The first game of the NFL week on Thursday night is always tricky for fantasy football mangers who want to make sure they get off to a good start — either by starting the right players or avoiding certain players.
Week 2 brings to us a heated division rivalry between two AFC East playoff teams with the Miami Dolphins hosting the Buffalo Bills (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video). We'll go through a start 'em and sit 'em breakdown of the potential high-scoring affair, including some DFS recommendations.
Start 'Em: Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins must-plays
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
Allen is the QB1 overall after compiling 237 passing yards, 39 rushing yards, and 4 total TDs against the terrible Cardinals defense in Week 1. He's bound to cool off a little in balmy Miami, but he should keep on compiling to live up to the floor and ceiling of his top positional rank.
WEEK 2 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
Hill is the WR4 overall behind Jayden Reed, Allen Lazard, and Jameson Williams with his 7-130-1 line on the Jaguars, which included an 80-yard TD and him overcoming a tough pregame situation. He can take it to the Bills' secondary.
James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills
He turned 22 touches into 103 scrimmage yards against the Cardinals for a back-end RB2 performance. Not getting a TD hurt with Allen punching it in twice. He should like seeing the Dolphins, who leaked vs. Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby in the opener.
De'Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins
He's a questionable game-time decision with an ankle injury, while Raheem Mostert (chest) has already been ruled out. Should the team declare him active, he should be in your lineups, even with some worry of a setback. If not, it would be a split between Jeff Wilson Jr. and rookie Jaylen Wright, who wasn't activated for Week 1. Achane has a fair shot of playing after getting some walkthrough work Wednesday.
WEEK 2 FANTASY ROSTER MANAGEMENT ADVICE
Trade Recommendations | Start 'Em, Sit 'Em | Usage Report
Jayleen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
Waddle settled for a strong WR2 performance in Week 1 as he caught all five of his targets for 109 yards and adding 3 rushing yards. When the Dolphins pass, it still goes mostly through Hill and Waddle.
Jason Sanders, Dolphins and Tyler Bass, K, Bills
This sounds like Tango and Cash or Franklin and Bash. Or Rizzoli and Isles. Or Cagney and Lacey. But the two kickers in this one might be busy as this is the right intersection between good offenses and defenses that can tighten in the red zone.
Start 'Em: Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins likely-plays
Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, Miami Dolphins
Knowing the system well and being healthy for McDaniel, he's not going away any time soon. He led the team with 26 rushing yards on 5 carries in Week 1 and will be the first next man up in this matchup, and he would be the choice to get goal-line work over Wright should Achane be inactive.
Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
Kincaid is a strong bounce-back candidate. He saw only 2 targets on his 21 routes in Week 1, adding up to only one catch for 11 yards. But his usage as a receiver was up there as he played most of the snaps and well more than Dawson Knox. He did well vs. the Dolphins in Week 18 last season, and this game should be more about the Bills' passing game funneling inside for Allen.
Thursday Night Football sleepers
Jaylen Wright RB, Miami Dolphins
Wright was inactive in Week 1, but Mike McDaniel loves the kid's potential as the latest speedster to help out in one of the league's most dazzling running games. Should Achane not play, Wright will be positioned to show his burst behind Wilson.
Khalil Shakir, WR, Buffalo Bills
Shakir is a fringe WR3 option in deeper leagues this week given he'll get the juicy matchup in the slot. The Jaguars inexplicably gave Christian Kirk only four targets last week despite knowing he could burn Kader Kohou. Shakir caught all 3 of his targets in Week 1 for 42 yards and a TD in another fine spot vs. the Cardinals.
Sit 'Em: Thursday Night Football busts
Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins
Tua is not good against the Bills, going just 1-5 in his career. He had two clunkers against them in fantasy last season along with the losses. He was the QB9 in Week 1, but he'll be pushed down out of the top-12 this week.
Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins' defenses
This game figures to have a few sacks and some mistakes, but the yards and points will lead to limited scoring outputs from this pair, so pivot to a streamer instead in either case.
Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills
This matchup stinks on the outside, with Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller waiting to contain the rookie in his second game.
DraftKings mock Showdown lineup for Thursday night
- Captain (1.5x): Josh Allen, QB, Bills ($16,500)
- FLEX: Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins ($11,600)
- FLEX: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Bills ($7,200)
- FLEX: Khalil Shakir, WR, Bills ($6,200)
- FLEX: Jason Sanders, K, Dolphins ($4,400)
- FLEX: Jeff Wilson Jr, RB, Dolphins ($2,400)
FanDuel mock single-game lineup for Thursday night
- MVP: (1.5x): Josh Allen, QB, Bills ($17,500)
- AnyFLEX: Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins ($16,500)
- AnyFLEX: Khalil Shakir, WR, Bills ($10,500)
- AnyFLEX: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Bills ($9,500)
- AnyFLEX: Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, Dolphins ($6,500)
