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Week 1 was incredibly inconsistent for fantasy managers and analysts alike. One of our favorite boom prospects (Kyle Hamilton) barely saw the field, and one of our busts (Tremaine Edmunds) barely hit the over on our bet against him registering double-digit tackles, though he did fail to produce a big play as we anticipated. Luckily, we had a few more hits than misses, as Samson Ebukam and Jaquan Brisker came through with big plays, Malcolm Rodriguez and T.J. Edwards played well, and Denzel Perryman and Demarcus Lawrence disappointed.
This week will hopefully see us hit on even more of our calls as we try to peg players that can help you this week and beyond. As always, we will try to address players who can help in every format. To do that, we will cover risers who are the real deal in most formats, pinpoint defenders who can help in casual scoring leagues, and identify guys you can play in deeper or Premium (RotoBaller) scoring formats. Finally, we will cap this list off as we always do, by naming a couple of DTs and CBs who are stream-worthy if you have to have them.
With that addressed, fans can always contact me on Twitter if they have questions or concerns. Otherwise, let's get to it!
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IDP Breakouts Who Are For Real
Talanoa Hufanga, DB, San Francisco 49ers
Hufanga is a player we've listed as a sleeper since last summer, thanks to his big build, box tendencies, and the 49ers' apparent infatuation with him. The second-year safety finally broke out on Sunday, repeatedly blowing up Bears running plays in the backfield. While Hufanga was at least partially responsible for giving up a touchdown to Dante Pettis that cost SF a win, the 49ers are in love with this player in spite of his flaws.
The USC product played every single defensive play for the 49ers last week, with 45% of those snaps coming in the fantasy-friendly box. That was to be expected, though. What surprised us most was that Hufanga was an asset in coverage, outside of the massive touchdown he allowed. He stuffed the box score with tackles and a turnover while showing elite instincts against the run. Expect the former Trojan to continue providing quality TFL and tackle opportunities all year.
Rashad Weaver, DL, Tennessee Titans
Weaver is a little-known name, partially because he missed most of his rookie year due to injury. The Pittsburgh product is primarily a power rusher who was very effective in the preseason, earning raves from his staff and beat writers. While it’s fair to wonder whether Weaver’s two sacks from Week 1 were low-hanging fruit thanks to a soft Giants front, the former Panther showed enough on film to rank him as a DL3 in Week 2.
Casual Scoring Streamers and Fades for This Week
Stream: Jonathan Allen, DL/DT, Washington Commanders
Jonathan Allen would typically fall outside our DL1 conversation, relegating him to the low-end DL2 and DT1 debate. However, the Alabama product has a terrific matchup that elevates him and Daron Payne in our rankings this week.
Last week, one of the worst-performing offensive units in football was the Detroit Lions’ interior offensive line. Frank Ragnow was surprisingly ineffective while suffering an injury and starting right guard Logan Stenberg earned a woeful 0.0 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. This is noteworthy because Allen spends nearly 52% of his time lined up over the right guard and center positions. With Ragnow questionable to play and Stenberg looking inadequate, Allen almost has a DL1 upside.
Stream: Pete Werner, LB, New Orleans Saints
Another player from our past sleeper lists is Pete Werner, who had himself a day against the Falcons in Week 1. The Ohio State product played 86% of the Saints' defensive snaps last week, totaling 12 solo tackles and a forced turnover, which fits his profile from college. It’s possible he comes close to matching those lofty numbers against Tampa Bay.
As of this writing, nearly every Buccaneers pass catcher is on the injury list. That is why the Bucs ran the ball nearly twice as much in Week 1 as they did in 2021. Expect that rushing trend to continue as long as Tom Brady looks off and his receivers are gimpy too. With Tampa also dealing with multiple injuries along the interior of their offensive line, Werner should be able to feast on the Bucs’ run-heavy plan.
Fade: Za’Darius Smith, Minnesota Vikings
We love Smith for the rest of this season and always have. However, we hate his matchup in Week 2. As we predicted last week, the Eagles offer one of the toughest tackle duos in the NFL. That duo allowed only two pressures between them in Week 1, and they are part of an offensive line that PFF ranks as the fourth best from this past weekend.
It's also worth noting the Eagles used an extra pass blocker 15 times this past weekend, and Jalen Hurts' mobility makes for an exceedingly difficult sack. This is why Detroit could only register one sack against these Eagles. Nothing about that situation spells fantasy upside for Smith, who we are fading to a low-end DL2 this week.
Fade: A.J. Terrell, CB, Atlanta Falcons
According to Pro Football Focus, Terrell only shadowed once in 2021 while spending a minuscule 6.8% of his snaps in the slot. Terrell's participation didn't change much in Week 1, as he didn't follow Michael Thomas exclusively and saw only three snaps on the interior.
The hope for Terrell this week would be that he follows Cooper Kupp everywhere, soaking up that immense target share. While shadowing is a possibility, we see it as unlikely. History suggests Terrell will spend far more time with Allen Robinson on the outside. That would limit Terrell's fantasy upside, though he would still qualify as a CB1 since Matthew Stafford could simply avoid throwing to Allen Robinson again.
Premium Scoring & Deep League Streamers and Fades for This Week
Stream: Uchena Nwosu, DL/LB, Seattle Seahawks
Nwosu saw his snap share and output skyrocket in his debut with the Seahawks, collecting five pressures and a sack on 59 snaps. The former Trojan spent over half his snaps in Week 1 lined up over the right side, consistent with how he was used in 2021. That means you could be looking at a high usage edge who gets to regularly take advantage of Mike McGlinchey in Week 2.
