An interesting trend has started to develop early in this NFL season.
Quarterbacks and wide receivers -- not running backs -- are dominating the box scores. In fact, the 10 best fantasy performances of Week 2 included five quarterbacks, four wide receivers and one running back. What's more, that one runner was not LaDainian Tomlinson, Steven Jackson or Larry Johnson.
It was Jamal Lewis.
Back to the quarterbacks. Carson Palmer and Derek Anderson headlined what was a monster week for signal-callers. Palmer threw for 401 yards and a career-best six touchdowns, while Anderson posted 328 yards and a career-best five scores in a shootout in Cleveland. The difference between these two is evident: Palmer is an established fantasy starter, while Anderson wasn't even owned in most fantasy leagues. Anderson has some tough matchups down the road -- he'll face Oakland, Baltimore and New England over the next three weeks -- but he's still worth a flier off the waiver wire.
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Jake Delhomme, who has more fantasy points than Peyton Manning after two weeks, recorded 307 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Houston. He's a tremendous sell-high candidate for owners who want to make a trade. Brett Favre (27 points), Tom Brady (27 points), Tony Romo (22 points), Matt Schaub (21 points) and Jeff Garcia (21 points) also had solid weeks. One quarterback who has fantasy owners worried is Drew Brees. He had a respectable 15 points this week, but the Saints offense looked awful. New Orleans will look to reverse their fortunes this week against Tennessee on Monday Night Football.
Overall, a total of 17 quarterbacks recorded at least 15 fantasy points. The most notable NFL starters not to reach that mark included Ben Roethlisberger (14 points), Philip Rivers (14 points), Eli Manning (12 points), Rex Grossman (8 points) and Alex Smith (3 points). Smith had the fewest points of any starter, but San Francisco still won.
While running backs have been a disappointment to this point, there were some nice performances in Week 2. Lewis exploded for 216 yards and one touchdown and led all backs with 27 points. Marion Barber, who continues to be the better fantasy back in Dallas, tied Edgerrin James and Frank Gore with 20 points. Headed into Monday's contest between Washington and Philadelphia, James is the most productive runner in fantasy football. Rudi Johnson (18 points), Willie Parker (18 points) and Cadillac Williams (18 points) also produced nice totals.
The real tale of the position is the lack of production from LaDainian Tomlinson, Steven Jackson and Larry Johnson. A total of 20 backs had more points than this trio in Week 2, a list that includes DeShawn Wynn, Derrick Ward and Sammy Morris. While Jackson and Tomlinson should bounce back, Johnson could be in for a long season. He has little support from the pass attack, a weakened offensive line and matchups against Minnesota, San Diego and Jacksonville over the next three weeks. If you can trade him for a back like Joseph Addai or Gore, it's well worth consideration.
A long list of backs have been serious disappointments after two weeks. The top names include Thomas Jones, Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, Ronnie Brown, Reggie Bush, Maurice Jones-Drew and Deuce McAllister. None of these backs scored more than eight fantasy points in Week 2. Patience must be an owner's virtue with these backs, but trades can also be considered. In fact, I would look to trade for a back like Maroney while his value is low. The Patriots schedule eases down the road, so Maroney should improve tenfold.
As I mentioned earlier, wide receivers have been real stars in Fantasy Land this season. The top player at the position is Steve Smith, who hauled in eight passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns against Houston. Chad Johnson also recorded a monster stat line with 11 receptions, 209 yards, two touchdowns and one beer bath in the Cleveland Dawg Pound. Braylon Edwards (26 points), Joey Galloway (25 points) and Andre Johnson (24 points) also had huge weeks, as did Randy Moss. He had his second consecutive solid week with 105 yards and two touchdowns in a win over San Diego, and he's already equaled his touchdown total from all of last season. If he can keep up this rampant statistical pace, Moss will be one of the top draft bargains of the fantasy football season.
Former Patriots wideout Deion Branch is back in the good graces of owners after he recorded seven receptions and 122 yards one week after a doughnut against Tampa Bay. Isaac Bruce (14 points), Marques Colston (13 points), Donald Driver (13 points) also had improved stat lines.
Outside of Lee Evans, who has been a serious disappointment, most of the top wide receivers have met expectations. After two weeks, Smith, Chad Johnson, Moss, Andre Johnson, Terrell Owens, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Reggie Wayne, Roy Williams, Marvin Harrison and Javon Walker are all in the top 20 at the position in overall fantasy points.
