Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Week 2 Draftkings Plays: Davante Adams, Saquon Barkley, and More

Week 2 DraftKings Plays - Davante Adams and Saquon Barkley should have fantastic outings in DFS and should lead to a hefty payout.
Week 2 DraftKings Plays

It is so exciting to have real, live NFL football back in our lives. One of my favorite parts is fantasy football. One of my favorite aspects of fantasy football has become playing on DraftKings. Every week is like a new puzzle to figure out. Whether you are more of a cash game player or a tournament player, each presents a unique challenge. Let’s take a look at my favorite Week 2 DraftKings plays.

Week 2 DraftKings Plays

Week 1 Recap

It’s always good to be completely transparent and demonstrate accountability. That’s what I like to do with everything I do and that goes for fantasy football as well. Whether it’s bold takes or DraftKings recommendations, I always like to keep track of wins and losses. It’s not only good for the readers to know, but also helps me learn from mistakes moving forward.

Looking back at Week 1, it was a solid week. This week 52% of my recommendations hit the 2.5x value we look for in cash game lineups. This time the quarterback group led the way tied at a 100% success rate. Meanwhile, the tight end group brought up the rear tied at a 20% success rate. Personally, I was able to make a small profit. We’ll look to get in going even better with the picks and get higher profits in the Week 2 DraftKings plays.

  • Week 1 – $213 → $270 ($57 PROFIT)
  • Year Total – $213 → $270 ($57 PROFIT)

Quarterbacks

Lamar Jackson (BAL) – $7,400 v MIA

Lamar Jackson is coming off a mediocre game against the New York Jets and now gets to face the Miami Dolphins. Jackson finished with 21.2 fantasy points and only had 17 yards rushing. Both of those numbers should go up this week. This game should be more competitive as the Baltimore Ravens are 3.5-point home favorites which means that Jackson may need to keep his foot on the pedal for much longer in this one. Both teams should be able to put up some points and it wouldn’t be surprising if they go over the 44.5-point combined total. Jackson is going to want to get back on track as a runner and will be relied upon even more in this one.

Trey Lance (SF) – $5,700 v SEA

Throw everything out the window regarding last week’s performance for Trey Lance and the San Francisco 49ers. The weather in that game against the Chicago Bears was downright atrocious. Neither team could move the ball very well which made it a low-scoring, sloppy game. This week should bode much better for Lance and the 49ers. They are currently nine-point home favorites over the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks played well in Week 1 but that can be chalked up to an emotional game against Russell Wilson. The 49ers also have an implied team total of 25 points. Lance should be a big part of that scoring whether it comes with his arm or his legs. This might end up being the cheapest Lance is all season, so take advantage.

Others to Consider: Daniel Jones (NYG) – $5,100 v CAR, Derek Carr (LV) – $6,200 v ARI, Jameis Winston (NO) – $5,500 v TB

Running Backs

Christian McCaffrey (CAR) – $8,900 @ NYG

Despite everyone freaking out about a down week for Christian McCaffrey, it’s interesting to see that his salary actually went up from last week. I think that is because DraftKings knows that it was a fluke. The Carolina Panthers had the second-fewest offensive plays of any team in Week 1 in a slow-paced game against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns also have a great defense, especially up front which made it tough for McCaffrey to get any lanes. On top of that, he didn’t receive any yardage from his biggest play since it was ruled as a fumble by Baker Mayfield. Ultimately, there were plenty of encouraging signs. McCaffrey played 80% of snaps, which was third-most among all running backs. He ran a route on 73% of dropbacks, which was also third-most among all running backs. Expect a big bounce back this week against the New York Giants when the Panthers see more than 50 offensive snaps.

Saquon Barkley (NYG) – $7,300 v CAR

It’s a full double-double here at the running back position! Last week I featured these same two guys and there is no reason to go away from it here as both saw elite usage and are still awesome values this week. While McCaffrey was a bit of a letdown last week, Saquon Barkley came out extremely strong as he scored 36.4 fantasy points and was the top running back of the week. Barkley had 18 carries and six receptions and turned them into 194 total yards and a touchdown. That sure is a good way to put to rest all the *ridiculous* questions as to whether or not he would still be explosive or not. The matchup against the Panthers has the Giants as two-point favorites currently so the game should be a close one. Ultimately, Barkley is a true three-down workhorse in an era where that is a rarity. His price point will likely only continue to rise so take advantage now while he is still such a great value.

Others to Consider: Leonard Fournette (TB) – $6,700 @ NO, Joe Mixon (CIN) – $7,200 @ DAL, Darrell Henderson Jr. (LAR) – $5,700 v ATL, Chase Edmonds (MIA) – $5,200 @ BAL, D’Andre Swift (DET) – $7,000 v WAS

Wide Receivers

Davante Adams (LV) – $8,600 v ARI

It turns out that Davante Adams is still great and doesn’t need Aaron Rodgers to be an elite wide receiver. Who would have thought? While we had the “breakfast club” narrative with Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp last year, we have the “almost died in each other’s arms” narrative with Derek Carr and Adams this year. In all seriousness though, they have great chemistry dating back to their college days at Fresno State. It was all systems go in their debut together at the NFL level. Adams posted 33.1 fantasy points last week. He saw 17 targets and had ten receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown. Even more encouraging was the fact he led the NFL in target share in Week 1 at an insane 49% rate. Adams was also tied for third in air yardage share at 53% and led the NFL in raw air yards at 177. Yeah, Adams is #good at the game. This week he gets a juicy matchup, at home, in a dome, and against the Arizona Cardinals. The Las Vegas Raiders implied team total of 28.5 points is the best on the slate. Everything adds up for an absolute monster performance for Adams again this week.

