Fantasy football 2024: One QB, RB, WR and TE primed for huge Week 2 performances

Week 2 of the NFL season is here. Week 1 was a lot of fun, unless you’re a fantasy manager with Christian McCaffrey on your team. You were so excited to draft him No. 1 overall and then, suddenly, he was a late Week 1 scratch and now appears set to miss Week 2 as well with an Achilles issue. Yikes.

Let’s keep your fantasy football season rolling by identifying some players who are set to post strong numbers this week. These are players who are must-start options if you have them on your season-long fantasy roster and who are great anchors for your DFS teams.

Below is one player at each skill position who is set to have a strong 2024 Week 2 performance for fantasy football.

Quarterback: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Week 1 wasn’t a great week for passing attacks. Only two quarterbacks went for 300 or more yards — Tua Tagovailoa and Matthew Stafford. Have we circled all the way back around to a world where running games are important again?

Both quarterbacks could repeat those performances in Week 2, but Stafford has the more enticing matchup of the two as he takes on the Arizona Cardinals, who are coming off a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. In that game, Arizona allowed Josh Allen to go 18-for-23 for 232 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a pair of scores as well.

Now, I’m not expecting two rushing touchdowns from Stafford considering he has one total rushing touchdown over the past seven seasons. But I am expecting the Rams to be in a good position to get the ball into the end zone, giving Stafford passing touchdown upside. Remember that last season, Arizona allowed the third-most touchdown passes in the NFL. 

Also, remember that Stafford has a healthy Cooper Kupp. In his first season with the Rams, Stafford tossed 41 touchdowns, tying his career high. That was the only time that we’ve seen both players out there for a full campaign.

Running Back: Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are going to end up being incredibly reliant on Josh Jacobs this week with quarterback Jordan Love sidelined. The team looks set to roll with Malik Willis, which is … bad for Green Bay’s chances of winning and for its passing offense.

Consider this: Willis made three starts for the Titans in 2022 and had a combined zero touchdowns and three interceptions in those games. His best passing yardage total as a starter? 99 yards. This is a guy who has started multiple NFL games and has never been a 100-yard passer, which is almost unfathomable.

This leads us to Jacobs, who should get plenty of touches against the Colts this weekend. In the season opener against Philly, Jacobs had 16 carries for 84 yards and also added two receptions for 20 yards. The 2022 NFL leader in rushing yards should be in line for a workload that allows him to go over 100 yards, even against the stacked boxes that defenses will be able to employ since they aren’t worried about Willis beating them.

And that’s without factoring in the defense. Indianapolis was just shredded by Joe Mixon in Week 1, allowing the Texans running back to go for 159 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Mixon also added three catches for 19 yards. 

The struggles to move the ball through the air will likely lower that attempt ceiling a bit because you have to keep possession of the football in order to keep feeding your running back. Still, 20-plus carries is easily in reach for Jacobs in this one, especially considering he had four times as many carries in Week 1 as backup Emanuel Wilson.

Wide Receiver: Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Evans entered 2024 with 10 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons under his belt. His Week 1 numbers against Washington have him on track to reach that mark again if he stays healthy this season.

In the 37-20 win over the Commanders, Evans was targeted six times, catching five passes for 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Of course, those touchdown numbers were strongly aided by the fact he was playing against a really shaky Commanders defense, which allowed quarterback Baker Mayfield to do whatever he wanted.

The good news for Evans and his fantasy managers this week, though? Another matchup with an exploitable defense.

The Lions are better on that side of the ball than Washington, but the team allowed 317 passing yards to the Rams in Week 1, and two Rams wide receivers went over 50 yards. Evans should be set up for another strong showing.

Tight End: Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

The Kyle Pitts we’ve been waiting for hasn’t arrived, but at a fairly weak tight end position he can still be a strong fantasy option going forward.

Back in 2021, Pitts arrived in the NFL with a ton of hype and immediately delivered a 1,000-yard season. But since then, he’s consistently failed to get back to that level. As a rookie, Pitts averaged 60.4 receiving yards per game. The next two seasons> 35.6 and 39.2.

His 2024 campaign got off to an uneven start. Pitts was targeted just three times in the game, catching all three for 26 yards, but his day was salvaged by a touchdown reception.

The lack of usage was concerning, but Pitts played 96 percent of Atlanta’s offensive snaps against Pittsburgh. Last season, he played over 80 percent of the team’s snaps just once all year. Having him out on the field brings up his upside.

In Week 2, Pitts takes on an Eagles defense that surrendered 260 passing yards to the Packers last weekend. Atlanta doesn’t have a ton of weapons beyond Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson, unless you believe Ray-Ray McCloud’s team-leading seven targets last week mean much. I’d expect a stronger showing from Kirk Cousins in this one than in the opener, resulting in stronger numbers for Pitts.