The Yahoo Fantasy staff is back in Week 2, sharing their boldest predictions for fantasy football.
Dak Prescott remains money vs. Giants
Prescott had a bad runout in the opener — dropped passes, a weather delay, even a surprise ejection that encouraged Dallas to run more than usual. But Prescott deserves a fantasy mulligan, especially with the Giants on the schedule in Week 2. Prescott has 13 straight wins in this matchup, and monster career stats against the Giants (102.4 rating, 7.9 YPA, 29 touchdowns, just eight picks). Don’t let a fluke Week 1 result steer you off a bankable passing game. Dak will finish in the top five at QB this week. — Scott Pianowski
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All three Chargers wide receivers feast again
Earlier this week, I wrote about how the world needs to accept that the Chargers are a pass-first team. Los Angeles was second in neutral pass after the Week 5 bye in 2024, invested in tons of wide receivers this offseason and doubled down on that identity in Week 1 of this season. The targets were incredibly concentrated between Ladd McConkey as the WR1 of the offense, Keenan Allen as the zone-beating chain-mover and Quentin Johnston, more cleverly deployed as a horizontal threat. The team took it to a Chiefs secondary last week that has its holes but is a significantly better unit than what they’ll see in Week 2 against the Raiders. Additionally, the Raiders also juiced up their neutral pass rate in Week 1 with Geno Smith in town, finishing No. 1 in the NFL. You want to attack games where two teams are likely to take to the air. I’d be comfortable starting any of the Chargers' top three receivers and expect all of them to finish among the top-20 WRs in Week 2. — Matt Harmon
Jordan Mason stays hot despite RB split
The offseason talk around Minnesota that suggested Mason would be in a 50-50 split with Aaron Jones came to fruition in Week 1. Mason earned slightly more snaps, touches and scrimmage yards, but Jones finished as the RB11 thanks to a receiving touchdown. Had it been Mason crossing the goal line instead, he would have been inside the top 12 at the position. The former 49er also passed the eye test, looking like the more dangerous back. Beat writer Alec Lewis of The Athletic pointed out that Mason averaged 3.86 yards after contact in the game, which is the highest by any Vikings’ running back since Kevin O’Connell arrived in Minnesota. While Jones isn’t going away, there are signs that the younger Mason deserves even more work. With the Vikings favored at home versus the Falcons on Sunday Night Football, get ready for Mason to build on his stat line from last week and find the end zone, finishing as a top-12 RB in Week 2. — Justin Boone
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A.J. Brown bounces back in a big way
I’ve got a three-pronged argument for Brown returning to his rightful spot toward the top of our WR ranks. First, there have been four instances where Brown has earned less than 20% of Jalen Hurts’ targets. His share of the looks in the games after a dud performance has been 30.4%, 43.2%, 32.1% and 35%. After seeing a lone pass thrown his way last Thursday, betting on the pendulum swinging back his way is a worthwhile wager. Second, Brown wasn’t just running wind sprints in the season opener. Give credit where it’s due. Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus used zone coverage on all of their defensive snaps, minimizing the throwing opportunities for Brown as he primarily works on the outside. And finally, without a setback to his offseason hamstring injury, Brown’s Week 2 matchup against the Chiefs comes at the perfect time. Kansas City’s secondary just gave up 79 yards and two TDs to Quentin Johnston, who also primarily plays on the perimeter. With the projected volume and matchup, Brown should be back in the top six among WRs by the end of Sunday’s games. — Chris Allen
Javonte Williams isn't just a one-week wonder
Williams is my bold call to finish as a top-10 running back in Week 2. Last week, the Dallas backfield belonged to him. Even with Miles Sanders breaking a long run, Williams handled 100% of the carries inside the 10-yard line and inside the 5. Those money zone touches matter because they show who the Cowboys trust when it counts. Rookie Jaydon Blue was a healthy scratch, and the word out of Dallas is he still needs a full understanding of the offense before seeing meaningful work. That leaves the runway wide open for Williams. The Giants were supposed to be tough up front but rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt ripped them for chunk gains and even scored on a goal-line touch in his debut. Dallas’ offense looked sharper than the box score showed, and with Williams’ usage locked in, he’s lined up for another top-10 fantasy finish. — Ray Garvin
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Breece Hall makes it back-to-back
Hall has been one of the most explosive rushers since entering the NFL, and will only be more explosive with Justin Fields. The Jets QB brings an extra element to the read option rushing game, giving Hall more space to hit breakaway runs when edge defenders have to focus on the QB. Over 21% of his Week 1 carries went for over 10 rushing yards. This new rushing attack now gets a Buffalo Bills team that lined up against a similar rushing offense in Baltimore last Sunday night. Did they slow them down? Not in the slightest. Buffalo allowed 223 rushing yards purely on explosive carries (rushes of 10+), the only defense to allow more than 140 explosive rush yards. I expect a few more explosive runs from Hall as the Bills are forced to focus on another dual-threat quarterback, landing the star RB another 100-yard game on the ground. — Joel Smyth
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