Welcome to another week of NFL DFS action. I feel like we wait for the NFL to return for over half a year and then once it finally does, it just races by.
I will try my best to soak it all up while I can, and hopefully we can win some cash in the process. One way to do that is to combine our best NFL DFS cash game plays with some epic tourney picks. I thought it would be fun to target low-owned guys with high ceilings in Jahmyr Gibbs and Tyreek Hill last week, to no avail.
Just because it didn’t work out with those two guys, however, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try again. With ownership, matchups, and projection all considered, here are the guys I like the most for week 2 DraftKings NFL DFS tournaments.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs ($6.2k)
I mentioned Mahomes as an interesting GPP play in our main slate video, which you can watch here if you haven’t already. The reason I like him is because he feels pretty discounted considering his talent and his past production.
Maybe people didn’t notice since his Chiefs lost, but Mahomes still put up 28 fantasy points in Kansas City’s opener. Now they face a must-win game at home against the Eagles – a game in which I think they still lose, but would imagine Mahomes will definitely show up in.
Additionally, you can profit off of Mahomes outside of regular NFL DFS contests, as Sleeper has his passing yardage total set art just 0.5 yards for new users. Use our code “build” to sign up and get a 100% match on your first deposit.
Again, Mahomes is either going to step up early like Dallas did, or he’ll be racking up stats as the Chiefs trail.
Philly is far from an easy matchup, but Mahomes ranks 6th in projection among quarterbacks for week 2, and yet he’s cheaper than everyone ahead of him – 3 guys of which are not that far in front in terms of projection.
Justin Fields, QB, Jets ($5.7k)
While I do like Mahomes due to ownership and ceiling, Justin Fields is probably the better play. I don’t want to say he erased all doubts of him being good last week, but he certainly played well.
In the end, Fields hung 29 fantasy points on what is supposed to be a good Steelers defense.
He also seems pretty matchup proof, anyways, seeing as he has a built in rushing floor and New York trailing would only inflate his passing volume.
The nice thing is Fields could get the best of both worlds when he and his Jets take on the Bills. New York will understandably be underdogs, but Buffalo just gave up 40 points and a ton of offensive production.
I know, the Jets aren’t the Ravens, but either Buffalo is just bad defensively and Fields once again wrecks, or they’re good and he racks up stats in the second half. Probably one of those two, anyways.
The reality is Fields is a smash pick and it doesn’t seem like anyone even cares – at least that appears to be the case when you look at his ownership.
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Lions ($7.4k)
I was all over Gibbs as a tourney pick last week, and he burned me. The crazy thing is he should have had a massive outing, as the Lions dumped the ball off to him relentlessly, resulting in an eye-popping 10 catches.
Gibbs did nothing as a runner, couldn’t translate those catches into top shelf production, and was unable to find the end-zone. Even so, he still had a reasonably decent 15 fantasy points.
That is not the production we’re paying for, but it was also just one bad week. The nice thing is he got 19 touches and was OK without scoring, and this week he might have a better matchup against the Bears.
Chicago’s defense is decent, but they have struggled against the run. In week one, Jordan Mason plowed through them at will, while Aaron Jones caught a touchdown. Don’t be shocked at all if Gibbs explodes in a must-win game for Detroit.
James Conner, RB, Cardinals ($6.6k)
Everyone was all over what ended up being a fairly chalky Conner last week. That worked out OK, as he was barely over $6k and churned out a respectable 14 fantasy points.
His price ticked up slightly, but now everyone is ignoring him due to a ton of studs up top. I understand the reasoning, but Conner is arguably in an even better spot than he was a week ago. This week he will face the Panthers, who just got eaten alive by Travis Etienne.
That shoudn’t have shocked anyone, as Carolina ranked dead last against fantasy running backs in 2024. It doesn’t appear that much has changed, and in a game where his Cardinals are favored, Conner could feast.
Breece Hall, RB, Jets ($6.2k)
A guy in that same price range that I am high on as a week 2 NFL DFS GPP pick is Jets RB Breece Hall. I know a lot of people have been down on him after a sluggish 2024, but he remains an explosive weapons with a strong role.
