Quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh, $7,600

Pittsburgh got whooped on by the Patriots and in doing so likely fueled an absurd narrative that they would struggle without Antonio Brown. Now, hosting the Seattle Seahawks, who let Andy Dalton set career-high in passing yards, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers are four-point favorites. 

Last year Pittsburgh lead the league in pass to run ratio. The threw the ball 67.4% of the time. Ben will go overlooked but he should be able to shred the Seahawks defense in a rebound game.

Jared Goff, LA Rams, $7,600

The Rams square off against the Saints this week in a game that features a 52-point total and The Ghost of Todd Gurley. Against the Panthers, Goff attempted 39 passes and Gurley carried the ball just 14 times. The Rams may be transitioning to running their offense through Goff and there’s no better game to capitalize on this than when the Saints come to town. In Goff’s four career meetings with the Saints, he’s averaged incredible numbers:

• 38.9 attempts
• 314 yards
• 2.3 touchdowns

In a game with shootout potential written on the walls, Goff is the tournament quarterback of the slate. 

Be sure to stack him with either Robert Woods or Cooper Kupp, both of whom saw double-digit targets last week.

Running Back

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants, $9,200

On DraftKings, the top back of the slate is Alvin Kamara. Kamara has a higher upside in PPR formats and is also more likely to benefit from a 100-yard bonus. On Fanduel, where catches and big plays aren’t quite as much of a priority, Saquon Barkley gets a slight edge. The Giants could be playing without Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, and Cody Latimer.

The Giants may decide to run the ball more than any other team in Week 2 given their myriad of injuries. Kamara is going to be the most popular on the slate but, factoring in the scoring settings, Barkley offers some leverage over him.  

Damien Williams, Kansas City, $6,600

Damien Williams is not going to be the work-horse back many expected him to be going into this season. Williams was given 13 carries in Week 1. This was only three more than McCoy, who went for 81 yards to Williams’ 26.

The good news for Williams is that he was getting the touches that matter. He was given four touchdowns inside the 20, one of which came within the five. McCoy got just one red zone carry. 

Williams was also the obvious receiving-back for Kansas City. He out-targeted McCoy six to one. 

Vegas expects the Chiefs/Raiders game to be a high-scoring affair but this will be a game full of popular plays. Williams offers a lot of leverage over his more owned teammates.

Wide Receiver

Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings, $6,900

Stefon Diggs is wildly mispriced coming off a game that everyone knew he would struggle in. The Vikings were home favorites and Diggs was banged up earlier in the week. They took a 28-point lead and never needed to do anything but rush the ball. 

This week is a different story. The Vikings are road dogs visiting the Green Bay Packers.

Last season Diggs went over 90 yards or scored in 10 of his 15 games. 

Tournament players will be scared off by the Vikings 10 passes in Week 1 but the game-script let them get away with that. As underdogs, expect this offense to enter the modern age on the back of Stefon Diggs. 

James Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers, $5,500

James Washington was Pittsburgh’s second receiver in terms of the volume that matters: air yards. Washington led Pittsburgh with 169 air yards, a mark that placed him in the top-three for Week 1. This week he faces Seattle. In their opener, Seattle let Andy Dalton throw for a career-high 418 passing yards. 

On a Pittsburgh team that threw the fifth most-passes all time last year, Washington is in a great spot to capitalize on his volume this week. 

Tight End

George Kittle, San Francisco, $7,100

No player was hit harder by variance than George Kittle last week. Kittle had two scores called back and ended with a 8-54 stat line. Any player, let alone George Kittle, has a good chance of scoring on ten targets. If things bounce the right way for him in Week 2, Kittle is a tournament winner.

There’s a good chance that volume goes up in his matchup with the Bengals. Last week the Bengals threw the ball 50 times in a game that they were never out of until the clock hit zero. Zach Taylor, a disciple of Sean McVay, is taking the Bengals in a new, and more efficient direction. That means good things for their opponents as well. 

Sharp money has come in on the over for this game which opened at 45. It’s now at 46. The Kittle comeback game is in play and will come at extremely low ownership for a player of his caliber. 

Defense

Houston Texans, $4,900

The Texans defense probably makes an appearance on every single DFS article posted on this site. They are home favorite of well over a touchdown and get to face a rookie quarterback who was drafted in the sixth round. 

All of this is great for a defense but his price is the kicker: $4,800. Houston is the best bet to lead all defenses in scoring this slate. Despite that, they are not priced within the top-10. Tournament, cash, and any other format you can find, Houston is the play at defense.