Updated 8/16/18 12:43pm ET
As always, follow on Twitter 30-45mins before lock @GeoffLambert77, I’ll be monitoring my beat reporters list on Twitter and will tweet any relevant news.
What’s up GoingFor2 fans? I hope everyone had a good Week 1, and if you used my advice, chances are you did. Every one of my lineups in Draftkings cashed and my Fanduel lineups weren’t too bad either.
For this three-game slate, I won’t be playing too heavy as I think there is a lot of “chalk” that will get played. The Jets, Redskins and Patriots have a bunch of injury concerns at RB, meaning RBs from those teams will be heavily owned. The Eagles and Redskins have injuries in the WR corps, and the QBs are in are easy enough to predict. I’m going to give you a few of the chalky plays, but I’ll mix in a few guys that I don’t think will be as highly owned. Play the chalk in cash, the others play in your GPPs.
Okay, let’s get to this 3-game slate…
The DailyFantasyNerd DraftKings/FanDuel Advice for Preseason Week 2 – 8/16/18 (3 Game Slate)
There is one interesting thing to note about all six of the teams on the slate. All six current head coaches are the same coaches from last year. By looking at last year’s snap percentages, we might be able to determine what each coach likes to do in Week 2 of the preseason. Obviously, it won’t be 100 percent the same, but it won’t hurt to look. Let’s get started…
Quarterbacks
UPDATE: I’m leaning to playing one of the Steelers QBs now. Only Joshua Dobbs and Mason Rudolph will play in this one. I’m leaning Dobbs. I’d expect one of these two to be the “cash” game QBs.
Nate Sudfeld (PHI) @ NE
Sudfeld is still the low-hanging fruit as Carson Wentz and Nick Foles will not play, and even though they signed Christian Hackenberg this week, I don’t see him getting any meaningful snaps. After throwing 140 and two TDs last week, Sudfeld could be auditioning for another team. There is also a chance the Eagles could look to trade Foles if they think Sudfled can be a worthy backup to Wentz. That’s all neither here nor there for our purposes, but it might give Sudfeld a little edge to play well.
Update: Foles is expected to play. I don’t think I’m playing any Eagles QB, but if I were, it’s still Sudfeld.
Brian Hoyer (NE) @ PHI
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Hoyer’s Week 1 outing wasn’t great, but in looking at the snap percentages from last year, Jimmy Garoppollo was given the majority of the snaps for the first two preseason games last year. Tom Brady played 20 percent of the snaps in 2017’s preseason, and I doubt he will even see that much in this game.
Update: Someone on Twitter said he heard Brady was going to play a half, but I’m not buying it. I went through game logs all the way back to 2012 and 20 percent was the highest amount of snaps he has played. I’m only putting this here because I’m sure he read it somewhere, I didn’t want anyone else to read the same thing and play Brady.
Alex Smith (WAS) vs NYJ
As expected, Alex Smith did not see a single snap in last week’s game, but I expect him to play in this one a little more than people might expect. Kirk Cousins played 52 percent of the snaps in last year’s Week 2 preseason game. I don’t know if Smith will get quite that much, and it’s a bit of a risk, but he could be a good GPP play.
I’ll be avoiding all of the Jets QBs, simply because they ALL looked good last week. I would expect Sam Darnold to get the start, and maybe he plays the majority of the snaps, so if you’re going to play one, he would be the one I would play.
Running Backs
The teams on this slate have a ton of interesting running backs to look at. The Patriots, Jets and Redskins are dealing with a ton of injuries to their RBs and I will be building my teams using a combination of RBs from all three teams. The following list is my favorites to lead the backfield in touches:
Samaje Perine (WAS) vs NYJ
With Derrius Guice going down for the season, the early-down role will go to either Perine or “No Longer Fat” Rob Kelley. Kelley slimmed down this offseason in hopes to improve his explosion, but I still believe the Redskins will ultimately turn to Perine as the starter. I think both backs will get plenty of work, but I lean to the side of Perine getting more “useful” touches, i.e. red zone looks.
Kapri Bibbs (WAS) vs NYJ
Similar to how Perine and Kelley are competing for early-down work to replace Guice, Bibbs and Byron Marshall are both hoping to fill-in for Chris Thompson as the passing down back. Thompson is rumored to be out until November. Bibbs had the better Week 1 game and I think he is the better talent overall, I give him the slight edge over Marshall.
