DraftKings NFL Week 2: Top Picks & Lineup Strategies

Christian McCaffrey is expected to be extremely popular on Sunday's 12-game slate, which is why Ryan Belongia is giving a long look at Derrick Henry for tournaments.
DraftKings NFL Week 2: Top Picks & Lineup Strategies
SPECIAL OFFER

Get 50% OFF All-in-One

Find the best pickups with our waiver wire tool, optimize your DFS lineups, and find your perfect pick. This subscription has everything you need to win this NFL season. Ends 9/21. Use promo code ALL.
PROMO CODE ALL

Sunday's Week 2 slate includes 12 games and features Benglas-Jaguars as the highest-totaled game. The Bengals look good across the board, while the injury to Brock Purdy has thrown a wrench into the QB position. Whether or not to roster minimum-priced Mac Jones ($4,000) in a soft matchup provides quite the dilemma. My take is that he looked decent for the Jags last season, and I back Kyle Shanahan in these spots. George Kittle out and Jauan Jennings banged up certainly doesn't help, and there are better QBs also underpriced. It's a tough call. 

In general, Week 2 is a good week to do things differently than the field as people will overreact to what happened in Week 1. That works perfectly for tournaments, where differentiating is the name of the game. As always, my best advice is to fade some of the chalk in favor of less popular leverage that will vault a lineup to the top. Good luck.

Note: All prices listed come from DraftKings, but most of the logic can be applied to other sites across the DFS industry. Discussion is limited to players from the "main slate" of games kicking off at 1 p.m., 4:05 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. EDT on Sunday. The strategy below is meant for large-field tournaments, where payouts typically are limited to ~20 percent of lineups, with the majority concentrated at the very top.

The Games

Over/UnderRoad TeamRoad 
Implied Total
Home TeamHome 
Implied Total
41.5Los Angeles Rams23.5Tennessee Titans19
39.5Seattle Seahawks18.25Pittsburgh Steelers21.25
46Buffalo Bills26.25New York Jets19.75
46.5Chicago Bears20.25Detroit Lions26.25
44.5New York Giants20Dallas Cowboys24.5
45.5Cleveland Browns16.75Baltimore Ravens28.75
40.5San Francisco 49ers21.75New Orleans Saints18.75
43.5New England Patriots21Miami Dolphins22.5
49.5Jacksonville Jaguars23Cincinnati Bengals26.5
44.5Carolina Panthers19Arizona Cardinals25.5
43.5Denver Broncos22.5Indianapolis Colts21
46.5Philadelphia Eagles24Kansas City Chiefs22.5

Point-Per-Dollar Value

These are the players with the best projections relative to their salaries — good plays both for cash games and large-field tournaments. While we don't want our GPP lineups to look like cash-game lineups top to bottom, there's nothing wrong with using a few chalky plays.

McCaffrey will be the most popular player on the slate. He projects better than Derrick Henry ($8,200) and Ja'Marr Chase ($8,100) for significantly cheaper. Despite serious concern that he'd miss Week 1, McCaffrey logged 31 touches, as he was targeted 10 times in the passing game. Expect that heavy volume to continue with Kittle out and Jones under center. The kicker here is that the 49ers have a great matchup against the Saints, arguably the league's worst team. 

Both Ridley and Olave are priced too cheap for the expected usage they should see as the clear-cut No. 1 WR for their respective teams. Ridley's Week 1 matchup was as tough as it gets: in Denver against Patrick Surtain. We should also expect Cam Ward to improve, and Ridley will benefit most along the way. Olave drew 12 targets last week and that type of volume should continue for as long as he stays healthy. The Saints don't have much of a running game, and they'll be playing from behind a lot. Those are good things for the WRs.  

Other Cash-Game Options

QB Josh Allen at NYJ ($7,100)

QB Lamar Jackson vs. CLE ($7,000)

QB Joe Burrow vs. JAX ($6,600)

QB Justin Fields vs. BUF ($5,700)

QB Mac Jones at NO ($4,000)

RB Derrick Henry vs. CLE ($8,200)

RB Christian McCaffrey at NO ($7,500)

RB De'Von Achane vs. NE ($6,900)

RB Chase Brown vs. JAX ($6,800)

RB Jonathan Taylor vs. DEN ($6,700)

RB James Conner vs. CAR ($6,600)

RB Kyren Williams at TEN ($6,300)

RB Tony Pollard vs. LAR ($5,900)

RB Javonte Williams vs. NYG ($5,800)

WR Ja'Marr Chase vs. JAX ($8,100)

WR Puka Nacua vs. TEN ($7,600)

WR Malik Nabers at DAL ($7,100)

WR Zay Flowers vs. CLE ($6,200)

WR Tee Higgins vs. JAX ($6,100)

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba at PIT ($6,000)

WR DK Metcalf vs. SEA ($5,900)

WR Davante Adams at TEN ($5,900)

WR Tetairoa McMillan at ARI ($5,400)

