Fantasy football Week 2 WR preview: Drake London faces QB concerns

Do not panic. This is the theme of Week 2 if you got off to a bad start. It is particularly relevant for the wide receiver position. Of the top 12 wide receivers by average draft position, half of them were major disappointments in Week 1. While I think most people know better than to worry about Ja’Marr Chase or Puka Nacua, it seems the guys in the back half of the top 12 have drawn a little more concern. I don’t think that’s justified, not yet. The only top 12 wide receiver I have lowered rest-of-season expectations for is A.J. Brown, and that is because of injury.

George Pickens provides a fine example of the lack of predictive evidence found in Week 1. Last year, he caught three passes for 30 yards in Week 1. He scored 17.8 PPR Fantasy points in Week 2 and didn’t have another single-digit performance until Week 14. This year, he caught three passes for 28 yards with a couple of bad drops. I would not be surprised if he scores 17.8 points this week against the Commanders. I would not be surprised if he scores more.

That being said, not panicking about rest-of-season value does not mean blindly walking into Week 2. Drake London was a victim of the Falcons trying to build a functional attack around Cooper Rush. Rush averaged four air yards per attempt and threw half of his passes to Bijan Robinson. That is not an environment any wide receiver can produce in. If anyone other than Rush starts in Week 2, I will consider London a must-start wide receiver once again. If Rush starts, then London is more of a low-end WR2 at best. That’s frustrating to hear about your Round 2 pick, but just know it is temporary. I fully expect London to meet Draft Day expectations once either of his top two QBs is healthy.

QB | RB | WR| TE

Here is the rest of the Week 2 WR Preview:

Week 2 WR Preview

• 13.64 — Zay Flowers averaged an absurd 13.64 yards per route run before leaving with a hamstring injury. We are hopeful he’ll be back in action in Week 2.
• 34.6% — Kalif Raymond had a 34.6% target share in Week 1. We aren’t reacting too much to this but there will be full-blown panic if Raymond leads the Bears in target share again in Week 2.
• 94.1% — Josh Downs had a 94.1% route share. This is fantastic news and a good reason not to downgrade him after a quiet Week 1.
• 7.9 — Mike Evans had a 7.9 aDOT in Week 1. That is 5.6 yards less than his career average. We could see a volume and catch rate spike if he remains in this role.
• 204 — DK Metcalf had 204 targeted air yards, which trailed only Chris Olave. This could be a very strong sign for his rest-of-season value.
• 30% — As good as Christian Watson was, Matthew Golden actually led the Packers with a 30% target share.
• 86 — The Saints ran 86 offensive plays in Week 1. That’s at least 20 more than they will average rest of season. Beware of getting too excited about Devaughn Vele’s nine targets.
• 33.3% — Parker Washington had a 33.3% TPRR, settling any debate about who the team’s WR1 is.
• 78.6% — DeMario Douglas led the Patriots with a 78.6% route share. He may just be Drake Maye’s best receiver until A.J. Brown returns.

My full set of Week 2 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don’t live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 2. Projected stats for all starting wide receivers are updated throughout the week, so make sure you check back in later in the week for changes.