NFL DFS Week 2 Watch List: Top DraftKings Picks & Top FanDuel Picks

It's important to have a short memory when it comes to DFS. Just because Allen struggled in Week 1 against the Jets doesn't mean he's going to have the same difficulties this week. The Raiders defense is nowhere near as strong. Yes, they have a solid pass-rush led by Maxx Crosby, but their coverage in the secondary is soft and should be exposed even more this week when Allen starts slinging the rock. Russell Wilson had nearly and 80-percent completion rate against them last week and finished with a 108.0 passer rating. Allen should feast this week.

JUST ADDED: It's the highest game total on the board this week and we all expect a fantastic shootout between the Jaguars and the Chiefs. Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson is a sprout off the Andy Reid coaching tree so you know the padawan is always looking to show up the Jedi master. With Travis Kelce returning to the field, Lawrence is going to have to use his entire arsenal to keep pace and best Patrick Mahomes. This should be a fun one to watch so we should also be well-invested for DFS.

The Seahawks secondary is very likely to be without safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Devon Witherspoon once again which means trouble in pass coverage. They allowed 334 passing yards to Matthew Stafford and the Rams last week and will be struggling in coverage given the speed of the Lions pass-catchers. To have to try and contain Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta is going to be difficult as it is, but with the strength of the offensive line and the time with which Goff should have to look downfield, we could be seeing an explosive output from the Lions this week. 

It was a rock-solid debut for the rookie last week and we expect the Colts to play things the same way against a much softer defense than what they faced against Jacksonville last week. Richardson is being taught to slide more and take fewer hits, so he is still very much a work in progress, but we saw a solid base to his game last week and can expect more of that. The rushing upside and potential to poach touchdowns will continue to raise his floor, so if the price stays as reasonable as it is this week, we could be locking him into both cash and GPP lineups all season.

If there were any questions as to how Purdy would perform after having elbow surgery late last year, we got our answer after a clean 220-yard, two-touchdown performance. Purdy is always going to be more game-manager than game-breaker, but Kyle Shanahan has done a fantastic job in building his confidence and teaching him to get the ball into his playmakers' hands. The rapport with his receivers, especially Brandon Aiyuk, is something we can rely on each week and so long as the offensive line continues to give him enough support and protection, he should be able to post a consistently high floor each week. The Rams did a nice job against the Seahawks last week, but the firepower of the 49ers might be too much for them.

No one likes looking at Mayfield in either season-long or DFS, but you have to go where the match-ups point you. The Bears defense is going to struggle mightily throughout the season and we are probably going to be targeting them often. He led the team to an upset victory over the Vikings last week and while Minnesota's defense has been struggling since last season, so has the Bears'. They gave up just 237 passing yards and three touchdowns to Jordan Love in their Week 1 loss to the Packers and allowed him a passer rating of 123.2, highest in the league last week. I don't think we'll ever trust him in our cash games, but as a pay-down for a GPP dart? It just might work. 

With age and a struggling offensive line, many DFS players are starting to soften on their “must-start” status for Henry already. Last week, he didn't quite have the best of games as he amassed just 63 yards and failed to get  into the end zone, but we did see a couple of designed screens come his way, so maybe we're starting to see his usage change a little. He is still going to be strong against the weaker run defenses and while Miami didn't take advantage of the soft middle the Chargers have in their defensive line, we expect Tennessee to do just that. Henry should see strong volume as the Titans look to use the run to set up the pass and that should work well, especially for our cash game lineups.

The Chiefs finally came to terms with Chris Jones and will have him on the defensive line this week but the Jaguars should be able to run successfully around him still. Etienne will get significant outside-zone runs which will allow him to use his speed to get to the edge and out-run not just Jones, but the rest of that Chiefs defensive line. The Lions underutilized Jahmyr Gibbs last week, but the Jags have no reason to hold Etienne back. Expect a solid game-plan for the ground work and expect Etienne to be featured more over Tank Bigsby thanks to his pass-catching and speed.

Dan Campbell came out last week on Friday and said Gibbs' limited snaps was by design. Tough to not expect that for a rookie, but we should also expect an increase in workload for him this week and in the coming weeks as well. Campbell will ease him in, but after watching how explosive he was last week and how well he did after contact, we can expect a much bigger performance this week. Hopefully, the masses who use lineup optimizers will be scared off from last week's usage rate. We know Campbell wants to take his Ferrari out for a longer spin this week. Seattle gave up 92 yards and three touchdowns on the ground last week, so expect the Lions to come out strong.

Cook's numbers last week weren't flashy, but 16 touches out of the backfield against one of the premier defenses in the league isn't too bad at all. What was even nicer for those in full-point PPR formats was the six targets he saw. This week, he gets a Raiders team that has a great pass-rush, but little else, so a stronger usage rate for Cook to establish a strong ground game seems very likely. The Broncos may not have found the end zone on the ground against Las Vegas last week, but they averaged 4.5 yards per carry and we saw Javonte Williams see six targets of his own. We'd love to see people off Buffalo after their loss to the Jets, so keep an eye on ownership projections closer to the weekend.

We're still waffling between Edwards and Justice Hill, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Gus Bus will be leaned on heavily, especially near the goal line. Hill has some versatility and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken could continue to keep him involved, especially in the passing game, but John Harbaugh is still an old school guy and will want his team to pound the rock between the tackles and soften that Bengals defensive line. We'll see ho things shake out closer to the weekend, but this is why we do a Watch List, right?

