DraftKings Best Lineup for Week 2

If you've never played weekly salary-cap fantasy games, you’re missing out on what’s quickly becoming the hottest new trend in fantasy football and a great way to make some quick cash. No longer are you locked into a team for an entire season (or longer) and subject to the pain of injuries and poor performance. Instead, each week you pick a new set of players to fill your lineup. This is an exciting format that takes away a lot of the stress that goes with season-long fantasy leagues.

For those not familiar with DraftKings’ format, you are awarded a total budget of $50,000 to fill a roster of nine players (QB, RB1, RB2, WR1, WR2, TE, FLEX (RB/WR/TE), K and DST). You must pick players from at least two different NFL teams that represent two different games that week. The scoring rules are similar to most PPR scoring leagues, but you can check out the details over at DraftKings for more information there.

Now that we've gotten the introductory information out of the way, here’s the most valuable DraftKings lineup for Week 2.

Quarterback

Terrelle Pryor, Oakland Raiders ($7,100)

Pryor finished Week 1 ranked as the ninth best fantasy quarterback with 21.9 points thanks to 217 passing yards, 112 rushing yards and a touchdown. He would've been even better, had it not been for two interceptions.

Pryor gets the Jacksonville Jaguars at home in Week 2. Jacksonville’s defense was terrible against the Kansas City Chiefs last week and things won’t get any better for them against Pryor and Co.

We have Pryor projected for 17.2 fantasy points, which makes him a steal as the 11th most expensive quarterback on DraftKings.

Running Back

LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles ($6,300)

McCoy had a huge game Monday night against the Redskins, racking up a touchdown and 184 yards on 31 carries — good for third-best among fantasy running backs with 24.9 points. With the amount of plays that Philadelphia will run, it’s safe to assume McCoy will be a dependable RB1 every single week.

The San Diego Chargers ranked tied for 17th last week in run defense, with a +5.3 grade. They’re going to have a very hard time staying fresh and containing the Eagles’ potent offense. We have McCoy projected to finish the week as the third best running back once again, with 18.6 fantasy points.

Matt Forte, Chicago Bears ($6,600)

Forte put up 15.1 fantasy points last week with 50 rushing yards, 41 receiving yards and a touchdown — which was good enough for seventh best. This was against a Cincinnati Bengals defense that ranked 11th in run defense with a +6.6 grade.

This week Forte will face the Minnesota Vikings, who were torched by Reggie Bush and Joique Bell last week, and were ranked as the 31st run defense with a -9.0 grade. Forte is set for a big day, as we have him projected to finished sixth with 17.8 fantasy points.

Wide Receiver

Julian Edelman, New England Patriots ($5,100)

Edelman might be the steal of the week. There are 25 receivers more expensive than Edelman and we have him projected to finish as the second best receiver with 17.9 points.

With all of the injuries on the Patriots’ offense, Edelman will be the No. 1 receiver tonight and will get a boatload of targets. Don’t forget that he finished last week as the seventh best fantasy receiver as the Patriots' No. 2 guy.

Victor Cruz, New York Giants ($5,600)

Cruz finished Week 1 as the top fantasy receiver with an impressive 29.8 points. While you shouldn’t expect that to happen again, we do have Cruz projected to finish 12th with a solid 15.6 fantasy points — which is just fine for your WR2.

Tight End

Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams ($4,700)

Cook finished Week 1 as the top fantasy tight end with 25.6 points from 141 yards and two touchdowns. This week he’ll go up against the Atlanta Falcons, who last week had the 27th ranked pass rush with a -4.1 grade and the 20th ranked coverage with a -3.0 grade.

Cook has a great mismatch against the linebackers over the middle and we have him projected to finish ranked fifth with 11.1 points. At $4,700 that’s a good deal, as there are seven tight ends that are more expensive.

Flex

Reggie Bush, Detroit Lions ($7,300)

Bush was the second-best fantasy running back last week, scoring 25.1 points with 90 rushing yards, 101 receiving yards and one touchdown. He’s a huge part of the Lions offense and will be a RB1 every week this season.

The Cardinals ranked 20th in run defense last week with a 3.5 grade and they’ll have a hard time stopping Bush, who we have projected to rack up 16.9 fantasy points and finish ranked 11th.

Kicker

Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots ($3,800)

We have projected Gostkowski to finish the week ranked third with 8.2 fantasy points, as he should see quite a bit of action tonight against the Jets. You can’t really ever go wrong with a Patriots kicker.

Defense and Special Teams

Cincinnati Bengals ($3,400)

While the Bengals highly-touted defense was a bit of a let down last week against Chicago, they still were ranked 14th in overall defense with a +4.9 grade. This week they’ll face a Pittsburgh Steelers team that is in shambles on offense. With no semblance of a running game, and the loss of center Maurkice Pouncey allowing Geno Atkins to cause serious damage up the middle for the entire game, the Bengals’ defense is going to have a great day. We have them projected to finish ranked 4th with 11.4 fantasy points.