It’s that time of year. If you’re reading this, you have your team pulled up and, even if you don’t want to admit it, you’re wondering, “How am I going to mess up this beautiful roster that I put together?”
We’ve all been there. Don’t worry, I’m a professional.
Well, at the very least, I try hard. Really hard. And with that, I present to you my Week 2 fantasy rankings that have far too much data supporting them to possibly be wrong.
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: RB | WR | TE | K | DEF | FLEX
Top 25 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings
1) Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills (at MIA)
2) Jalen Hurts | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. ATL)
3) Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CIN)
4) Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens (vs. LV)
5) Anthony Richardson | Indianapolis Colts (at GB)
6) C.J. Stroud | Houston Texans (vs. CHI)
7) Kyler Murray | Arizona Cardinals (vs. LAR)
8) Jared Goff | Detroit Lions (vs. TB)
9) Jayden Daniels | Washington Commanders (vs. NYG)
10) Tua Tagovailoa | Miami Dolphins (vs. BUF)
11) Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys (vs. NO)
12) Brock Purdy | San Francisco 49ers (at MIN)
13) Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at DET)
14) Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals (at KC)
15) Matthew Stafford | Los Angeles Rams (at ARI)
16) Caleb Williams | Chicago Bears (at HOU)
17) Justin Fields | Pittsburgh Steelers (at DEN)
18) Aaron Rodgers | New York Jets (at TEN)
19) Kirk Cousins | Atlanta Falcons (at PHI)
20) Trevor Lawrence | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. CLE)
21) Daniel Jones | New York Giants (at WAS)
22) Derek Carr | New Orleans Saints (at DAL)
23) Justin Herbert | Los Angeles Chargers (at CAR)
24) Geno Smith | Seattle Seahawks (at NE)
25) Deshaun Watson | Cleveland Browns (at JAX)
The Top Quarterbacks To Start in Week 2
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (vs. Giants)
In a perfect world, we see Jayden Daniels attack down the field with his arm a bit more in his second start (Week 1: 5.2 aDOT), but the rushing floor seems to be there, and that’s how he works his way into my top 12 again this week.
This kid is a born competitor, and while I’m not going to use that narrative, I do think he benefits this week from what should be a competitive game, something neither of these teams will get to say very often.
It’s not perfect, but we are looking at a rare athlete with recklessness in his profile. That’s a concern for Commanders fans, but that’s the blueprint for success in any given week for fantasy managers.
Jayden Daniels. Too fast.
📺: #WASvsTB on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/iqpKiJ9Tqu— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (vs. Saints)
How quickly we forget. It’s easy to recall that Dak Prescott threw for over 4,500 yards last season with 36 touchdowns, but do you remember your feeling after Week 1? The Cowboys dismantled the Giants and you likely lost your matchup if you were counting on Prescott in a meaningful way (143 pas yards with zero touchdowns).
If that’s the threshold, I could make the case that Prescott is ahead of pace. His Cowboys again came out of the gates fast in Week 1, and he was asked to do very little (179 passing yards and one touchdown). The Saints figure to pose a great threat, but I think America’s QB is up for the challenge.
In Week 1, the Saints were the sixth-best defense at creating pressure without blitzing, an area that caused them issues a season ago. If we assume that they’ve improved and can sustain that growth — I’m still not worried. I assumed that mobile QBs would thrive most when sped up without an extra defender coming at them, and I was largely right, but two names proved to be outliers.
Current starting QBs’ efficiency when pressured but not blitzed in 2023:
- Lamar Jackson
- Matthew Stafford
- Jordan Love
- Kyler Murray
- Prescott
- Jalen Hurts
Stafford and Prescott are the interesting names here. My general train of thought is that their processing speed is at such a level that the extra defender hanging back doesn’t impact them as much as it does other pocket-locked QBs.
Assuming that Jake Ferguson is inactive, Prescott checks in outside of my top-12 due to a limited ceiling, though I understand wanting to chase a seemingly high floor. I’ll go the other way – check out the PFN Fantasy Podcast for an explanation as to why I’m rostering the Saints D/ST.