Fantasy Sports

Conner was once again the bell cow for the Cardinals, handling nearly all of the backfield touches until the game got out of hand late. He smashed the middle of the Rams defense and got to the second level often, averaging an efficient 5.8 yards per carry. Conner scored once and nearly added another, fumbling the ball into the end zone where Trey McBride then recovered it for the score. Consistently seeing a high-volume workload, Conner will be a high-end RB2 against the Lions in Week 3.

The Rams went down quick early against the Cardinals, making room for error minimal for Stafford and the offense. Stafford fumbled the ball once on a strip sack, was sacked five times and lost star receiver Cooper Kupp to an ankle injury. The Rams could not finish drives after losing Kupp, notably going for it on 4th-and-goal at the end of the first half. Stafford could not convert, overthrowing Tyler Johnson in the back of the end zone. Despite the rough day, Stafford still flexed patience in the pocket, displaying his poise on a scrambling 42-yard completion to Demarcus Robinson in the second quarter. With no Puka Nacua or Kupp, Stafford’s fantasy value takes a hit, but he will still be a QB2 heading into Week 3 against the 49ers.

Odunze was able to test the knee in pregame work, and the Bears liked what they saw from the wideout enough to let him play even after suffering a low-grade MCL Sprain against the Titans in Week 1. The rookie wideout may not see a full complement of snaps Sunday, but with Keenan Allen (heel) unavailable, Odunze could see enough targets to make him fantasy-relevant in Week 2.

As expected, Allen is unable to go while dealing with his heel issue. That’s bad news for Caleb Williams and the Bears, but the good news is that Rome Odunze (knee) will be able to suit up for Chicago in the Sunday Night Football contest. Also inactive for the Bears are WR Velus Jones Jr., OL Kiran Amegadjie, LB Noah Sewell, FB Khari Blasingame and DL Dominique Robinson.

The Cardinals offense was rolling in Week 2, starting with some Kyler Murray magic. While he barely looked for Marvin Harrison Jr. last week, Murray threw a pair of touchdowns his way this week in the first quarter. His third touchdown was off a scramble where he extended the play and found Elijah Higgins for the score. As a rusher, Murray was impactful as well, just under 12 yards per carry on five rushes. The game got out of hand in favor of the Cardinals early, leading to Clayton Tune finishing the game, though Tune fumbled and did not attempt a pass. Murray’s dual-threat ability cements him as a QB1 option for Week 3 against the Lions.

Chandler out-rushed Aaron Jones 82 to 32 yards on the day, but lost out to Jones on pass-catching duties. Chandler looked spry and explosive on his ten attempts, ripping off a 25-yarder in the fourth quarter as the Vikings bled the clock with a lead. Chandler may have played his way into a shared backfield ahead of the team’s Week 3 matchup with Houston.

Tolbert was a surprising target-leader for the Cowboys in Week 2. Some of that is likely due to the team being down big in the second half, though he still operated ahead of Kavontae Turpin (three touches, six yards) and Jalen Brooks (one touch, 10 yards). His day was highlighted by a 40-yard contested catch that showed shades of his touted jump-ball ability. Tolbert also recovered a near-costly Dak Prescott fumble in the red zone to at least get the team a field goal. He is unlikely to be the Cowboys’ No. 2 target moving forward, but Tolbert’s usage offers some WR5 value for those in deeper leagues.

Samuel led the team in targets in an unusually pass-heavy game script in a CMC-less offense. His two rushing attempts were disastrous. Last week, Samuel had eight rushes in a more neutral game script. Samuel should continue operating as the Niners’ No. 1 wideout for the foreseeable future. He’ll be a top ten option next week against Houston.

A week after he was targeted only six times in the overtime win against the Rams, St. Brown was back to being the focal point of the Lions offense as he saw 19 targets against the Buccaneers. While the Rams made it a point in Week 1 to take away St. Brown, the Buccaneers were content to mostly play zone coverage which played to his advantage. St. Brown was forced to leave the game multiple times including in the final minute with what appeared to be a lower body injury. He was even seen limping out of the locker room after the loss. While little is known about St. Brown’s injury status, head coach Dan Campbell said he doesn’t think the injury is anything long-term. St. Brown is a locked in WR1 when healthy, but we’ll have to check the practice reports leading up to the Week 3 matchup on the road against the Cardinals.

Cooks also added a carry for a loss of three yards. He was seldom used throughout the day despite the Cowboys playing with a pass-favorable game script the whole game. Jalen Tolbert seemed to operate as the No. 2 wideout more, though much of that may have to do with the team down big in the second half. Cooks has upside as a WR4 heading into Week 3 against the Ravens.