Trophy Winning Week 2 Sleepers

The hindsight should help the process selecting sleepers going into Week 2 as we continue the quest for the Championship Trophy using dumpster-fire fodder.

 

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With a wild Week 1 in the books, it’s time to look back at what went well and where we sucked. The hindsight should help the process selecting sleepers going into Week 2 as we continue the quest for the Championship Trophy using dumpster-fire fodder.

 

No Championship Belts were given out last week, and I am thankful after tallying only a 25-percent hit rate on the picks. So let’s review the good, the meh, and the downright awful from the last article.

Quarterback Brought the Results!

Kirk Cousins finished the week at QB11 after being projected to finish as the QB17 for the week. Cousins could have been an even stronger play if the Packers had put up a fight in the game. Instead, they fell face down in a pile of crap as Aaron Rodgers and company mailed it in.

More importantly, he outscored every quarterback mentioned in Week 1’s article (Tua, Jameis, Lance, Burrow, Rodgers, Carr, Dak, and Brady). This column strives for that type of league-crushing results every week—solid, actionable advice over hot takes.  

Unfortunately, that is where it ends.

Running Back and Wide Receiver Brought Meh

ESPN nailed the ranking on Chase Edmonds this week at RB30—his exact finish. In addition, the Patriots got absolutely crushed, giving me two losses at once. So what did we get correct? He outscored all but one of the higher-ranked running backs mentioned, but we are still taking the L.

At wide receiver, Chris Olave finished lower than projected by consensus, which is a huge miss. Coming in at WR51 after being touted at WR48 is the opposite of what this column should bring. 

There is a silver lining as he outscored three of the four big names mentioned. He finished ahead of Amari Cooper, Chris Godwin, and Tyler Lockett while only being outscored by Christian Kirk. Maybe I should start writing a column a who belongs in the trash rather than who doesn’t. 

Flush the Tight End

I could have just put the names of all active tight ends for Week 1 and probably hit a top-10 sleeper this week. Instead, I went with a gut call of Austin Hooper, who finished at TE47 on the week. He only outscored one of the tight ends mentioned while being crushed by the other three. 

The only thing I got right in that section is where I said I am awful at picking weekly tight ends.

 

For Week 2, I need to look closely at how I am making these choices because you deserve better than the garbage I put out at this position. Following my advice at tight end will lead to nothing but you wearing the Toilet Seat come season end, and no one wants to see that.

Sleepers Record Going Into Week 2:

Top 12 Finishes - 1-3

Lineup Advice - 17-5

With that mess out of the way, let’s aim to do better with sleepers in Week 2 as we have a little more data to work with now.

A Sleeper I Hope Isn't Napping in Week 2

In what seems to be a pattern, I am going with a boring quarterback ranked in the mid-teens this week as a top-12 play. After the Jaguars made Carson Wentz look like a world-beater, I love the value of Matt Ryan at QB18 in the consensus rankings. 

Ryan’s numbers last week were inflated by an entire overtime period. Still, he seemed to have a great connection with his top receiver, Michael Pittman Jr. In addition, I expect the running backs to be heavily involved in the passing game this week as the Jaguars were gashed by both Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic through the air in Week 1. All this should lead to a solid performance for the 37-year-old veteran.

Players ranked ahead of Ryan I prefer this week include Daniel Jones, Carson Wentz, Trey Lance, and Tua Tagovailoa. 

Too Far Down the Rankings

Kareem Hunt comes in at RB26 in the consensus rankings despite an incredibly strong Week 1. For Week 2, the Jets aren’t the most accessible team to run on, but backs have succeeded against them in the air. Enter Hunt, who got 15 touches last week and could see even more in Week 2. In PPR, that should easily eclipse his current ranking, and with Jacoby Brissett at the helm, I expect at least another four targets. The talent, situation, and matchup all look as glorious as our Champ Chains.

I am starting Hunt over David Montgomery, Miles Sanders, Josh Jacobs, and CEH. 

Two Geriatric Sleepers in One Week 2 Article?

After the Tampa Bay coaching staff foolishly rushed Chris Godwin back into action, it looks like he will now miss a few weeks. So for Week 2, enter first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the former sleepers in all of your drafts, Julio Jones. You’ve seen all the stats, including Jones reaching the seventh-fastest top-end speed in the league this week. 

Jones looks as if he’s back, and the Bucs are doing anything they can to get the ball in his hands. A healthy Julio is a great Julio, and this WR30 ranking in the consensus just doesn’t match up with his likely upside. 

I would start Julio over Christian Kirk, DK Metcalf, CeeDee Lamb, and Amon-Ra St Brown this week.

Disclaimer: As of Thursday Afternoon, Julio Jones was not practicing due to a knee injury. Should he sit out the Week 2 matchup, the call would be to play Russell Gage as your Trophy Winning Week 2 Sleeper.

 

 

Chasing Touchdowns with the Week 2 Tight End Sleepers

So my gut was telling me to look at the talent and go Cole Kmet. After all, he was a preseason darling, played in a monsoon, and all those other arguments people are making. But today, we will chase a high point total in hopes we get a piece.

 

After watching the Lions gash the Eagles in most aspects on offense, Irv Smith has a great chance to outperform his TE23 sleeper rank in Week 2. Hopefully, the Eagles paid attention to Jordan Davis as a stud in the run game. If they continue to give more snaps to Davis, we could watch the Vikings air it out.  The high-powered Eagles offense will likely force them to, regardless. With Focus on Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, Smith should see plenty of opportunities.

 

I would play Smith over Robert Tonyan, David Njoku, Hayden Hurst, and Logan Thomas, to name a few. 

So there you have it, your Trophy Winning Sleepers for Week 2. Let’s hope for a better week than last week!

Be sure to check out Nate's piece on what to watch for in Week 2!