After a crazy week 2 of Ryan Fitzpatrick leading the NFL in passing yards, the second straight tie, and the Dolphins winning the AFC east, we have a lot to break down. Fantasy point totals will be done in standard ESPN PPR league point format.

Must start:

Jimmy Garoppolo- Quarterback- San Francisco 49ers- In 2 games the Chiefs have allowed 860 passing yards (the most in the NFL by 107). Philip Rivers in week 1 put 23 points, and Ben Roethlisberger put up 39 points in week 2 against the Chiefs. Jimmy G should be able to produce similar numbers to both QBs from the past two weeks as they will need to try to keep up with the incredible Chief offense.

Ben Roethlisberger- Quarterback- Pittsburgh Steelers- Big Ben now has the privilege to play against both passing defenses who have allowed the most passing yards this season (Chiefs and Buccaneers). Roethlisberger put up nearly 40 points against the Chiefs as I mentioned earlier. The Tampa Bay secondary has been hit by injuries, and was already not that good to begin with. The Bucs still have intercepted a QB yet this season, and have given up the second most passing yards so far. Roethlisberger is an elite play this week.

Kenyan Drake- Running Back- Miami Dolphins- Drake has managed to remain successful despite having to share touches with the NFL’s fourth all-time leading rusher in yards, Frank Gore. Drake is still their number 1 option out of the back field, and is up against a weak Raider rush defense. The Raider run defense has allowed the the most yards per carry this season at 5.7 and has allowed the second most yards with 308. Drake and Gore should both have very productive days as the Dolphins look to stay ahead in the AFC East. I believe Drake will have a much bigger day than Gore.

Do not start:

Philip Rivers- Quarterback- San Diego Chargers- The Rams should be up early, and for majority of this game which should lead to lots of passing attempts for Rivers, but he is a hard pass for this week. The Chargers are on the road against which is possibly one of, if not the best, defenses in all of football. The Rams are yet to allow a passing TD (only team in the league to do so) and have 4 interceptions already as well (top 5 in the league). I can not see Rivers producing big number against such a stout Ram defense who has only allowed 13 points all season.

David Johnson- Running Back- Arizona Cardinals- Besides Philip Rivers, Johnson is the player I hate the most this week for a number of reasons. First, the Cardinals just are not good. That’s a given. The Bear run defense has been incredible so far allowing the 4th least amount of rushing yards so far as well as no touchdowns. Their defense is also yet to allow a run over 15 yards this season. Secondly, not only is the Bear defense revived with the addition of Khalil Mack, but the Cardinals will most likely be behind for majority of the game. This will lead to more of air dominated offense for the Cardinals. Johnson is a hard pass for me this week.

Corey Davis- Wide Receiver- Tennessee Titans- Two names. Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye. How can you in your right mind play Davis against one of these two. The only saving grace may be his target number, but still that should be extremely decreased. I can not see a Titan offense who have not exceeded a point total of 21 points yet be successful against the Jaguars who are coming off shutting down Tom Brady and the Patriots. Davis may have put up over double digit points in two games so far, but that streak will for sure end this week. Jacksonville are top 10 in passing yards allowed and have only allowed two passing TDs (one was in garbage time against the Patriots as well).

Waiver Wire Pickups:

Andy Dalton- Quarterback- Cincinnati Bengals- Dalton has put up over 240 yards in both of his starts, and currently is sitting on a TD to INT ratio of 6:1. He put up 26.5 fantasy points last week and 16.5 the week before.Dalton is currently ranked as a top 10 fantasy QB and is averaging north of 20 points. Dalton is quality option for any injured QB or possibly if you have Philip Rivers this week as I mentioned above. He is currently only owned in 18.2% of leagues and is great option as a back-up or potential starter.

Giovani Bernard- Running Back- Cincinnati Bengals- Joe Mixon is obviously the number 1 RB for Cinnci, but he is currently out for about 2-4 weeks. This elevates Bernard to the RB1 role for the Bengals and makes him a very intriguing option for a few weeks. At this stage of the game it is very hard to find a RB1, so snatch of Bernard as soon as possible as he has easy work horse potential. He is currently only owned in 39% of leagues.

Geronimo Allison- Wide Receiver- Green Bay Packers- Even with Aaron Jones coming back from suspension this week I believe Allison will remain a strong fantasy option. He currently averages 15 points per game and is on the field for no less than 70% of the team’s offensive snaps. Allison has consistency too and is not really a boom or bust player which is huge for PPR as he has 5 or more targets in both of his games so far. Oh, and not to mention is quarterback is Aaron Rodgers. He is currently only owned in 26% of leagues.