Trenton Cannon (NYJ) @ WAS
The Jets backfield is a mess. Elijah McGuire is already out with a broken foot, Thomas Rawls will likely miss his second preseason game, and Isaiah Crowell suffered a concussion last week, leaving Bilal Powell as the defacto starter. Knowing they are so thin at RB, I don’t think the Jets risk playing Powell too much and that should open the door for Cannon to get plenty of work.
Ralph Webb (NE) vs PHI
If you thought the Jets had some injury concerns at running back, the Patriots might be in even worse shape. Sony Michel won’t be ready to play for weeks, Rex Burkhead is still dealing with an injury, and now Jeremy Hill is hurt as well. Webb was the star of the show last week with 14 carries 46 yards and two TDs, and I’ll ride the “hot” hand.
Mike Gillislee (NE) vs PHI
Gillislee is climbing the depth chart on sheer attrition. All the backs in front of him keep going down. If he is to make a legit move up the depth chart and pass Jermy Hill and stave off Webb, he better do it soon.
Jaylen Samuels (PIT) @ GB
James Conner was in Samuels exact position last year — a rookie RB, in preseason Week 2 with Le’Veon Bell still not in camp. So, what happened last year for Conner? He ended up playing 90 percent of the snaps. I’m not saying that will happen this year, but Conner will not play in this game, leaving Samuels and Fitzgerald Toussiant to battle for the bulk of the workload. I’m betting on the rookie.
Wide Receivers
J’Mon Moore (GB) vs PIT
After last week, everyone will be on Marquez Valdes-Scantling or Jake Kumerow, but I’m going to go against the grain and predict that Moore gets in the end zone this weekend, and I’ll even go as far as to say that it comes on a pass from Aaron Rodgers. This is a gut feeling more than anything. Truth be told, Moore hasn’t had the best camp and has had some trouble with drops. The Packers won’t give up that easily on a guy they drafted as the first of three WRs.
James Washington (PIT) @ GB
Washington looked good in Week 1, especially on a 35-yard pass from fellow rookie, QB Mason Rudolph. Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster will not play in this game, leaving Washington another chance to impress.
Riley McCarron (NE) vs PHI
McCarron did nothing in last week’s game after getting plenty of “camp hype” from the media (and me), but I’m going to check the well one more time this week to see if it’s still dry. He was on the field for 58 percent of the snaps, which was the highest percentage for any Patriots receiver on the night, and that alone is worth something, especially if he gets any time with Tom Brady as the QB.
Mack Hollins (PHI) @ NE
With the news that Alshon Jeffery will start the season on the PUP list, Mack Hollins may get some run with the starters as Nelson Agholor is also expected to miss this game. Be warned, however, the word is Hollins has struggled in camp.I still expect him to see a good amount of snaps and, hopefully, he will be able to overcome a bad camp and have a good showing in this game.
Update: Mack Hollins missed practice yesterday, it is my assumption that he will not play tonight. I like Bryce Treggs as a pivot, he led the team in snap percentage last week at 56 percent. Shelton Gibson is also an interesting option.
Paul Richardson Jr. (WAS) vs NYJ
Both Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson will not play in this game, leaving Richardson as the only expected starter to play in this game. I’m expecting Jay Gruden to leave his starters in a little longer than some of the other teams, simply based on history. Lsat year the three leading WRs in terms of snap counts in Week 2 was Ryan Grant (46%), Jamison Crowder (45%) and Terrelle Pryor (37%). Two of those guys were Week 1 starters and Grant was fourth on the depth chart.
Tight Ends
I’m not going to leave a blurb for TE and DEF, but Goedert is my favorite TE and the I like the Patriots DEF the most as they go up against a third-string QB and none of the starting WRs.
Update: I’m hearing Goedert may not play. Jordan Leggett is a name to add to this list. He and Sam Darnold have had a good connection in camp thus far.
Jeremy Sprinkle (WAS) vs NYJ
Dallas Goedert (PHI) @ WAS
Defense
Patriots DEF vs PHI
Packers DEF @ PIT
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