The NFL is well and truly back, after some exciting games in week 1, we push forward into week 2 where we will confirm some thoughts on players and have ourselves questioning what we thought after one week with others. With 13 games on the slate for Monday morning (10 in the early window), there’s plenty to get your head around if you want a chance in your Draftstars competitions, and we’re here to bring you the insight on who’s hot, and who’s not for each position.
Draftstars has a $40,000 contest, with a $3,915 first prize. There are plenty of other contests for everyone to get involved, no matter your budget. On top of that, there’s also qualifiers for the NFL Star which offers a massive $50,000 prize pool!
NFL 2024-25 Daily Fantasy Tips: Week 2
Quarterbacks
Anthony Richardson - $15,170
AR15 is an absolute fantasy stud at quarterback, and the longer he is priced below the top tier, the better for us DFS players. Last week, despite completing just NINE passes, Richardson managed to smash out 27.1 points in fantasy. This weekend, the Colts take on a Packers defence that was middle of the pack last season when it came to conceding fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Last weekend, against another running QB (Jalen Hurts), the Packers allowed 18 fantasy points to Hurts, despite the Eagles QB turning the ball over three times. Massive floor and ceiling this week for the Colts’ QB.
Jared Goff - $14,570
Goff is a matchup based QB in fantasy, who doesn’t have an exceptional ceiling, but has a nice high floor. If you don’t want to stump up for a premium quarterback like Mahomes or Jackson, you can save a few thousand dollars and hope for an above average game from Goff. This week could be the week for it, as Goff and the Lions take on the Bucs at home. The Bucs were poor last season against quarterbacks, conceding the seventh-most points per game to them, and this week they will be without several key secondary defenders, meaning the Lions will surely target them through the air.
Running Backs
Isiah Pacheco - $14,090
Pacheco was solid last week, managing 15.8 points despite only 45 yards on the ground. He pushed his score up with a rushing touchdown and hauling in two receptions for 33 yards. This week, I expect the Chiefs to hammer the run up the gut of this Bengals’ defence, with the loss of DJ Reader already rearing its ugly head last weekend for the Bengals, as Rhamondre Stevenson had his way with the Bengals run defence. Expect similar production here for the third year back, and if the Chiefs can get out to an early lead, they will lean even more on the hard running back.
Rhamondre Stevenson - $12,200
We were on Stevenson last weekend against the Bengals, and he delivered, running for 120 yards and a touchdown, whilst he was also targeted three times through the air. This weekend, he gets to take on the Seahawks run defence, who performed well last weekend against the Broncos. This could be a slight overpay on Stevenson; however, I trust the Patriots offense to once again will run through Stevenson, particularly in the redzone. If he can jag another score, he will eat up enough volume to be a worthwhile investment again this weekend.
J.K. Dobbins - $9,940
If the Chargers were playing a decent team this week, I might think twice about chasing last week’s points with Dobbins, however coming up against a Panthers’ defence that was horrible last weekend, AND lost their number 1 defender in Derrick Brown, Dobbins should eat again this week. In week 1, the Panthers had the eighth-lowest stuff rate, whilst giving up the third-most rushing yards and seventh-highest yards after contact per attempt. At this price, Dobbins is a solid investment to save money elsewhere for guns.
Wide Receivers
Cooper Kupp - $17,290
Kupp was back to his dominant, volume monster self-last week, as he dominated targets with 21, whilst hauling in 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. With Puka Nacua out indefinitely, expect Matthew Stafford to once again feed Kupp this week against the Cardinals. There’s a decent chance the Rams will be chasing in this game, so won’t be able to lean on the run as much as they would like, so expect Kupp to be the focal point of this attack once again.
Deebo Samuel Sr. - $12,560
Deebo was solid in week 1, and I expect him to be even better in week 2 with no Christian McCaffrey again for the 49ers. This week, the 49ers take on the Vikings, who under Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores, utilised a league high 83.7% of their coverage snaps in two-high, something that Deebo feasted on last season, with 26.3% target share, 21.5% air-yard share, 3.23 yards per route run, and a 36% first-read share.
Allen Lazard - $6,570
This is another selection where I don’t want to be prisoner of the moment, as Lazard scored well above what was expected in week 1. However, the stats that matter show that he should continue to be a focal point of this offense moving forward, after commanding a 31% target share, a 48.4% air-yard share, 3.18 yards per route run, and a 33.3% first-read share, whilst also managing a 90% route run share. Aaron Rodgers has always had a soft spot for Lazard and brought him to the Jets himself to be his safety blanket. Don’t expect his score from last week but should get a solid return on investment at the price in week 2.
Tight Ends
Isaiah Likely - $8,280
The Likely pick up this weekend is once again another point chasing exercise, however I don’t see how his usage falls off a cliff this weekend, given how good he was in week 1. Yes, there’s a chance that Mark Andrews returns to his role as Lamar’s safety blanket over the middle, but surely Likely’s form at the back end of last season, and his domination of the Chiefs defence last week, is enough to keep Likely heavily utilised in this offense.
Colby Parkinson - $7,060
In a thin tight end field, Parkinson looks solid as a mid-priced tight end this week in a matchup-based play. Parkinson took over as TE1 for the Rams this season and had an 84% route run rate in week 1, whilst commanding a 10.2% target share, 1.09 yards per route run, and an 11.1% first-read share. These numbers aren’t great, however the matchup is what intrigues me for Parkinson here, as he takes on the Cardinals who conceded the second-most receiving touchdowns, and fourth-highest yards per reception to tight ends last season.
D/ST
Dallas Cowboys - $6,630
This Cowboys’ defence just continues to roll, smashing the Browns last weekend with 6 sacks and 2 interceptions, whilst the Special Teams unit managed a punt return touchdown. This week, they take on a Saints offense that looked great in week 1, however this was against a Panthers defence that looked horrible at all three levels. Expect the Cowboys to get to Derek Carr, which will lead to sacks and interceptions.
New England Patriots - $5,000
The Patriots are still close to bottom dollar but showed in week 1 against the Bengals that this is a top 10 defence in the NFL. This week, they get to take on a Seahawks offense that isn’t in the top tier of talent on offense, and the Patriots are playing at home. I like the Patriots defence to get the job done again in week 2, after 3 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries propped up their score of 11 last week.
Suggested Draftstars Team
