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What matchups are you using as a tangible takeaway to move the DFS target player needle in Week 2?
PHIL ALEXANDER
The one that stands out the most as an offense to avoid this week is Denver, who draw Chicago at home. Joe Flacco wasn't all bad in Monday night's loss to the Raiders, but nearly all of his production came with the Broncos trailing by two touchdowns after halftime. Chicago's best-in-class pass-rush projects to devour Denver's bottom-10 offensive line, which would leave Flacco, who was sacked three times by Oakland in the opener, without enough chances to get the ball to Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton downfield. It wouldn't be shocking if the Broncos fail to find the endzone in this spot.
JAMES BRIMACOMBE
Targeting players against Miami might be the slam dunk of the century right now. Even smarter might be to target second-string players against Miami in tournaments and look for some lower ownership. This week if the Patriots jump out to a big lead we might see a heavy dose of Rex Burkhead or the likes of Philip Dorsett once again. If you are playing cash games you might just lock in Tom Brady, Sony Michel, James White, and Julian Edelman and just take your chances that they don’t let up on the Dolphins and put up big points just like the Ravens last week.
JASON WOOD
Given how good the Green Bay Packers defense looked against the Bears, and how Minnesota won against Atlanta with only ten passing attempts, it's impossible to invest in Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, or Kyle Rudolph this week.
Dak Prescott is my No. 1 quarterback given his reasonable salary, precision performance in Week 1, and a juicy Week 2 opponent in Washington. Carson Wentz went over 300-yards and threw 3 touchdowns in basically one half of football, so Prescott has a massive ceiling this week.
Josh Jacobs is going to lead the league in touches if he stays healthy. Jon Gruden can't help himself, and Jacobs is going to be a stud until he gets hurt. He, Tyrell Williams, Derek Carr, and Darren Waller all warrant strong consideration against a suspect Chiefs defense. I was skeptical about the Raiders offense, but Week 1 has me open to a different outcome. The offensive line looked awesome against a Vic Fangio-led Broncos defense, and Carr has shown in years past he's capable of big numbers when he has a comfortable pocket.
WILL GRANT
I agree with James that this is the cash game slot machine this week. The key is to construct the right lineup. I think the best play for a cash game is Sony Michel. The Steeler defense was stingy against the run, and Michel didn't do very much with his 15 carries. But against the Dolphins this week, I see that changing and you can expect Michel to have a big game, especially if the Patriots get out early. At wide receiver, I think you're looking at Brady stacks with Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, and Phillip Dorsett. It will be hard to determine which one will be the star, but all are reasonably priced and can e swapped out to create differentiation with the stack EV that you like in GPPs. Edelman was targeted 11 times last week and should be the main target again but it won't surprise me at all if Josh Gordon reaches GPP value with a couple of scores.
I also agree with the 'avoid Denver' approach this week. Chicago may be on the road, but they've had an extra 3 days to prepare while the Broncos are coming home after a late Monday Night loss. While the Bears lost that game, it wasn't because the defense under-performed. Look for them to fire up again against a Denver team that struggled to move the ball against Oakland. Hard to see anyone from the Broncos being a guy you want on either your cash or GPP lineup this week.
CHAD PARSONS
The Dolphins are a cheat code for matchups until further notice. The twist is do you target the starters for the low-cost backups? I would side with Rex Burkhead as a minimally-priced option to allow for another stud in the lineup rather than the much higher salary of Sony Michel. The Patriots are historically strong favorites and it's difficult to project a close game in the second half and the Patriots wanting to grind more touches out of Sony Michel. On the flip side, I am fading Courtland Sutton's strong Week 1 to repeat this week against the Bears.