WR Calvin Ridley vs. LAR ($4,900)

WR Chris Olave vs. SF ($4,900)

TE Trey McBride vs. CAR ($6,000)

TE Harold Fannin at BAL ($3,100)

D/ST Baltimore Ravens vs. CLE ($3,700)

D/ST San Francisco 49ers at NO ($3,500)

D/ST Los Angeles Rams at TEN ($3,100)

D/ST Miami Dolphins vs. NE ($2,900)

D/ST Indianapolis Colts vs. DEN ($2,600)

D/ST New Orleans Saints vs. SF ($2,500)

Passing-Game Stacks

Stacks are the centerpiece of most tournament lineups, seeking to take advantage of positive correlations between players. It rarely makes sense to use a quarterback without one or two of his pass catchers, even if the player in question scores a decent portion of his fantasy points with his legs. Ideally, a stack also includes a pass catcher from the other side of the game, hoping to take advantage of a back-and-forth shootout. (Implied team totals are listed in parentheses.)

Jacksonville Jaguars (23) at Cincinnati Benglas (26.5)

JAGUARS

The highest-totaled game of the week sees Jacksonville travel to Cincinnati with both teams coming off wins. The Jags dominated the Panthers on the ground, with Travis Etienne ($5,700) carrying 16 times for 143 yards. He also added three catches and looks like one of the better leverage options at the position, especially after backup Tank Bigsby was traded away Monday. I expect Jacksonville to throw at a higher clip against Cincinnati. It should be a great spot to really see what Trevor Lawrence ($5,600) can do with his new group of pass-catchers. Brian Thomas ($6,700) let a lot of people down last week after catching just one of seven targets, and that will keep his ownership in check this week. Travis Hunter ($5,200) caught six of eight targets for just 33 yards, but you'd figure it's only a matter of time before he breaks a long touchdown. Brenton Strange ($3,600) caught four for 58, all in the first half, while Dyami Brown ($4,200) paced the wideouts with three for 52. All are viable GPP options, with only Thomas expected to carry significant ownership.

BENGALS

Cincinnati struggled offensively last week, mostly because the offensive line couldn't contain Myles Garrett. The matchup is much softer this time around, and that should lead the Bengals back to passing at the high rate we're accustomed to. Joe Burrow ($6,600) threw for just 113 yards against the Browns but should be primed for a bounce back here. Jacksonville's defense may have improved slightly over the offseason, but they surrendered the third-most fantasy points to WRs in 2024. Ja'Marr Chase ($8,100) and Tee Higgins ($6,100) project as two of the best values at the position, and we know the type of ceilings they possess. They'll all be eager to put Week 1 behind them. Chase Brown ($6,800) is coming off 23 touches and should see that type of volume again. He's expected to be one of the most popular RBs, and rightfully so. Mike Gesicki ($3,400) and Noah Fant ($3,300) have the requisite upside to be considered for large-field GPPs but might be too thin for single-entry. I prefer Gesicki this week.   

  • Favorite Jaguars Stack: QB Lawrence + WR Chase or WR Higgins + WR Hunter and/or TE Strange
  • Favorite Bengals Stack: QB Burrow + RB Etienne + WR Chase and/or WR Higgins

Philadelphia Eagles (24) at Kansas City Chiefs (22.5)

EAGLES

This is a rematch of last year's Super Bowl, when Philadelphia did whatever they wanted to on offense, hanging 40 points on Kansas City. Much was made after last week's win over Dallas about the lack of production from A.J. Brown ($6,600) and DeVonta Smith ($5,600). Brown didn't draw a target until the fourth quarter while Smith drew just three. I wouldn't worry too much about that after just one game, especially as Jalen Hurts ($6,800) never really had reason to throw downfield. I'm expecting that to change against a much tougher Chiefs defense. Dallas Goedert is also expected to be out, which will force the WRs to pick up the slack. Both are cheaper than we're used to seeing and won't be very popular, a great combination for tournaments. If you'd rather target the running game, Saquon Barkley ($8,000) always has slate-breaking potential and won't be popular either. He makes most sense when paired with Mahomes.

CHIEFS 

With Rashee Rice suspended and Xavier Worthy ($5,700) knocked out injured on the first drive, Kansas City couldn't overcome a decimated WR core in last week's loss to the Chargers in Brazil. Patrick Mahomes ($6,200) still looked great, however, and ran for 57 yards and a touchdown to finish with 26 fantasy points. It appears as though Worthy is trending towards not playing despite returning to practice Thursday. If he doesn't, Hollywood Brown ($5,200) will be one of the chalkiest players on the slate after drawing a whopping 16 targets last week. JuJu Smith-Schuster ($4,000) caught all five of his targets for 55 yards and can be also considered if Worthy is ruled out. If Travis Kelce ($5,000) has anything left in the tank, now is when the Chiefs need him most. He caught a big 37-yard touchdown last week to salvage a four-target game. 