Against the Bears, McGlinchey gave up a sack and pressure to an underwhelming pass rush. In true pass sets, his ratings came out poorly, which is consistent with how he looked on film. McGlinchey also hadn’t played football in nearly a year before that Bears game, and he struggled with injuries throughout camp. Playing in front of a quarterback with Lance's inexperience, McGlinchey doesn't have a lot of room for error. Look for Nwosu to see multiple big-play opportunities in this matchup.
Stream: Amani Hooker, S, Tennessee Titans
Against the Rams, Josh Allen peppered the short area of the field with 22 targets. A strong Los Angeles pass rush influenced this, but the strong-armed passer aimed 62.8% of his throws in that range last year. Despite his ability to throw the ball out of the stadium, Allen has always leaned on his slot receivers and short throws to help open up easier deep passes.
This information is helpful to Amani Hooker for two reasons. One, he spends 61.4% of his time in the range that Josh Allen targets most. Second, Allen’s slot receivers struggled with drops and separation in Week 1, which led to interceptions. Those factors fit with Allen's targeting tendencies and could lead to Hooker seeing multiple big play opportunities. It also helps that Allen likes to scramble, providing an even higher floor for those playing Hooker in Premium leagues.
Fade in ANY Leagues with Casual Scoring
Fade: Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens
As much as we love Hamilton’s talent, he simply isn’t earning the types of snaps you need to be a starter in Casual scoring formats. He saw just 50% of the Ravens’ defensive snaps in Week 1, operating as a hybrid behind Chuck Clark and Marcus Williams. The Notre Dame product’s performance against the Jets didn’t give much hope he will win the starting job anytime soon, either.
Against New York, Hamilton missed two tackles and allowed completions on all four of his targets. That isn't a good start for a guy trying to earn more snaps. While we expect the former Fighting Irish to eventually win a starting job, we don't have faith that his snap rate will go up against the Dolphins. That means he is a big play-dependent option in Week 2, and difficult to start even in deep Casual scoring leagues.
Fade: Zach Cunningham, Houston Texans
Historically, IDP managers have liked Cunningham's tackle floor in Casual scoring formats. Many Premium managers have also tolerated him as an LB2 option, given his tackle floor was relatively high and the LB position was low on big playmakers. There are a couple of things that concern us about Cunningham's floor and ceiling in all formats, however.
Since David Long Jr. and the rest of the Titans’ linebacker group got healthy late last year, Cunningham has played less than 70% of his team's defensive snaps in four of six games. In that same span, he's never gotten over 80%. While the former Texan can register double-digit tackles in that limited usage, the chances of him doing so are not aided by limited playing time.
What’s worse, the Vanderbilt product rarely produces big plays. He’s averaged slightly more than one forced turnover and one sack per season, and his PD average is a paltry three per year. Those rates place a serious cap on Cunningham’s ceiling in Premium scoring, and his snap rates bottom out his floor in all leagues. We aren’t particularly high on Cunningham in any format this week, or the rest of the season if this usage continues.
Defensive Tackles to Consider Starting for Fantasy Football
Shelby Harris, Denver Broncos
When you are looking for DTs, the pool gets thin quickly. Harris is a streaming option for those struggling for a starter at DT, though. He saw the most snaps of any interior defender on the Seahawks in Week 1, and he has a promising matchup against a team that loves to run the ball and struggles to protect the interior this week.
One particular issue for San Francisco is at center where journeyman Jake Brendel regularly struggled against the Bears. Brendel was repeatedly responsible for Trey Lance being forced out of the pocket or taking a sack. Despite earning a positive blocking grade from PFF, left guard Aaron Banks was also repeatedly pushed back into Lance, and his defenders regularly obstructed the quarterback's running lanes.
Harris is a quality run defender who should see plenty of opportunities for tackles against San Francisco. Do not be surprised if he also has several pressures and a sack.
B.J. Hill, Cincinnati Bengals
Hill is another interior defender who has a quality matchup this week. While Zack Martin is a terrible matchup for interior blockers, and Tyler Biadasz isn't a great one, Hill tends to rotate between both sides of the defensive line. Thus, Hill should see approximately 40% of his snaps against Matt Farniok, the backup right guard who Tampa abused in Week 1. While Jason Peters could also step into that position, his age and lack of experience with the team don't bode much better.
With issues at both tackle positions, we expect the Cowboys will let Martin cheat over to help against the Bengals’ quality edge rushers this week. We also expect Dallas will attempt, and fail, to establish the run with Cooper Rush at quarterback. Both of those things bode well for Hill, who has a chance at producing starting DT fantasy production for the second week in a row.
Cornerbacks to Consider Starting for Fantasy Football
Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles
Slay has a history of shadowing opponents’ top receivers, and there is arguably no one worth shadowing more than Justin Jefferson. The Vikings star saw 11 targets last week, thanks to the Packers’ complete inability to cover him. However, if that volume is also a sign Kevin O’Connell intends to give Jefferson the Cooper Kupp treatment, it could mean elite volume is coming for Slay this week. If you play in a league that uses a CB position, you're always chasing targets/turnovers, and Slay is a solid bet.
Chidobe Awuzie & Mike Hilton, Cincinnati Bengals
If you're like us and anticipate the Cowboys going down to the Bengals early, and by a lot, then the Bengals secondary could be full of fun plays for fantasy managers. Cooper Rush threw 40 passes in his only start with the Cowboys last year, which was in a relatively low-scoring win against the Vikings. We expect the Bengals will score at least 28 against Dallas, forcing Rush to throw a lot. Awuzie and Hilton will follow the Cowboys' favorite targets most often, so act accordingly.
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