Fantasy Football Week 2: CJ Stroud and Zamir White among the best fades

Another week, another round of crucial start/sit decisions. To help you make them, I’m highlighting six players with bust potential in Week 2.

Please note that a ‘fade’ or ‘bust’ designation does not automatically mean you should bench a player, depending on the depth of the rest of your roster or the options available on your waiver wire.

It was a solid Week 1 debut for second-year QB CJ Stroud, as he threw two touchdowns and no interceptions — both to new Texans captain WR Stefon Diggs. There’s no doubt he’ll be the chance to continue that run of efficiency in Week 2, given the talent surrounding him at wide receiver. But a matchup against the Bears will have me looking elsewhere if I want a shot at a high-upside player in Week 2.

The Bears may have one of the most underrated secondary’s in the league (and defenses in general) right now, with star cornerback Jaylon Johnson under center, FA-signee Kevin Byard at safety and Tremaine Edmunds – a capable coverage linebacker who threw four interceptions (including a pick-six) last season.

Given the number of weapons the Texans have, the Bears could slow them down, so I’m tempering my expectations for Stroud in Week 2.

Heat control 🔥 Stroud is nearly impossible to match up against the players he’s working with, but even at home the Bears’ defense could give the offense problems, lowering his projected potential in Week 2.

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Fantasy managers thought they might have found a steal in the draft with Zamir White, who was seemingly poised to become the lead back in a run-first offense under Antonio Pierce. However, if Week 1 was any indication, things appear to be a lot closer to a running back by committee than anyone predicted.

Though White saw 72.2 percent of the running back’s rush attempts in Week 1, Mattison outgained him 13-2 on third-down plays, severely limiting his role. By the end of the game, Mattison was outgaining White with 60 percent of the offensive snap share, totaling 62 yards on nine touches to White’s 46 yards on 15 touches.

Neither was particularly efficient to open the year, but Mattison was the back they leaned on in their fourth-quarter comeback attempt in Week 1. It seems likely the team will come from behind again against the Ravens, who are favored by more than a touchdown in Week 2.

Heat control 🔥 Given the projected play script for this matchup, this could be a game where Alexander Mattison dominates the snaps. White barely even comes close to “flex” territory for me heading into Week 2; I’ll pass on him for almost any other available option. In the meantime, Mattison is a significant sleeper, especially in full-PPR scoring formats.

I’ve been hyping Zack Moss all offseason as the Cincinnati Bengals’ RB1 over Chase Brown , and the usage we saw in Week 1 bears that out. Moss played 65% of the offensive snaps and no special teams snaps, while Brown played 33% of the offensive snaps and 43% of the special teams snaps. Not only did he have six more carries than Brown, Moss saw the team’s only carry inside the five-yard line and converted it for a score.

Moss was more efficient than Brown on the ground in Week 1, but it’s possible the run game won’t be a factor at all against the Kansas City Chiefs if the scoring starts to add up quickly. The Bengals are 5.5-point underdogs against the Chiefs in Week 2.

Heat control 🔥 There’s still plenty of time for the backfield to shift over the course of the season. But until we see a shift in usage between Moss and Brown (or a shift in efficiency between the two), it’s best to leave Brown on the bench.

There may not be a more confusing pass attack in the league than the Indianapolis Colts’ with second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. Richardson’s passing game is a hit-or-miss affair. One minute Richardson misses an easy layup down the middle of the field; the next, he does this:

Despite finishing the week with 212 passing yards (2 TD, 1 INT), Richardson and his receivers only completed nine total passes for a 47.4% completion percentage. It was somehow an incredibly efficient and inefficient day for him, considering he only attempted 19 total passes to produce that stat line in the first place. That worries me for all of the Colts’ pass catchers at this point, but especially Pittman Jr., who is the only true “must-start” option in this offense.

In Week 2, the Colts hit the road to take on the Green Bay Packers in the hostile environment of Lambeau Field against some solid pieces in the secondary between Jaire Alexander, Xavier McKinney, Eric Stokes, and rookie Javon Bullard. I still think this unit is slightly better than their Week 1 box score indicated after going up against Jalen Hurts and his talented group of receivers. Richardson also split the targets fairly evenly between rookie AD Mitchell, Alec Pierce, and Pittman.

Heat control 🔥 Based on Anthony Richardson’s upside as a passer, it will be nearly impossible to pass up his WR1. However, if Week 1 is any indication, he’s more of a boom/bust option until this passing offense finds some stability, especially in a more challenging environment like Lambeau.

Sutton may have led the Broncos with 11 targets in Week 1, but all signs point to this being a particularly challenging week for the veteran. Not only will the Broncos have to overcome the bumps and bruises of an offense under rookie QB Bo Nix, who threw for 138 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs in his NFL debut last week, they’ll also have to overcome a fairly stout Pittsburgh Steelers defense that gave up two interceptions of its own against Kirk Cousins.

In Week 2, Sutton will face one of the league’s emerging shutdown cornerbacks in Joey Porter Jr. Despite facing off against the talented WR Drake London for the majority of the game, Porter Jr. allowed just one 7-yard reception in 22 coverage snaps, averaging just 0.8 yards of separation in coverage, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Heat control 🔥 It’s pretty tough to imagine a situation where you’d start Sutton this week, regardless of your league’s scoring settings. Based on what we saw from the Broncos’ passing offense in Week 1, the ceiling simply isn’t high enough for Sutton in this matchup to justify his low floor.

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have signed Pat Freiermuth to a long-term contract extension just before Week 1, but if that first game was any indication, they haven’t quite figured out how to integrate him into Arthur Smith’s offense. He caught all four of his targets in Week 1, but for just 27 receiving yards — just 18 more than backup TE MyCole Pruitt.

Part of that lack of overall production had to do with avoiding the middle of the field, which OC Arthur Smith admitted was intentional, but regardless, there are reasons to pass on Freiermuth in Week 2. There’s already a clear emphasis on establishing the run mixed with deep shooting for George Pickens, and this script could favor just that. The Steelers are 2.5-point favorites heading into the game, and the matchup features Vegas’ lowest projected point total on the week at 36.5.

Heat control 🔥 Even in a week of several bumps and bruises at the tight end position between David Njoku and Jake Ferguson, I’d rather look at other options. Think of guys like Rams TE Colby Parkinson or Saints TE Juwan Johnson as intriguing pivot plays.