Braelon Allen remains a threat to eat into his workload a bit, but Hall was a monster in week 1, securing 21 total touches out of 23 opportunities. He was productive with his chances, too, totaling 19.5 fantasy points.
Volume is king, as Hall also may have a plus matchup if Buffalo’s inability to stop Derrick Henry is any indication. I’m not too worried about pairing Fields/Hall together, either, as that game in general feels fairly overlooked from a stacking perspective.
Kenneth Walker, RB, Seahawks ($5.4k)
There are a ton of running backs to look at as viable tourney pivots this week, but one I don’t mind getting a dash of is Kenneth Walker. His role was greatly reduced in week one and Zach Charbonett is a problem for his upside, but it is logical to think Seattle would get their most explosive offensive weapon more work.
Walker is the type of guy who can heat up when he find success early, too, while week 2 brings a tasty matchup against the Steelers, who didn’t do a good job defensively in week one.
If Pittsburgh is really that bad on the ground (presently 27th vs RBs), then the explosive Walker could be a cheap (and sneaky) GPP dart.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins ($6.4k)
Do I feel amazing about Tyreek Hill? Not really. He’s over 30, he has a domestic abuse scandal going on (again), and he and his Dolphins counterparts looked like pure ass in week one.
That said, Miami isn’t the first talented team to get off to a slow start in NFL history, so a bounce-back isn’t out of the question. You could make a strong case that they’re actually suited to explode, especially since the Fins get to face a Patriots defense that just got gouged by Geno Smith to the tune of 360+ passing yards.
More specifically, Smith carved up the Pats on deep plays all day long.
I gotta think a still speedy Hill can take advantage of a defense that is still without Christian Gonzalez and clearly has issues against the pass when he’s not on the field.
DK Metcalf, WR, Steelers ($5.9k)
Metcalf is an interesting play for a few reasons. First, there’s the revenge factor. It isn’t “true” revenge, as he will not be in Seattle to face his former Seahawks team, but there is potential revenge, nonetheless.
The second thing is had looked good in week one – and so did Aaron Rodgers. There’s reason to believe the Steelers might be (gulp) kind of decent on offense this year. And thirdly, we know A-Rod tends to force the ball to his top weapon.
Rodgers didn’t go out of his way to feed Metcalf the ball last week, but I gotta think he tries harder to hit him in week 2. Metcalf’s matchup isn’t the greatest, but he’s not very pricey, he has a big role, he offers a ceiling, and the narrative is supporting him.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, 49ers ($5.4k)
Aaron touched on Pearsall in his cash game post. I don’t know how chalky Pearsall will be, but I do know he looked great in week one (17 fantasy points), the 49ers have basically nobody else to throw to, and Mac Jones made Brian Thomas Jr. a target god last year.
There’s no guarantees in life, but if Pearsall is actually going to be low-owned, I can assure you I’ll be getting to him a ton.
Tyler Warren, TE, Colts ($4.5k)
Aaron talks about Warren in his cash game plays, too. I agree he’s a cash game play based on price, but his matchup with the Broncos is brutal and so far it doesn’t look like he’s picking up a ton of ownership.
Indy might be good, though, and they have zero issue manufacturing touches for their talented rookie tight end. Warren isn’t safe, but if he’s overlooked, I’ll go back to the well in week 2.
David Njoku, TE, Browns ($4.4k)
Harold Fannin Jr. is everyone’s favorite DFS darling right now, and rightfully so. He was uber productive in college, he’s looked great in camp, and he excelled in week one. He’s also insanely cheap.
All of that is why Fannin figures to be the chalk tight end play this week, which could make Njoku very overlooked. This, despite having a favorite date with the Ravens, who gave up some solid production to tight ends last week. Cleveland is likely to be playing from behind, too.
When everyone else zigs, you zag. Fannin is a great play at his price, but if everyone is playing him, I want to get a lot of Njoku as leverage.
Brenton Strange, TE, Jaguars ($3.6k)
Lastly, there’s Strange, who is a more appropriate pivot off of the chalky Fannin due to salary. He is just $500 more, and he’s virtually the same play at a fraction of the ownership.
Cincinnati’s defense looked better in week one, but they remain awful at stopping tight ends. They were. a bottom five unit against TEs in 2024 and nothing changed in week one. Strange could pop off at a super cheap price.
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