.
Dyami Brown versus Houston (6% rostered)
With Brian Thomas Jr. getting the yips from a preseason hit, and Liam Coen forcing Travis Hunter to do his best Wan’Dale Robinson impression, Dyami Brown has been a surprising breath of fresh air for the constipated Jags offense. He’s currently tied with Cedric Tillman as the WR23 on the season, posting eight catches for 109 yards and a score across two games, which isn’t stupendous, but likely to be good enough for this week.
The Texans currently use Derek Stingley Jr. to lock down the opposing wide receivers, as he has primarily played against Davante Adams and Mike Evans in the first two weeks, and he has held the future Hall of Famers to 9 catches for 107 yards combined. But the WR2s have feasted against the Texans, with Puka Nacua posting 10 catches for 130 yards, and Emeka Egbuka catching four balls (one for a score) in week two.
RUNNING BACKS
Rachaad White versus N.Y. Jets (41% rostered)
At one point, I believe I said “recommending Rachaad White” would be the secret message to my loved ones that I had been captured. But, I promise, I am as alive and well as anyone can be with all [gestures to everything] this going on. But White is thriving in the 1B role that the Buccaneers gave him last week against the Texans. He maximized his opportunities, ranking second in rush EPA, fourth in rush EPA per carry, and second in success rate & rushing yards over expectation per carry among backs with more than five carries last week. This gave him a 10/65/1 rushing line, and that one was the game winner. While that was his only short-yardage carry, he again made the most of it. The Jets let James Cook last week, and he finished with 132 yards and two scores on 21 carries, absolutely nuking this Jets defense on the ground. Bucky & White should duplicate that success this week.
Najee Harris versus Denver (36% rostered)
We left Najee Harris for dead this offseason, and a freak fireworks accident caused him to miss virtually all offseason activities for the Chargers. So, it’s not surprising that he notched only two carries in week two. Last week, that ticked up to ten, but there’s something foul afoot with Omarion Hampton. The first-round running back is yet to wow us, and he fumbled in a key clock-killing drive late in the fourth quarter in week two, cracking the door for Najee. Harris finished with 48 yards on his ten touches last week, which is the kind of metronomic production that Greg Roman and Jim Harbaugh salivate over. The Broncos are a neutral run matchup, as Jonathan Taylor mollywopped them, but Tony Pollard struggled in week one.
Woody Marks at Jacksonville (8% rostered)
Am I getting pass-catching back-pilled with Marks, who was one of the more efficient and prolific pass-catching backs in recent NCAA memory? Perhaps! Did his catch and run for 37 yards in week one cause me to get the vapors? Absolutely! The rookie has a bad matchup this week, as the Jaguars bottled up Chuba Hubbard and Chase Brown to start the season. But Wood Marks has the juice that Nick Chubb does not, and the Texans made Dameon Pierce a healthy scratch last week. It’s a matter of when, not if, Marks gets enough work to release the genie from the bottle. Even if you don’t start him, he needs to be on rosters in more leagues, as he is one of the better stash candidates out there, in the Bhayshul Tuten range.
TIGHT ENDS
Harold Fannin Jr. versus Green Bay (43% rostered)
While roster rates caught up on Juwan Johnson (76% rostered), they lag behind on Harold Fannin Jr., who has 12 catches for 111 yards on 14 targets in the first two weeks of the season en route to his current TE8 ranking. He’s one of five tight ends to go two-for-two on top-twelve weeks to start the year, joining the aforementioned Johnson, as well as Travis Kelce, Tyler Warren, and Trey McBride. And folks, it isn’t a fluke, as he is sixth in tight end routes early in the season (notably behind teammate David Njoku, who ranks second). The Packers are vulnerable to tight ends, as they allow the fifth-most fantasy points to the position through two weeks, yielding six catches for 79 yards to Sam LaPorta in week one, and six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown last week against Zach Ertz.
Ja’Tavion Sanders versus Atlanta (5% rostered)
On paper, this is a terrible matchup for Sanders, as the Falcons currently rank thirty-second in fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends. The rub? They’ve faced three targets to the position thus far this season, so it isn’t exactly a representative sample. Sanders is tenth in tight end targets on the season, with twelve, but nine of them came last week. Sanders started slow, catching two of three targets for 27 yards, but became a PPR demon last week, catching seven of nine targets for 54 yards, running the third-most routes among tight ends last week. Even though he didn’t score, Sanders was also one of ten tight ends with an end zone target last week.
Jake Tonges versus Arizona (2% rostered)
Sleeper tight ends are a rough go this week, so I will go with the George Kittle of the Mac Jones offense, Jake Tonges. Tonges had the game-winning touchdown over Riq Woolen in week one and was on the field a lot last week, notching a 78.9% snap share (56 snaps), receiving five targets, catching four, and gaining 31 yards. He’s just below the respectable blob range, but he has a reliable role in this offense that you can tap into if you’re truly desperate.