  • Favorite Eagles Stack: QB Hurts + WR Brown or WR Smith + TE Kelce
  • Favorite Chiefs Stack: QB Mahomes + WR Worthy or WR Brown + TE Kelce 

Other Stacks to Consider

QB Josh Allen + RB Breece Hall or WR Garrett Wilson + WR Keon Coleman or TE Dalton Kincaid

QB Lamar Jackson + WR Zay Flowers + TE Harold Fannin

QB Kyler Murray + WR Tetairoa McMillan + WR Marvin Harrison or TE Trey McBride

QB Dak Prescott + WR Malik Nabers + WR CeeDee Lamb or WR George Pickens

QB Justin Fields + RB James Cook + WR Garrett Wilson

QB Justin Fields + WR Garrett Wilson + WR Keon Coleman or TE Dalton Kincaid

QB Caleb Williams + RB Jahmyr Gibbs + WR DJ Moore or WR Rome Odunze

QB Mac Jones + RB Christian McCaffrey and/or WR Ricky Pearsall + WR Chris Olave

High-Priced Heroes

The fact that Chase scored only 4.6 DraftKings points last week after catching two of five targets for 26 yards will keep his ownership in check for what looks like a great bounce back spot at home against Jacksonville. We saw his salary climb to $9K last season and I expected last year's triple crown winner to be a bit more expensive here. There's plenty of value to afford him. 

So much ownership will go to Christian McCaffrey and the RBs in the $6K range that Henry will go under-owned for the massive ceiling he possesses. He looked phenomenal against the Bills last week, rushing for 169 yards and two scores on 18 carries. Similar to what I said about Chase, there's plenty of value across the board to spend up for multiple players.

Honorable Mention: TE Trey McBride ($6,000)

Fading the Field

Every week we see at least one or two players who are popular without the backing of a top point-per-dollar projection. In some cases it even makes sense to fade a player with a strong projection, particularly when there are good alternatives at the same position and price range.

Fading Gibbs here is less about his and Detroit's underwhelming Week 1 performance and more about getting exposure to other RBs. I'm still bullish long-term, but this week I plan on eating the Christian McCaffrey ($7,500) chalk and saving some salary at RB2. There are plenty of good options in the $6K range (Achane, Brown, Taylor, Conner, Williams, Kamara, etc) and even some below. In the event I spend up twice, I prefer the leverage and higher ceiling that Derrick Henry ($8,200) offers, considering Gibbs still splits work with David Montgomery

The Smash Spot

(Players in favorable spots to significantly outperform their salary.)

67th overall pick Fannin played 72 percent of the snaps in his debut last week. He lined up in different positions and even took a handoff as one of his 10 touches for 66 yards. It was an impressive debut and he's still priced at a bargain for a player that heavily involved. It's only one game, so I don't want to overreact, but he looks the part and the Browns spent capital on him. 

Honorable Mention: QB Mac Jones ($4,000); WR Hollywood Brown ($5,200)

The Bargain Bin

QB Justin Fields vs. BUF ($5,700)

QB Drake Maye at MIA ($5,200)

QB Mac Jones at NO ($4,000)

RB Travis Etienne at CIN ($5,700)

RB Jaylen Warren vs. SEA ($5,400)

RB Dylan Sampson at BAL ($5,200)

RB David Montgomery vs. CHI ($5,400)

WR Chris Olave vs. SF ($4,900)

WR Calvin Ridley vs. LAR ($4,900)

WR Rome Odunze vs. DET ($4,800)

WR Rashid Shaheed vs. SF ($4,500)

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. PHI ($4,000)

WR Elic Ayomanor vs. LAR ($3,200)

TE Jake Ferguson vs. NYG ($3,800)

TE Dalton Kincaid at NYJ ($3,700)

TE Brenton Strange at CIN ($3,600)

TE Juwan Johnson vs. SF ($3,600)

TE Chig Okonkwo vs. LAR ($3,300)

TE Harold Fannin at BAL ($3,100)

Injuries to Monitor

Worthy is considered doubtful after suffering a shoulder injury last week. His status is important to monitor because it affects the value of Hollywood Brown ($5,200), who assumes the No. 1 WR role in Worthy's absence. 

Weather

  • Not much to worry about this week except for possible storms in Miami. Check the forecast closer to kickoff if you plan on targeting the Dolphins or Patriots passing-games. Heavy rain would not be ideal but it's also possible the game plays completely dry. 
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryan is the top-ranked DFS soccer player on RG, reigning King of the Pitch Champion at DraftKings and 2021 finalist for FSWA's Soccer Writer of the Year.
RotoWire Logo

Continue the Conversation

Join the RotoWire Discord group to hear from our experts and other NFL fans.

Top News

Tools

NFL Draft Kit Logo

NFL Draft Kit

Fantasy Tools

Don’t miss a beat. Check out our 2025 NFL Fantasy Football rankings.