Fantasy Football Week 2 Reaction: Dolphins, Ravens Explode
Plus: Tom Brady fantasy stock takes massive hit
The fantasy football season continued with a number of impressive Week 2 performances, but perhaps no single matchup was more noteworthy than Sunday’s thriller between the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens. There’s a real chance any number of players from that game — Lamar Jackson, Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, etc. — were the driving force behind a victory for fantasy managers.
Of course, there also were a number of “What the (expletive)?!” performances from players who don’t tend to have them. (Cough, cough, Tom Brady.)
With that, here is a list of some of the biggest winners, losers and surprises from a wild Week 2 slate. Statistics below are courtesy of Sportradar.
Winners
Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle
Do the Miami Dolphins have their own rendition of the triplets? The combination of Tagovailoa and the two-headed speedy monster at receiver with Hill and Waddle put together a remarkable fantasy performance. Hill (42.00 points), Waddle (40.10) and Tagovailoa (38.86) combine for more than 120 points in full-point leagues, per Sportradar. It marked the first time in history a player threw for 400-plus passing yards and five-plus passing touchdowns while having two receivers record 170-plus receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns each, per NFL Research. Tagovailoa entered the slate as Yahoo’s QB17 and finished second in scoring at the position.
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Almost incredibly, neither of those three Dolphins players was the highest-scoring fantasy player in their Week 2 matchup against the Ravens. The dual-threat Jackson finished QB1 in scoring this week with 42.62 points in full-point leagues, combining for 437 rushing and passing yards and four touchdowns. Jackson had eight explosive passes of 16 yards or more while a 79-yard rushing touchdown might have single-handedly helped fantasy football managers to a win.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions
St. Brown no longer is a sleeper with his versatility lifting him to finish as WR4 in full-point leagues during Week 2. The Lions wideout combined for 184 yards of offense while seeing 12 targets from quarterback Jared Goff and turning it into nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. St.Brown’s total targets through two weeks (24) is tied for fourth in the league behind only Cooper Kupp (29), Ja’Marr Chase and Tyreek Hill (25).
Losers
Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
Falcons coach Arthur Smith doesn’t care about fantasy football owners, and that has shown through two weeks of Atlanta’s season. Pitts, who entered Week 2 as Yahoo’s TE4, was outscored by 27 players at the position. The 2021 first-rounder finished with merely 3.90 points in full-point league after two receptions on three targets for 19 yards. Pitts has scored a brutal 7.80 points on the season.
Trey Lance owners
Those who drafted the San Francisco 49ers quarterback for his dual-threat potential were dealt a tough blow Sunday with Lance suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Given that Lance was on the field for less than one quarter, the signal-caller contributed just 2.50 points in full-point leagues, perhaps single-handedly losing a Week 2 matchup. It’s time to hit the waiver wire.
Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brady’s lack of available receivers and patchwork offensive line has contributed greatly to his fantasy football output. The 45-year-old signal-caller, who showed off his frustration on more than one occasion against the Saints, finished as QB25 in total scoring with a single-digit performance (9.40 points). He completed just 28% of his passes of 20 or more air yards and ultimately scored fewer fantasy points than Cooper Rush, Mac Jones and Mitchell Trubisky. Oh yeah, running back Leonard Fournette wasn’t much better.
Surprises
Darrell Williams, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Williams should be considered on the waiver wire after the way he stepped in for an injured James Conner. Williams, who was Yahoo’s RB68 entering the week, recorded the 11th-most points of players at the position (14.20). Williams totaled 62 yards on 10 total touches with one touchdown.
Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
The Pollard hype train will continue to roll with his Week 2 performance as the Cowboys tried to take pressure off second-stringer Cooper Rush. Pollard, who entered the slate as Yahoo’s RB42, finished with the third-most points among running backs (19.80) behind 98 total yards and one score. Pollard’s ability as a pass-catcher helped him catch four of his seven targets for 55 yards en route to 1.52 points per touch.
Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
Wilson saw 14 (!) of the team’s 43 total targets from quarterback Joe Flacco, the second-most of any receiver in Week 2. He turned it into eight catches for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns to finish as WR6 in full-point leagues (30.00), far exceeding his pre-Week 2 ranking as WR68 on Yahoo. Perhaps most notably moving forward, though, is that Wilson’s target share nearly tripled fellow Jets wideouts Corey Davis (four) and Elijah Moore (five).
