If you played some of the fantasy football sleepers mentioned in this last week’s article — namely Puka Nacua and Kenneth Gainwell — hopefully it was enough to give you a 1-0 record heading into Week 2 of the NFL season.
Let’s take a closer look at some sleeper options for your fantasy lineup heading into this week.
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Week 2 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Quarterbacks
Brock Purdy | San Francisco 49ers @ LAR
How much more do we need to see from Purdy before he stops appearing on these fantasy football sleeper lists?
In his six NFL starts, Purdy has thrown for more than two scores and finished inside the top 15 at the quarterback position 100% of the time.
His Week 1 stat line of 220 yards through the air, 20 yards on the ground, and two touchdown passes on the road against a quality Pittsburgh Steelers defensive unit was good for a QB11 finish.
While the Rams’ defensive performance against a talented Seattle Seahawks group of skill position players was impressive, I’m not willing to double down on them having the same level of success slowing down the Niners’ talented group of playmakers.
Purdy is a fringe top-10 option against a very young and inexperienced Rams secondary.
Jordan Love | Green Bay Packers @ ATL
Is lightning going to strike the Packers three times in a row at the quarterback position? Well, I’m not quite there yet on Love being the next great Green Bay signal-caller, but his 2023 debut was certainly very encouraging.
When you consider the fact that he tossed three touchdown passes without Christian Watson in the lineup, it leaves plenty of room for optimism for his fantasy outlook heading into the rest of the season.
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As far as Week 2 goes, Love will square off against another offense that didn’t exactly push the ball down the field very much in the season opener — the Atlanta Falcons — and could very well find themselves with plenty of chances to take shots down the field off of play action.
Week 2 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Running Backs
Kyren Williams | Los Angeles Rams vs. SF
Cam Akers shareholders have had a bad case of déjà vu from the start of last season. This time around, Akers’ Week 1 debut saw him lead the team in carries but was out-produced by the second-year back from Notre Dame.
Williams generated 23 more rushing yards than Akers on seven fewer carries while out-snapping Akers 53 to 28.
The matchup against a stout 49ers front seven isn’t exactly enticing, but Williams’ run with the ones in Week 1 suggests he is a viable flex option in deeper leagues.
Justice Hill | Baltimore Ravens @ CIN
Your heart has to feel a bit for Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins, who was unable to secure a long-term contract extension in the offseason and suffered his second catastrophic season-ending injury of his young four-year career in the NFL.
The injury to Dobbins makes the leading role in the Baltimore backfield completely up for grabs.
Edwards looks like the safer play. However, there is certainly a case to be made for Hill cracking your starting lineup this week against the Bengals.
Hill found the end zone twice against the Texans and will face off against a Bengals defense in Week 2 that gave up 206 rushing yards against the Browns in the season opener.
Not to mention, Hill prospects out as a better pass-catching option than Edwards, which gives him a slight bump in PPR formats.
Joshua Kelley | Los Angeles Chargers @ TEN
Fantasy football darling Austin Ekeler is currently dealing with an ankle injury, which should have you taking a much closer look at Kelley’s impressive Week 1 performance.
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Kelley produced 91 rushing yards on 16 carries and managed to find the end zone against the Dolphins in Week 1 working alongside Ekeler.
The fact Kelley and Ekeler both finished with 16 carries suggests that he may have some standalone value for the rest of the 2023 campaign. But if Ekeler should miss any time with his injury, Kelley immediately becomes a viable RB2 in your fantasy lineup in this high-powered offense.
Week 2 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Wide Receivers
Puka Nacua | Los Angeles Rams vs. SF
When Rams head coach said Nacua was going to be an “immediate contributor” to this offense, I was optimistic but still a bit skeptical.
Well, after 15 targets, 10 receptions, and 119 receiving yards in his NFL debut, don’t blame anyone but yourself if you choose to remain a non-believer in Nacua.
The Rams’ matchup against the 49ers’ defense isn’t exactly ideal, but Nacua’s formation versatility, understanding of route concepts and when to throttle down against zone coverage, and playmaking ability after the catch all make Nacua a viable flex option for Week 2.
Nico Collins | Houston Texans vs. IND
Did you know there were only three teams in the league that threw the ball more than the Texans in Week 1? Shocking, right?
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud didn’t exactly have a monster fantasy outing in his NFL debut, but he did manage to generate 242 passing yards against a stingy Ravens defense.
In an offseason where many wondered who the leading man in the Texans’ passing attack would be, it was Collins who finished as the highest-scoring Houston pass catcher in Week 1.
Collins was one of nine wide receivers to see more than 10 targets last week.
While it is reasonable to hesitate to insert a Texans pass catcher into your fantasy lineup, he is certainly worth a spot start in deeper leagues to see if he can build off a very encouraging start to the season.
Kadarius Toney | Kansas City Chiefs @ JAC
If you are capable of overlooking his three crucial drops in the Chiefs’ upset loss at the hands of the Detroit Lions to start the season, then perhaps you can see the opportunity that is still sitting there for Toney to seize.
Sure, his three drops were inexcusable, but at least Patrick Mahomes was looking his way.
If Travis Kelce misses any more time due to injury, Toney should get another shot at earning Mahomes’ trust with an offense ripe with scoring opportunities and in desperate need of a difference-maker at the wide receiver position.
Week 2 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Tight Ends
Luke Musgrave | Green Bay Packers @ ATL
Although he only saw four targets in Week 1, Musgrave’s NFL debut could have been so much better than his TE13 finish at the position in PPR formats.
Musgrave was open for a big gain on a corner route late in the second quarter but was badly overthrown by Love.
Then Love overcorrected on one of his later throws to Musgrave in the fourth quarter, where the rookie tight end was wide open for a 41-yard touchdown before having to wait on a pop fly, fadeaway jumper of a throw from Love…. before losing his balance and falling at the five-yard line.
Musgrave’s usage in Week 1 was very encouraging and should continue to be a focal point of this passing attack for the rest of the season.
As for the Week 2 showdown against the Falcons, if Watson misses more time with a hamstring injury, Musgrave could replicate a similar stat line from what the Panthers got from Hayden Hurst — five receptions for 41 yards and a score — against this same Falcons secondary.
Zach Ertz | Arizona Cardinals vs. NYG
Do you know how many tight ends saw 10+ targets in Week 1? The answer is one.
That’s right, Ertz managed to lead the tight end position in targets for the opening week of the 2023 season.
Unfortunately, with Joshua Dobbs under center, the efficiency wasn’t quite what we hoped for. However, Ertz’s six receptions in Week 1 trailed only T.J. Hockenson at the tight end position.
In 2022, Ertz was one of just six tight ends to average six targets per game and was a top-seven tight end on a points-per-game basis in PPR formats.
If Ertz continues to see this type of volume, he feels like a weekly top-12 option at the position.