
Photo via:Houstontexans.com
Let's take a look at how the fantasy ranks are stacking up for Week 2. Keep in mind, these are PPR rankings, and don't forget to set your lineup for Thursday Night Football. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
QB
Photo via: Patriots/Facebook
1 Patrick Mahomes KC@OAK
2 Deshaun Watson HOUvsJAX
3 Carson Wentz PHI@ATL
4 Lamar Jackson BALvsARI
5 Tom Brady NE@MIA
6 Matt Ryan ATLvsPHI
7 Jared Goff LARvsNO
8 Dak Prescott DAL@WAS
9 Cam Newton CARvsTB
10 Baker Mayfield CLE@NYJ
11 Drew Brees NO@LAR
12 Aaron Rodgers GBvsMIN
13 Ben Roethlisberger PITvsSEA
14 Russell Wilson SEA@PIT
15 Derek Carr OAKvsKC
16 Josh Allen BUF@NYG
17 Philip Rivers LAC@DET
18 Matthew Stafford DETvsLAC
19 Jameis Winston TB@CAR
20 Andy Dalton CINvsSF
RB
1 Christian McCaffrey CARvsTB
2 Alvin Kamara NO@LAR
3 Saquon Barkley NYGvsBUF
4 Ezekiel Elliott DAL@WAS
5 Dalvin Cook MIN@GB
6 Nick Chubb CLE@NYJ
7 James Conner PITvsSEA
8 Mark Ingram BALvsARI
9 Chris Carson SEA@PIT
10 David Johnson ARI@BAL
11 Le'Veon Bell NYJvsCLE
12 Austin Ekeler LAC@DET
13 Leonard Fournette JAX@HOU
14 Giovani Bernard CINvsSF (Make sure Mixon is inactive before starting Bernard)
15 Derrick Henry TENvsIND
16 Josh Jacobs OAK@KC
17 Todd Gurley LARvsNO
18 Kerryon Johnson DETvsLAC
19 Marlon Mack IND@TEN
20 Damien Williams KCvsOAK
21 Sony Michel NE@MIA
22 James White NE@MIA
23 Devonta Freeman ATLvsPHI
24 Duke Johnson HOUvsJAX
25 Matt Breida SF@CIN
26 Chris Thompson WASvsDAL
27 Aaron Jones GBvsMIN
28 LeSean McCoy KCvsOAK
29 Tarik Cohen CHI@DEN
30 David Montgomery CHI@DEN
31 Devin Singletary BUF@NYG
32 Mile Sanders PHIvsATL
33 Phillip Lindsay DENvsCHI
34 Carlos Hyde HOUvsJAX
35 Adrian Peterson WASvsDAL
36 Latavius Murray NO@LAR
WR
1 Julio Jones ATLvsPHI
2 DeAndre Hopkins HOUvsJAX
3 JuJu Smith-Schuster PITvsSEA
4 Michael Thomas NO@LAR
5 Odell Beckham Jr CLE@NYJ
6 Keenan Allen LAC@DET
7 Amari Cooper DAL@WAS
8 Davante Adams GBvsMIN
9 Sammy Watkins KCvsOAK
10 Julian Edelman NE@MIA
11 Adam Thielen MIN@GB
12 Robert Woods LARvsNO
13 Mike Evans TB@CAR
14 Brandin Cooks LARvsNO
15 T.Y. Hilton IND@TEN
16 Tyrell Williams OAK@KC
17 Josh Gordon NE@MIA
18 D.J. Moore CARvsTB
19 Cooper Kupp LARvsNO
20 Chris Godwin TB@CAR
21 Calvin Ridley ATLvsPHI
22 Stefon Diggs MIN@GB
23 Allen Robinson CHI@DEN
24 Tyler Lockett SEA@PIT
25 DeSean Jackson PHI@ATL
26 John Brown BUF@NYG
27 Dede Westbrook JAX@HOU
28 Larry Fitzgerald ARI@BAL
29 Michael Gallup DAL@WAS
30 Kenny Golladay DETvsLAC
31 Alshon Jeffery PHI@ATL
32 Will Fuller HOUvsJAX
33 Tyler Boyd CINvsSF
34 Emmanuel Sanders DENvsCHI
35 Curtis Samuel CARvsTB
36 Jarvis Landry CLE@NYJ
37 Marquise Brown BALvsARI
38 Courtland Sutton DENvsCHI
39 DK Metcalf SEA@PIT
40John Ross CINvsSF
TE
Photo via: Chiefs/Facebook
1 Travis Kelce KCvsOAK
2 George Kittle SF@CIN
3 Evan Engram NYGvsBUF
4 Zach Ertz PHI@ATL
5 T.J. Hockenson DETvsLAC
6 Mark Andrews BALvsARI
7 OJ Howard TB@CAR
8 Delanie Walker TENvsIND
9 Darren Waller OAK@KC
10 Austin Hooper ATLvsPHI
11 Vance McDonald PITvsSEA
12 Jared Cook NO@LAR
13 Greg Olsen CARvsTB
14 Jimmy Graham GBvsMIN
15 David Njoku CLE@NYJ
DEF
1 Patriots @MIA
2 Ravens ARI
3 Panthers TB
4 Bears @DEN
5 Cowboys @WAS
6 Texans JAX
7 Browns @NYJ
8 Bills @NYG
9 Broncos CHI
10 Titans IND
11 Packers MIN
12 Vikings @GB
13 Chargers @DET
14 Chiefs OAK
15 Jaguars @HOU
KICKER
1 Justin Tucker BALvsARI
2 Greg Zuerlein LARvsNO
3 Wil Lutz NO@LAR
4 Stephen Gostkowski NE@MIA
5 Harrison Butker KCvsOAK
6 Ka'imi Fairbairn HOUvsJAX
7 Jake Elliott PHI@ATL
8 Brett Maher DAL@WAS
9 Jason Myers SEA@PIT
10 Robbie Gould SF@CIN
11 Matt Bryant ATLvsPHI
12 Cairo Santos TENvsIND
13 Mason Crosby GBvsMIN
14 Matt Prater DETvsLAC
15 Dan Bailey MIN@GB
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Counting up "should win" and "should lose" results is routinely a fool's errand. That said, the Astros enter a stretch which features a bunch of "should win" games. On one hand, beginning this weekend at Daikin Park, the Astros run a gauntlet of 10 games in 10 days, then after an off day, they play another 13 days in a row. On the other hand, over the first 17 games of the 23 in 24 days, the Astros play 14 of them against losing teams: seven vs. the American League East cellar-dwelling Baltimore Orioles, three vs. the utter joke Colorado Rockies, and four vs. the not awful but below .500 Los Angeles Angels. Additionally, the Astros get 10 of those 14 games at home.
