Week 2 Fantasy Football position previews
BOSTON -- Week 1 is in the books and even if you lost your fantasy football matchup, this is a whole new week. Move on from whatever cost you last week and focus on getting in the win column this week.
And if you won, nice work. We're proud of you. But now it's on to... whatever silly team name you're playing.
We once again turn to CBS Sports fantasy football analyst Heath Cummings, whose weekly positional previews will put you in the best spot to build a winning lineup in Week 2. Let's get right to a rundown of Heath's position previews.
Quarterbacks
The usual suspects top Cummings' list of top quarterbacks for Week 2: Buffalo's Josh Allen (vs. Tennessee on Monday night), Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts (also on Monday night, but vs. Minnesota), Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (Thursday night vs. L.A. Chargers), Baltimore's Lamar Jackson (vs. Miami), and L.A.'s Justin Herbert (@ Kansas City on Thursday night).
But if you're already looking on the waiver wire for a QB this weekend, Cummings says to look no further than Sunday's Washington-Detroit game, which will pit Carson Wentz and the Commanders against the guy who was drafted ahead of him in 2016: Lions QB Jared Goff.
"Wentz was outstanding as the top streaming option last week and now faces a Lions team that just gave up 38 points to the Eagles," Cummings wrote. "I'd rather start Wentz than Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields, or Matt Ryan."
As for Goff, Cummings likes his matchup against the Commanders' defense.
"The Washington defense was not very impressive in Week 1 against Jacksonville, and they were one of the worst in football against the pass last year. Goff and Wentz are basically a coin flip in the projections below, but I prefer Wentz just because Detroit could get run-heavy if they get a lead," he wrote.
As for a QB you may want to stay away from this week, that would be one Tom Brady, who hasn't fared well against the Saints since leaving New England for Tampa Bay.
"Tom Brady is 0-4 with a 71.5 passer rating and a 0.75 touchdown-to-interception ratio to go along with 13 taken sacks against the Saints since he joined Tampa Bay," Cummings notes.
Check out Cummings' full Week 2 quarterback preview here.
Running backs
Indianapolis' Jonathan Taylor (@ Jacksonville), Carolina's Christian McCaffrey (@ New York Giants), Cincinnati's Joe Mixon (@ Dallas), New York's Saquon Barkley (vs. Carolina), and Los Angeles' Austin Ekeler (Thursday night @ Kansas City) are Cummings' top plays at running back this week.
If you're heading to the waiver wire for help in your fantasy backfield, Cummings likes San Francisco running back Jeff Wilson against the Seahawks.
"We expect Wilson to start and receive a majority of the running back touches for San Francisco in Week 2 against Seattle. The 49ers are an 8.5-point favorite, so this figures to be an extremely run-heavy approach," writes Cummings. "Wilson had four games with at least 12 touches last year and averaged 11.75 PPR Fantasy points in those games. That's a fair expectation."
He's also a big fan of former Patriots running back Rex Burkhead, who is now the top back for the Texans and has a good matchup against the Broncos.
"Rex Burkhead is currently the lead back for the Houston Texans, and my highest projected available back in PPR leagues," Cummings writes. "The game script against the Broncos should be very pass-heavy and Burkhead has that role completely locked down. He saw eight targets in a game the Texans were competitive in Week 1, there's legitimate 10-target upside in Week 2 against the Broncos. Burkhead is not near as appealing in non-PPR."
Check out Cummings' full Week 2 running back preview here.
Wide receivers
Los Angeles' Cooper Kupp (vs. Atlanta), Minnesota's Justin Jefferson (@ Philadelphia on Monday night), San Francisco's Deebo Samuel (vs. Seattle), Las Vegas' Davante Adams (vs. Arizona), and Philadelphia's A.J. Brown (vs. Minnesota on Monday night) top Cummings' wide receiver list for Week 2.
Are you arranging a search party for the waiver wire? Cummings says to go pick up New Orleans' Jarvis Landry and his matchup against Tampa Bay if he's available in your league.
"The fact that Jarvis Landry led the team in targets, catches, and yards is impressive enough, the fact that he dominated air yards is flat-out shocking. His Week 1 profile is that of a must-start wide receiver," he wrote. "I'm not ranking him that high this week, but it is enough to make him my top priority at wide receiver."
If Landry is gone, go pick up Tennessee's Kyle Phillips, who is in action Monday night against Buffalo.
"Philips dominated targets for the Titans and now faces a game script against the Bills that could lead to a lot more pass volume," Cummings wrote. "While we all expect Treylon Burks to eventually be the team's No. 1 it's hard to ignore the offseason and Week 1 that Philips had."
Check out Cummings' full Week 2 wide receiver preview here.
Tight ends
We round out this cornucopia of fantasy previews at tight end, with Cummings putting Kansas City's Travis Kelce (Thursday night vs. L.A. Chargers), Baltimore's Mark Andrews (vs. Miami), Atlanta's Kyle Pitts (@ L.A. Rams), Las Vegas' Darren Waller (vs. Arizona), and Tyler Higbee of the L.A. Rams (vs. Atlanta) as his top plays.
Need a streamer? Go with Gerald Everett of the Chargers, who had a solid Week 1 and should have plenty of opportunities on Thursday night against Kansas City.
"The Chargers will be without Keenan Allen and at this point we aren't expecting Donald Parham either. That should allow Everett to build on his fantastic Week 1," writes Cummings. "We like his chances to get into the end zone and top 50 yards, which makes him a top-12 tight end."
Check out Cummings' full Week 2 tight end preview here.
