Deep, Sneaky Sleepers You Should Consider Playing In Fantasy Football Week 2

This is it — the final preparations for Week 2 are being formulated. With each passing day, the fantasy football manager is given more insight and stats to inform their decision on who to play in Week 2. With Keenan Allen gone for the season, there’s a major WR shakeup in San Diego, and with Rob Gronkowski possibly missing another game, and Zach Ertz questionable, TEs are going to be needed. There’s also points to be had in the Saints/Giants game.

As we saw with Quincy Enunwa on Thursday night, there are plenty of waiver adds and deep sleepers that can help you win in a 14, 12 or even a 10 team league this week. There’s also plenty of players out there who can make a huge difference on your daily fantasy squads.

Here are Week 2’s deep sleepers and sneaky plays.

JAX RB TJ Yeldon

Yeldon touched the ball 25 times in Week 1, rushing 21 times for a measly 39 yards, but he got the touchdown and caught 4 balls for 30 yards. With Chris Ivory likely out after a hospital stay due to an illness, the Jaguars will likely lean on Yeldon once again. He may not be the complete back the Jags wanted when they drafted him in the second round of the 2015 draft, but he’s facing a Chargers defense that allowed Spencer Ware to feast, and all the touches are his. All of them. According to Rotoworld, he was in on 87.5 percent of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps.

He’ll ping pong all around the field.

NO WR Michael Thomas

Do you remember when the Saints and Giants played last? Drew Brees threw for 7 TDs. Eli Manning threw for 6. When these two teams went to town in 2015, the lineup for the Saints had Marques Colston and Ben Watson, who made up for 17 catches, 261 yards and 2 TDs. Now, the chances of Brees and Manning going off like that again are slim, but there is a lot of potential for this matchup, and Michael Thomas can absolutely have a big game. He caught 6 of 6 targets for 58 yards in Week 1. The best part? He’s only $5,000 in Fanduel. Sneaky sneaky.

If we even get a taste of this…

CLE TE Gary Barnidge

When Barnidge was with Josh McCown in 2015, he was a top 2 TE in the league. Now RGIII is out and in comes McCown to save the day. He’ll be looking for Barnidge early and often. Barnidge starched the Ravens in their two meetings last year for 15 receptions, 230 yards and 2 TDs. The Browns are always going to be throwing. Remember this?

That will never happen again. But McCown to Barnidge will deliver. Don’t be afraid of Barnidge, even if you panicked and picked up Ebron to replace him.

DEN WR Emmanuel Sanders

For some reason, Emmanuel Sanders was WR o. 30 coming into this season, despite being a top 24 WR with Peyton Manning last season. He’s undervalued and disrespected. Now he’s going up against an extremely banged-up Colts secondary, Demaryius Thomas has a hip injury that could limit him to a potential decoy role, and Trevor Siemian isn’t that bad. All of this could lead to a solid game from a guy who’s currently on the bench for quite a few teams.

IND WR Phillip Dorsett

News out of Indy has T.Y. Hilton sitting out of practice with a knee injury. The Colts have their eyes on a playoff run, so perhaps they rest Hilton which puts Luck’s targets squarely on the shoulders of Donte Moncrief, Dwayne Allen and Mr. Dorsett. Luck is going to throw it 40+ times. This is known. So keep an eye on Hilton’s status.

Even if Hilton isn’t out…

NYG TE Larry Donnell

According to Pro Football Focus, Donnell had the 3rd-best points per opportunity at the TE position in Week 1. As said above regarding Michael Thomas and the ridiculous potential for scoring in the Saints/Giants game — this is going to be a shootout. Donnell may have to compete with Sterling Shepard, Odell Beckham Jr. and now Victor Cruz, but he’s a big red zone body and could help out a desperate Zach Ertz owner who missed out on a decent waiver pickup.

HOU WR Will Fuller

You probably took Fuller with a late-round flier, or nabbed him in your auction for a buck or two. Now you might as well throw him in your starting lineup because the rookie WR opposite DeAndre Hopkins is straight fire. He had 11 targets in Week 1. That’s a ton of targets for a rookie, and while he only caught 5 of them, he will only improve. Every time he touches the ball, it could be a huge play.

KC RB Spencer Ware

Unless you went full Zero RB, you probably didn’t draft Spencer Ware to play out of the gate. You certainly didn’t see his monster Week 1 performance against San Diego in which he racked up 199 total yards coming. But, Jamaal Charles is still hurt. And so, the Chiefs are all-in on Ware for at least 20 touches a game. His lack of rushes (11 in Week 1) are concerning against a Houston defense that shut down Jeremy Langford and held him to 3.4 YPC. But, Ware’s 7 receptions for 129 yards should excite anyone. He’s also the goal line option. If you left your FLEX position open and (rightfully) didn’t play Sammy Watkins and are searching for someone to fill that spot, Ware could work out. (Don’t worry about his toe, he’s playing on Sunday.)

SD WR Travis Benjamin

Tyrell Williams seems to be getting all the love now that Keenan Allen is out of the WR 1 picture for the Chargers. I will not let this stand. Yes, Benjamin is a boom or bust guy, but he needs to go on the Sneaky Play list purely because he only costs $6,100 on Fanduel, and is the receiver guaranteed to get looks since Tyrell Williams and Dontrelle Inman will be competing for snaps/targets. Antonio Gates, Danny Woodhead and Benjamin seem to be like the most trustworthy Chargers in Week 2, so if you need a WR2/3, Benjamin can pay off. Especially in PPR leagues. He’ll be locked in for double-digit targets.