The only good team they face until after Labor Day is Detroit, with three games at the Tigers next week. That series looms large. If the Astros are successful in fending off Seattle and yet again winning the American League West, they have a real shot of finishing even with or ahead of Toronto and Detroit. Finishing with the best record in the AL is the ideal, but having the second -best record among the division winners means a bye past the high peril best-of-three first round series. The Astros' 2024 postseason was over in an eyeblink because they had the third-best record of the AL division champs, and then had the Tigers dismiss them in two games.
If the Astros can take two of three in Motown next week, they not only gain ground on the Tigers, but clinch the season series (Astros beat the Tigers two of three in Houston back in April) and with it the tiebreaker should that come into play for playoff seeding. The Astros swept the Blue Jays three straight earlier this year, so winning just one of three games in Canada next month would secure that tiebreaker.
Growing pains
Big picture, it's been a fine rookie season for Cam Smith. Nothing special, but plenty acceptable for a guy with just 32 games of minor league experience before earning/being handed the primary right field job coming out of spring training. Smith's tools and athleticism are clear, so are a couple of holes in his game that need patching if he is to develop into a star. The standards are different for a rookie making the minimum MLB salary of 760-thousand dollars versus a big ticket free agent signing making 20 million dollars, but a higher percentage of Smith's official at bats have ended with strikeouts this season than have Christian Walker's.
Along with improving his rate of contact, Smith needs to tweak his swing path to hit the ball in the air more. With his strength Cam can hit it hard. But hard grounders aren't the objective. Cam has a pair of two-home run games this season. In late June he homered in back-to-back games. In the other 100 games Smith has played, he has just one other homer. One in 100 games. His last dinger was June 28. 138 at bats later he's still sitting on seven for the season. Mauricio Dubon and Taylor Trammell have higher slugging percentages, as did Zack Short in his limited time with the team.
Smith has been feeble since just before the All-Star break, posting a paltry 13 hits in his last 90 at bats for a .144 batting average. He figures to play less down the stretch, a lot less should Yordan Alvarez actually return to the lineup. If ever back, Alvarez figures to slot only as the designated hitter, reducing Jose Altuve's DH opportunities. When Altuve plays left field, Jesus Sanchez is the clear better option to play right against righthanded pitching.
Jose Altuve at his best
Credit to manager Joe Espada for realizing that Altuve at 35 years old needed his load lightened. Should have happened last year, but live and learn. Altuve has been the DH 35 times this season (just five times last year). It is highly likely not a coincidence that after a hot start last year, Altuve was mediocre the last three-quarters of 2024 with a .740 OPS over his final 119 games. This season Altuve started atrociously. He was a straight up lousy player into late-May, waking May 22 with his batting average .238 and his OPS a woeful .629 over 47 games played. In 70 games since: .316/.947. In his 2017 AL Most Valuable Player season Altuve finished with a .957 OPS.
Astros HOF weekend
The Astros retire Hall of Famer Billy Wagner's number 13 Saturday. 12 players wore 13 after Wagner's time in Houston ended. They do not exactly comprise a Who's Who of Astros lore. Tyler White may have been the best of the dozen. Hey, I said the pickings were slim! Cooper Hummel goes down as the last to wear 13 as an Astro in an official game. Hummel wore 13 last season, before being assigned number 16 when he rejoined the team this season.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
_____________________________________________
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!