Angle's Week 2 Positional Rankings

Week 2 has already given us plenty to react to, and we haven’t even reached the Sunday slate, so to help, I’m publishing my positional rankings before Sunday football to help make those final lineup decisions a little easier. Rather than simply ranking players 1-through-whatever, I broke everyone into five actionable categories:

🟢 Smash Starts
🔵 Solid Starts
🟡 Spot Starts
🟠 Fades
🔴 Avoids / Outs

Here’s where things stand heading into Week 2.

Quarterbacks

The Quarterback board is essentially settled for the week.

We now know Kyler Murray is out, meaning Carson Wentz will start against Chicago. Kevin O’Connell expects Murray to clear the concussion protocol next week, but for Week 2, Wentz is the guy. I would not force Wentz into your lineup unless you're playing in Superflex format.

Atlanta is also settled. Michael Penix Jr. has been ruled out, Tua Tagovailoa is doubtful, and Cooper Rush will start again. Another Rush start keeps me much more cautious on Drake London and Kyle Pitts than I would be with Penix under center.

Thursday also gave us a couple immediate takeaways from my QB board. I had Josh Allen appropriately ranked as my QB1, and he rewarded my confidence with an absolute monster performance. On the other hand, I was clearly too low on Jared Goff. In hindsight, I probably should have accounted more heavily for the possibility of Detroit falling into a negative game script and being forced to throw aggressively to get back into the game. That’s something I’ll take forward when evaluating similar situations.

Running Backs

The biggest adjustment I made was Aaron Jones up to RB23 and into my Spot Start tier after Jordan Mason landed on injured reserve. I’m expecting Jones to handle somewhere around 65% of the backfield touches. He’s 31 years old, but I don’t think he’s completely washed, particularly this early in the season when his legs should still be relatively fresh.

TreVeyon Henderson is officially off the injury report and will make his season debut against Pittsburgh. I have him as a Spot Start, and I would not be afraid to flex him this week.

There are two other backfields worth monitoring closely.

RJ Harvey is questionable with a hamstring injury. If he can’t play, I’ll move Jonah Coleman up, but probably not far enough to make him someone I’m excited about putting into a flex spot.

Kaelon Black is also questionable with a groin injury. If he sits, Jordan James gets a bump, but again, not enough for me to feel comfortable flexing him. My bigger expectation would simply be more Christian McCaffrey.

Then there’s New Orleans. Alvin Kamara will play, and Kellen Moore says he’ll have a “really valuable role.” That sounds good, but I want to actually see it before trusting him in fantasy. Kendre Miller was involved considerably more than most expected last week, and now we’re adding Kamara back into the equation. For Week 2, both Kamara and Miller are Fades for me until we see exactly how this backfield is divided.

Wide Receivers

The biggest situation I’m watching heading into Sunday now is Puka Nacua. Puka missed Friday’s practice because of a hip injury. There has been medical speculation that it could be compensation related to his previous groin/hip-flexor issue. If Puka plays, he remains my WR1. If he doesn’t, Davante Adams immediately moves into my Solid Start tier.

Chris Olave is questionable because of his hamstring. I currently have him in my Smash Start category. If Olave is ruled out, Vele moves up into Spot Start consideration.

Ladd McConkey returned to practice Friday but remains questionable with the rib injury. Rib bruising typically doesn’t dramatically affect route running itself; the bigger concern is how he tolerates contact. I think Ladd still has a decent chance to play, potentially with pain management, but I’ve moved him down into my Spot Start tier for now. If he sits, I’m firing Quentin Johnston up the board.

One player trending firmly in the other direction is Jalen Coker. He is off the injury report and will play. I’m no longer fading Coker — find a way to get him into your lineup.

Michael Pittman Jr. is questionable after missing three straight practices with a foot injury. No practice at all during the week is concerning, and I’m beginning to believe he may not play. I know the popular reaction has been, “It’s Germie time.” I see it differently. If Pittman sits, I expect the bigger beneficiaries to be DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth, Jaylen Warren/Rico Dowdle, with perhaps a little additional work for Roman Wilson.

The biggest confirmed absence is Nico Collins, who has been ruled out with a Grade 1 hamstring injury. While that opens up opportunity in Houston, I’m not rushing to force any of the remaining wide receivers into my lineup. Of that group, Kayshon Boutte is the receiver I like best, and he gets a slight bump for me. But even with Nico out, I still don’t love Boutte enough to view him as anything more than a desperation flex. My bigger takeaway is that this could simply mean more Dalton Schultz.

Baltimore is dealing with a major absence, as Zay Flowers is doubtful with a hamstring injury. I’m still fading Rashod Bateman unless you’re desperate. Rather than expecting one receiver to simply absorb all of Zay’s work, I think Baltimore spreads the targets around more, leans heavier into the run game with Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, and gets Mark Andrews much more involved than usual.

Finally, Drake London is one of my biggest Week 2 concerns. I’ve moved him down to WR27, which keeps him in the Spot Start tier, but I’m definitely nervous about it. The best-case scenario is that this game turns into a shootout and Cooper Rush is forced to throw. Carolina looked vulnerable defensively last week against Chicago, so there is at least a path to volume here. The problem is, Rush is not Caleb Williams, and I don’t have nearly the same confidence in Atlanta’s passing game with him under center. At WR27, London is basically a close-your-eyes-and-hope-it-works-out start for me this week. I’m not benching him for just anybody, but I’m absolutely lowering expectations.

Tight Ends

The tight end board has changed quite a bit throughout the week.

Chig Okonkwo is out because of his hamstring injury.

Brock Bowers returned to practice Friday but is doubtful, and everything we’re hearing points toward Week 3 being the more likely return date. At this point, I’m operating as though Bowers will not play. That means it’s time to fire up Michael Mayer again.

There are also several tight ends I’m higher on because of injuries around them. With Nico Collins out, I really like Dalton Schultz, who comes in as my TE13. With Zay Flowers expected to miss, I’m also higher on Mark Andrews, who is my TE10 this week. If Chris Olave ends up being ruled out, I already like Juwan Johnson, but I would move him into my Solid Start tier.

And then there’s the Kyle Pitts headache. If you’ve followed me all offseason, you know how much I’ve talked up Pitts. I still believe in the player and the season-long outlook but another week of Cooper Rush scares the hell out of me. Pitts is barely hanging onto flex consideration for me this week. Another goose egg would be cruel, but the quarterback situation makes it very difficult to confidently push him higher.

And before anyone asks, no, I’m not worried about Colston Loveland or Tyler Warren after one week, and yes, I had Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid ranked that high before Thursday night.

Final Words of Wisdom

Use my tiers to keep your Week 2 lineup decisions simple. If any late injury news breaks, just head back to AngleRanks.com to see any last-minute adjustments I make before kickoff.

Also don’t forget to check out our Expert Consensus Boards, combining rankings from 12 experts each week. Everything you need to make those final lineup calls is right there at AngleRanks, your one stop shop for Fantasy Football.