Antonio Gates has continued his role as the top fantasy tight end, but look out for Kellen Winslow. The Cleveland standout lead the position with 16 points in Week 2 and is second overall in points among tight ends for the season. A question mark after an off-season microfracture procedure on his knee, Winslow has been a tremendous value. Todd Heap (13 points) and Benjamin Watson (10 points) also had nice weeks, but none of the other elite tight ends scored more than six points. In fact, players with little value such as Leonard Pope, Donald Lee, Bubba Franks and Matt Spaeth had more points than Jeremy Shockey, Alge Crumpler, Tony Gonzalez, Vernon Davis and Jason Witten. However, none of the four are worth a roster spot outside of larger formats.
The two players owners should be concerned about are Gonzalez and Davis. Gonzo's stat line would have been better had Dwayne Bowe not stole a touchdown from him, but Kansas City's lack of offense will hurt his value. Furthermore, the team's weakened offensive line will leave Gonzalez on the line to block more often. Davis has done a Houdini act in San Francisco, as he's been invisible on the stat sheets. After two weeks, the Niners tight end has fewer points than Tony Curtis, Ben Utecht, Sean McHugh and Jeff King. Ouch.
Remember when I talked about how solid kickers will come off the waiver wire this season? Well, the top three kickers from Week 2 (Phil Dawson, Nick Folk, Jeff Reed) were all available in the NFL.com Magazine League. Dawson, Folk and Reed have been solid and should be added if available. Some of the bigger names like Neil Rackers (14 points), Jeff Wilkins (12 points), Jason Elam (11 points) and Adam Vinatieri (10 points) had nice weeks, but others such as John Kasay (3 points), Nate Kaeding (2 points) and Olindo Mare (1 point) did little. Kaeding, the top-rated fantasy kicker in the preseason, has just four points this season. If he has another bad week, fantasy owners should hand Kaeding a pink slip.
One of the most underrated defenses in fantasy football resides in Minnesota. The Vikings led the NFL with 24 fantasy points and continue to shine even in the absence of former defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin. In fact, the Vikes lead all fantasy defenses headed into Monday night with an impressive 56 points. Believe it or not, but Houston is second after two weeks with 46 points ahead of even Chicago (35 points) and Baltimore (31 points). A total of 18 defenses had at least 10 points, with St. Louis, Kansas City, Houston and Detroit as the top surprises. San Diego (6 points) and Carolina (2 points) both had off weeks, as did Miami (1 point).
Much like kickers, the value of defenses (even the top-rated ones), can be altered from season to season.
News & Notes
» Marc Bulger has the talent and weapons to be a fantasy stud, but whether he has the offensive line in front of him to achieve statistical success remains to be seen. T Orlando Pace is out for the season, and his absence showed in Week 2. Bulger took several hits in the loss to San Francisco, so much so that he had sore ribs and a sore knee after enduring six times. Unless the Rams do a better job protecting Bulger, his numbers will be inconsistent all season (if he even survives the season).
» Travis Henry seems fit the Denver offense like a glove. After two weeks, the veteran has rushed for 267 yards and has 52 yards as a receiver out of the backfield. While he hasn't found the end zone, Henry is on pace to finish the season with over 2,000 rushing yards on the season. Head coach Mike Shanahan sure would love to have another back reach that mark -- Terrell Davis did it in 1998. Henry did hurt his ankle against Oakland, but the ailment isn't significant and won't keep him out of action in Week 3.
» Even without a solid complement in the offense, Andre Johnson has been an absolute beast for fantasy football owners. He has recorded 262 yards and three touchdowns after two weeks, and he's gained a tremendous rapport with Matt Schaub. Johnson did suffer an injured knee in Houston's win over Carolina, however, and he walked with a noticeable limp after the contest. Diagnosed with a sprained PCL, Johnson will have an MRI on Monday to see if he sustained any serious damage. He's listed as day to day.
» The Oakland Raiders didn't do so much on offense in Week 2, but it wasn't due to a bad performance from LaMont Jordan. The versatile runner rushed for 159 yards in the 23-20 loss to Denver and has not had two consecutive monster weeks. Head coach Lane Kiffin should continue to lean on Jordan until Dominic Rhodes returns from a suspension in Week 6, but even then Jordan has earned a prominent role in the offense. Headed into Monday night, only Edgerrin James has more points at the running back position than Jordan.
» Kevin Jones is expected to return from an injured foot in Week 3. In fact, reports out of Detroit indicate he'll be listed as probable when the Lions face Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. Jones will see around 15-20 snaps and won't start -- Tatum Bell should remain atop the depth chart -- but the versatile back out of Virginia Tech should start for head coach Rod Marinelli sooner than later. Jones is owned in only 65 percent of NFL.com leagues, so add him now if you need backfield depth.
