Week 2 of the NFL season inevitably brings fantasy football overreactions and injury concerns from the openers. Don’t panic! And to help with that, I’ve got four sleepers or DFS value plays for Sunday’s slate of games.
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Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Carolina Panthers
Yahoo! League ownership: 22%
Draft Kings salary: $5,800
One week in, it sure looks like Bridgewater has carried his success from six games as the Saints' starter last season over to his new situation in Carolina. Teddy’s beginning to shed the role of a dull, ultra-safe quarterback to become someone who can be fantasy relevant.
He was a QB12 when filling in for Drew Brees in 2019, and delivered a solid 19.4 FPTs in the Panthers’ Week 1 loss to Las Vegas. Sunday’s matchup versus Tampa Bay should be another high-scoring affair, which will likely result in plenty of pass attempts for the 27-year-old.
The Louisville alum is a must own in two-quarterback leagues, a valuable stash for upcoming bye weeks, and a nice contrarian play against the Buccaneers for DFS contests.
Quintez Cephus, WR, Detroit Lions
Yahoo! League ownership: 1%
Draft Kings salary: $3,800
Lions superstar receiver Kenny Golladay has officially been ruled out for Week 2 as that nagging hamstring injury lingers. If you’re a “Babytron” manager looking to get in on the Detroit offence, chances are you’ve already tried to acquire Marvin Jones or T.J. Hockenson. If those attempts failed then put on your scuba gear as I take you deep diving for this sleeper.
Cephus is available in 99% of Yahoo! leagues and is a bargain-basement salary in DFS. Why Cephus? Well, he was targeted a team-high 10 times by Matthew Stafford in the opener. In fairness, the fifth-round pick rookie hauled in only three of those passes. However, the opportunity is there, and Cephus could be a sneaky red zone threat on the outside opposite Jones.
Dalton Schultz, TE, Dallas Cowboys
Yahoo! League ownership: 1%
Draft Kings salary: $3,700
Blake Jarwin’s ACL injury opens the door for Schultz to become a serviceable part of the Cowboys offence. This will be the third-year pro’s first significant workload opportunity, and we’ll have to wait to see if Dak Prescott looks his way with all the other offensive weapons available.
Schultz is a natural pass-catcher and possesses the mismatch body type to box out defenders inside the ten at 6’5” and 255 pounds. The other tight end of note here is Blake Bell, but he’s involved much more as a blocker.
I would look to add Schultz to your roster as a bench stash with upside and take a flyer on him for DFS lineups.
Bryan Edwards, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Yahoo! League ownership: 14%
Draft Kings salary: $4,000
Don’t go throwing Bryan Edwards in the fantasy trash can just yet. The Raiders rookie put up a stinker in Week 1, but he was nursing a knee injury heading in. Jon Gruden played him on 67% of the offensive snaps (tied for most on the team), and praised the third-rounder all through training camp.
The Saints secondary allowed Tampa Bay receivers Scotty Miller and Chris Godwin to both eclipse 70 yards this past Sunday, so there’s definitely a path to success Monday night for Edwards. Buy low while you can!