The NFL is back! After a great Week 1 with plenty of surprises, spills, and thrills, Week 2 brings another jam-packed Sunday of action with 13 games jammed into a full Sunday afternoon slate on DraftKings. Ten of the 13 games kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET in a massive wave of fantasy fun, with three spotlight games taking center stage in the late wave. The big game this week in that later wave is a huge AFC showdown with the Bengals visiting the Chiefs.
Even though we still have a few days before kickoff, it’s never too early to start lining up your NLF DFS lineups for Week 2. There are some potential value plays that are already popping in our early projections, who you definitely want to have on your radar for this week. The highest over/under on the slate is the matchup between the Lions and the Bucs in Detroit, and the Lions have the highest implied team total on the board after their Week 1 win over the Rams. The second-highest point total features plenty of value plays as the Rams visit the Cardinals in Arizona.
Throughout the season, every Wednesday, I’ll be taking a look at the players who are standing out as top values for the coming week by using the early projections in our NFL Player Models. Of course, these models update frequently.
Things will likely change between now and Sunday, but it’s still good to have a plan of attack.
If there’s news between now and lock — and there will be — the models will update to reflect that.
As always, they’re powered by Sean Koerner — the most accurate fantasy ranker in the industry from 2019-2021.
Finally, make sure to check out all the projections available for purchase (Chris Raybon’s come included with a FantasyLabs subscription) within the FantasyLabs Models. Subscribers now have the option to purchase Derek Carty’s THE BLITZ from our Marketplace. Projections from One Week Season and Establish the Run are available if you’re a subscriber to those specific sites (our optimizer is a separate add-on feature).
You can also combine them to create your own aggregate projections:
NFL DFS Quarterback Values
Jayden Daniels ($6,200) Washington Commanders (-1.5) vs. New York Giants (44 total)
The Commanders lost to the Bucs in Week 1, but rookie Jayden Daniels looked very good in his NFL debut. With a Week 2 divisional matchup at home against the woeful Giants, Daniels has the highest Projected Plus/Minus of any quarterback, using a 50/50 blend of the projections from Sean Koerner and Chris Raybon. Raybon has him as the QB with the fourth-highest ceiling projection on the slate, even though he only has the 12th-highest salary.
Daniels ran for two touchdowns and racked up 88 rushing yards to go with 184 passing yards against a tough Bucs defense. Most of his passing yards were late in the game, but he still posted a very solid 28.2 DraftKings points based mostly on his rushing production.
In his NFL debut, the No. 2 overall pick didn’t turn the ball over, although he did have three fumbles, all recovered by his own team. Daniels will need to clean that up moving forward, but his rushing potential gives him an extremely high ceiling as the focal point of the offense, both rushing and passing.
He should get a chance to take a big step forward with this week’s home game in a soft matchup against New York. The Giants were totally crushed by the Vikings in Week 1, allowing Sam Darnold to throw for 208 yards and two touchdowns on his way to 15.6 DraftKings points.
Daniels’ home debut will be a huge chance for him to give Commanders’ fans a heaping helping of hope for the future. He has so much upside as a dual threat in this matchup that he shapes up to be an elite value option.
NFL DFS Wide Receiver Values
Tyler Johnson ($3,300) Los Angeles Rams (+1.5) at Arizona Cardinals (49 total)
The Rams receivers are all over the top of our value projections for Week 2 after news that Puka Nacua (knee) would be placed on IR and miss at least four weeks. Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson will likely be strong plays as well, but Johnson is a great bargain at barely more than the minimum. He is in the top five of Projected Plus/Minus in both Koerner’s and Raybon’s projections for Week 2.
Johnson joined the Rams last year after spending time with the Bucs and Texans. He only played one game last season, hauling in two-of-three targets for eight yards and a touchdown in last year’s regular season finale.
Coming into this year, Johnson earned a larger role on the team and stepped right into an even more expanded role after Nacua’s injury. He had five catches on seven targets for 79 yards and 12.9 DraftKings points in Week 1. He played ahead of Tutu Atwell ($3,700) and Jordan Whittington ($3,500), and he should be a great value if he continues to see involvement while Nacua is out.
For this week against the Cardinals, he barely has to do anything to return great value at this salary, and the fact that he has an established role in the offense is invaluable. He will be a great punt play that allows you to pay up for stars in other spots this week before likely getting a huge bump in salary before Week 3.
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NFL DFS Running Back Values
Jordan Mason ($5,200) San Francisco 49ers (-6) at Minnesota Vikings (45.5 total)
With Christian McCaffrey (Achilles/calf) inactive on Monday, Mason stepped in as the starter for the 49ers and had a huge game against the Jets. With CMC a long shot to play this week in Minnesota, Mason is an obvious but very viable value at just over $5,000.
He has the highest Projected Plus/Minus of all running backs in both Koerner’s and Raybon’s projections and looked very CMC-ish while filling in on Monday. Mason took 28 carries for 147 rushing yards and a touchdown and tacked on a five-yard catch on his only target. He had an impressive 25.2 DraftKings points against a Jets defense expected to be pretty solid this season.
Mason will likely have a drastically reduced role when CMC comes back, so keep a close eye on the situation leading up to Sunday’s contest.
What Mason definitely showed on Monday is that he has stud potential if he gets another week in the starting lineup for the elite San Francisco offense.
Don’t forget to check out our SimLabs Lineup Generator to create advanced DFS lineup using the power of simulation:
NFL DFS Tight End Values
Colby Parkinson ($3,100) Los Angeles Rams (+1.5) at Arizona Cardinals (49 total)
Parkinson is another potential beneficiary of more targets while Nacua is sidelined, but he was already getting some buzz as a potential breakout performer early in the season, even before the Nacua injury. He has the highest Projected Plus/Minus of all tight ends this Sunday in a great matchup with the Cardinals, who have been very generous to tight ends the last few seasons.
In Week 1, Parkinson had four catches on five targets for 47 yards. Backup tight end Davis Allen ($2,800) only had one target, so most of the tight end work seems to be heading to Parkinson, at least, while Tyler Higbee (knee) remains on the PUP list.
Parkinson spent the first four years of his career with the Seahawks and had 25 catches in each of the last two seasons as part of their rotation at the position. With an increased role in this fantasy-friendly environment, he should be a great value in Week 2, especially since Sean McVay loves to get tight ends involved around the goal line.
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