D.J. Moore (CAR) – $5,700 @ NYG

D.J. Moore, like his panther teammate Christian McCaffrey, had an underwhelming season debut last week. He only caught three of his six targets and had one carry and turned that into 50 total yards without a touchdown. Moore only had eight fantasy points. It was especially disappointing because there was excitement that he would take another step up with an upgrade at quarterback now that the Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield. Expectations should have been tempered in this matchup considering it was Mayfield’s first game with the Panthers and the Browns are a very good defense. Denzel Ward was matched up with Moore most of the day and the Browns ran the ball a lot to bleed out the clock. As previously mentioned, the Panthers only ran 50 offensive plays. To put that in context, the Cincinnati Bengals ran almost twice as many offensive plays in Week 1. That is an extreme difference in volume. This week, the Panthers should be able to see a lot more offensive snaps against the Giants. They also won’t have to deal with the same level of pass rush or secondary either. Moore should see a much heavier involvement in this one and with a price drop from last week he makes for a great play this week.

Others to Consider: Brandin Cooks (HOU) – $6,000 @ DEN, Tee Higgins (CIN) –  $5,900 @ DAL, Michael Thomas (NO) – $5,800 v TB, Jakobi Meyers (NE) – $4,400 @ PIT, Greg Dortch (ARI) – $3,500 @ LV, Parris Campbell (IND) – $3,700 @ JAX

Tight Ends

Mark Andrews (BAL) – $6,400 v MIA

Sure, Mark Andrews was somewhat disappointing last week. He only finished with 10.2 fantasy points as he caught five passes for 52 receiving yards. A deeper dive tells a different story, though. Andrews’ usage was ELITE. He ran a route on 94% of the dropbacks and had a 25% target share. Both of those numbers would be good for a wide receiver, let alone a tight end. Andrews is one of the few tight ends in the NFL that sees the usage of a high-end wide receiver but is eligible at tight end. As mentioned before, the Dolphins should be able to keep up with the Ravens better than the Jets did, much to the benefit of the Ravens’ passing game. Andrews will likely be the main beneficiary of that and if those route participation and target share rates stick, he could be in for a massive performance.

Albert Okwuegbunam (DEN) – $3,700 v HOU

After being a popular sleeper throughout the offseason, the first drive for the Denver Broncos was extremely frustrating for Albert Okwuegbunam believers. Russell Wilson targeted the little-known tight end, Andrew Beck, multiple times as he made some nice plays. The tilt was on for those who started Okwuegbunam managers. After that, however, he settled in nicely to have a good season debut. Okwuebunam saw six targets and caught five of them for 33 yards. That was good for 8.3 fantasy points. While that is nothing special, the six targets are the intriguing part. Any time a player is seeing six targets, especially from a quarterback like Russell Wilson, it is easy to see the intrigue at this price point. This week the matchup is very nice as well. The Broncos are ten-point favorites over the Houston Texans. They also have one of the highest implied team totals on the slate at 27.75 points. All of this sets up for Okwuegbunam as a great play at tight end to save some salary.

Others to Consider: Kyle Pitts (ATL) – $5,400 @ LAR, Zach Ertz (ARI) – $4,400 @ LV, Tyler Higbee (LAR) – $4,200 v ATL

Defense/Special Teams

In terms of choosing a defense/special teams, it’s the last spot I fill in every week. It’s pretty random but there are a few areas to gain an advantage. I look to target the heavily favored teams as they usually are playing with a lead. This forces their opponent to throw it more often which can help lead to extra sacks and turnovers and hopefully a touchdown. Another aspect to target is turnover and sack-prone quarterbacks. My advice is to fill out the rest of your lineup first and then pick your favorite D/ST out of the remaining money.

My Tentative Cash Game Lineup

  • QB – Daniel Jones
  • RB – Leonard Fournette
  • RB – Saquon Barkley
  • WR – D.J. Moore
  • WR – Michael Thomas
  • WR – Jakobi Meyers
  • TE – Tyler Higbee
  • Flex – Davante Adams
  • DST – Cincinnati Bengals

Make sure to tune in next week to see the results from my Week 2 DraftKings plays and to see the best picks for Week 3. Best of luck to everyone and let’s all enjoy some football and win some money!

Robert Norton

Robert Norton

He's been writing about sports on and off for years now but started back more regularly again in 2019. His main focus has been fantasy sports, with most of the articles being fantasy football based. It originally started as a fun way to add a unique aspect to his longest-running home league and has expanded from there. Sports and fantasy sports are definitely a love and passion of his as he's been watching and playing since he was very young. He played most sports growing up, although basketball was always his favorite to play and still play regularly to this day. He's currently 33 years old, work in Accounting/Analysis for Accuscripts Pharmacy, and live in Ohio with his amazing wife of 7 years and their 4-year-old and 6-month-old sons. Any questions, whether personal or sports/fantasy sports related, don't hesitate to reach out and ask!

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