Fantasy football is finally back and we've learned quickly that the game we love to play can be both rewarding and bitterly disappointing at the same time. Whether it is seeing that top draft pick deliver an underwhelming Week 1 or your top running back go out for the year, there are plenty of reasons to feel upset after a defeat.
While no one wants to start the year at 0-1, the good news is that there is always an opportunity to improve your fantasy team with shrewd pickups. Throughout the season, this space will spotlight the five best pickups to make to help your team in the following week, with roster data based on Yahoo leagues. Without any further ado, let's get to the five top pickups for Week 2.
5. Best Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 2 - Indianapolis Colts RB Zack Moss
Moss sat out Week 1 with a forearm injury and actually gained some positive momentum for his fantasy prospects going forward. Deon Jackson got the start for the Colts and was utterly unproductive, recording 28 yards on 18 touches and fumbling twice for good measure.
With Jonathan Taylor on the shelf for at least the next three weeks, Moss looks like a locked-and-loaded starter on a team that will run plenty with rookie Anthony Richardson under center. Moss is rostered in just seven percent of leagues and has a good matchup in Week 2 against the Houston Texans.
4. Best Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 2 - Los Angeles Rams RB Kyren Williams
The Rams were surprise winners in Week 1 with a 30-13 blowout of the Seattle Seahawks, and they had plenty of people to thank for their performance. Matthew Stafford turned back the clock with 334 passing yards, but the Rams' touchdowns came on the ground.
The workload was split relatively evenly between Cam Akers and Kyren Williams, but Akers was essentially a plodder with 29 yards on 22 carries, salvaging his fantasy day with a score. Williams was far more effective, turning his 15 carries into 52 yards with two touchdowns.
The fact that Williams was so much more productive than Akers should lead to added faith from head coach Sean McVay, who may look to lean more on his running game with Cooper Kupp out another three games due to a hamstring injury. This backfield could turn into a committee in the short term, which could be just fine if the Rams are giving both Akers and Williams at least 15 touches a week.
Williams is rostered in just four percent of leagues so there is a lot of opportunity to scoop him up if your team has a running back need. There is platoon risk here, however, which is why Williams remains lower on the pickup list.
3. Top Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 2 - Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua
Let's stick with the Rams here as they offered the most interesting receiver pickup of the week. The absence of Kupp, who was placed on IR this week with a lingering hamstring injury, opened up a significant target volume for a team that targeted him 75 times in just 10 games last season.
The clear front-runner to become Stafford's new favorite pass catcher is rookie Puka Nacua, a fifth-round pick out of BYU. Nacua was the preferred target for Stafford on Sunday, catching 10 passes for 119 yards on a team-high 15 targets.
Those 15 targets nearly doubled up the next-highest receiver on the board, Tutu Atwell's eight, while established veterans Van Jefferson and Tyler Higbee combined for eight total targets. Nacua has a nice size-speed combo that can allow him to create mismatches in the slot, making him a player McVay will design plays for while Kupp is out.
The absence of Kupp could make Nacua, who is rostered in just four percent of leagues, a nice flex play or WR3 for teams in need of pass-catching help. There is regression risk when Kupp eventually returns but Nacua has at least three weeks to continue building trust with Stafford in the meantime.
2. Top Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 2 - Atlanta Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier
Fewer players were more hyped in fantasy circles this year than Atlanta Falcons' rookie Bijan Robinson, who is a popular pick to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Robinson's NFL debut was a strong one as he racked up 93 yards on 16 touches and scored a touchdown, but the bigger surprise was that he was out-carried by holdover Tyler Allgeier.
Head coach Arthur Smith has favored a run-heavy approach dating back to his days as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans and the trend appears set to continue this season with young quarterback Desmond Ridder under center. Ridder attempted just 18 passes in the game while the Falcons ran 26 times, with Allgeier turning 15 of those carries into 75 yards and two touchdowns.
It is a rare scenario to see an NFL team roster a pair of running backs that can be fantasy starters but the Falcons appear poised to fulfill that promise. Robinson can be a swiss army knife that can line up all over the field and get a third of his touches each week on catches while Allgeier can be a more traditional between-the-tackles runner to keep both guys fresh.
This should be the end of the buy-low window on Allgeier, who is rostered in 56 percent of leagues. Allgeier may not have the weekly RB1 ceiling of Robinson but he can easily be a RB2 if the Falcons are committed to feeding both running backs with touches every week.
1. Top Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 2 - Philadelphia Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell
Outside of Atlanta, one of the most run-friendly teams in the NFL last season was Philadelphia, which led a run-heavy attack with Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders. The departure of Sanders in free agency led to some uncertainty at the position as the Eagles signed Rashaad Penny and traded for D'Andre Swift to join holdovers Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell in the running back room.
The issue appears to have sorted itself out in a surprising manner as Penny was a healthy scratch while Gainwell took command of the backfield in Week 1. Gainwell dominated the touches, carrying 14 times for 54 yards while adding four catches for 20 more yards on the afternoon.
This was a surprising development as Scott and Swift were buried in the offense, registering a combined four touches for 13 yards, which is undoubtedly frustrating for Swift investors who were hoping for him to get unleashed away from Dan Campbell. Fantasy football players have to react to information that we get from NFL games and right now it appears that Gainwell is the preferred back in the Eagles' backfield, a valuable addition for any fantasy team.
Gainwell is rostered in 46 percent of leagues and that total figures to skyrocket after his commanding workload in Week 1. There is some risk that game plans could lead Nick Sirianni to integrate any of the other runners going forward but Gainwell could be a home-run hitter in one of the NFL's most exciting offenses.