JUST ADDED: We're watching Austin Ekeler's health status very closely as he's missed the last few days of practice with an ankle injury and his absence would mean a very strong uptick in volume for Kelley. He had a strong season-debut in Week 1 and while the Titans usually have a solid run defense, they're likely to get carved up by this passing attack, thus leaving Kelley to run out the clock with a heavy second-half workload.

He's on the cover for a reason and I don't plan on omitting him from the final Playbook unless something dramatic happens. He is the No. 1 target for Goff and he is incredibly reliable. He can go across the middle in traffic and he can get enough separation to take it deep as well. The Seahawks secondary allowed 334 receiving yards last week to an inferior Rams offense, so getting the Sun God into your lineups this week seems like a no-brainer.

If there were any doubts as to how Ridley would look after such a long layoff from football, we got our answer. He looked fantastic against a soft Colts defense and while he will probably spend most of his time fighting off L'Jarius Snead, he's got the speed and the physicality to be successful. Trevor Lawrence knows exactly what he has in a receiving weapon here and he will be looking for him often in what could turn into a bit of a shootout.

He saw nine targets last week and remains a security blanket for Justin Herbert, so why not get him into those lineups against a typically soft secondary. The Titans allowed 330 receiving yards with one touchdown through the air last week and the 13.3 yards per catch allowed has us salivating over what could be from the Chargers. Mike Williams left last week with a head injury and while he did return, we all know that another big hit could force more targets Allen's way. Not that we are rooting or expecting an injury – we're just staying prepared.

The Lions ranked 27th in DVOA against the pass last week and while yes, that was Patrick Mahomes, it was Mahomes without Travis Kelce. This week they will be forced to contend with some serious speed in the secondary as Metcalf, Tyler Lockett (if he plays) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are going to give the corners some serious fits. The hope is that Lockett will be on the field to help draw coverage, but it's hard not to love Metcalf. His speed and physicality make him one of the more dangerous receivers in the NFL and he will be leaned on by Geno Smith.

It was a tough first test for Hopkins last week as he was contending with Marshon Lattimore the entire time. Still, he was targeted a team-high 13 times and still managed to come away with seven catches for 65 yards. The match-up against the Chargers secondary is a lot different as we saw the Dolphins carve them up last week. Obviously, the speed at which Miami plays is a major factor and the Titans won't be able to match it, but with Treylon Burks running around out there helping to draw coverage away, Hopkins should find success this week. UPDATE: We may have to pass on DHop this week as he landed on the injury report with an ankle issue late in the week. Keep that in mind if building lineups earlier than the weekend.

Everyone is going to play Ja'Marr Chase, expecting the Bengals to come out in a much more explosive fashion and while that will certainly be true, I'm going to contrarian route and will play Higgins after he put up a big, fat zero last week. The masses always look at what happened last week and will likely avoid Higgins for fear of another clunker of a game. The Ravens pass defense did fine against C.J. Stroud last week, but now they have a dogfight on their hands with a Bengals team seeking retribution from Week 1 and cannot afford to go 0-2 in the division to start. Expect Swaggy Joe to try and take over.

JUST ADDED: I know that Colby Conway has Pittman as a fade in this week's WR Coach, but I'm just not buying the hope of a Texans fan with regard to an improved Houston secondary. Yes, the unit has gotten better, but they still ranked dead-last in DVOA against the opposition's No. 1 wideout. We didn't hear of amazing things from the Baltimore receiving corps, but Zay Flowers was moved all over the field last week and had a fantastic debut. Pittman squaring off against Derek Stingley is a physical mismatch, so be on the lookout here.

We'll also take a look at Chris Godwin this week given the soft match-up against the Bears, but it's tough to ignore Evans and the 10 targets he saw in the Bucs' upset of Minnesota. The coverage is going to be equally soft this week, if not softer, and Bake Mayfield is likely to gain some week-to-week confidence after their win. We expect a quick release from Baker given the struggles of the offensive line, but they had no trouble shortening up some of Evans routes as well which allowed him to out-muscle his coverage and come down with some contested catches early. That helped allow him to stretch the field more and give Mayfield a strong target inside the red zone.

What more can we say about Aiyuk that his two-touchdowns game last week didn't already tell you? We said at the start of the preseason that we expected him to supplant Deebo Samuel as the No. 1 receiver and we expect that to continue once again. Aiyuk and Brock Purdy have a solid rapport and he should have little trouble shaking coverage in the Rams secondary this week. I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to be in the Watch List and Playbook a lot this season.

There were a number of complaints regarding Luke Getsy's play-calling last week, so expect there to be adjustments made against the Bucs. In fact, Tampa's secondary coughed up 344 receiving yards and two touchdowns to the Vikings and while Moore is no Justin Jefferson, he should be considered a featured target this week. The price tag here is borderline criminal for what Moore should be able to produce against Tampa, so as long as the Bears keep him featured this week, we should get some strong returns. 

Collins saw a team-high 10 targets last week and should be the featured receiver once again for Stroud. He's got both size and speed, so as Stroud continues to adjust towards the NFL game, he's going to need to lean on his veteran help. Collins has always been a fringe player in the NFL, but there has always been love for his potential. Given how porous the Colts secondary is, this could be a breakout week for Collins and maybe even the rest of this Texans passing attack.

If he's on the field, we're playing him. It's really as simple as that. The Jags defense will zero in on him, but hasn't that been the way for the past several seasons? The guy is a beast. I know this is obvious, but it's a Watch List and we're watching.

The debut against the Cowboys wasn't at all what fantasy owners were hoping for, but this Cardinals defense is nowhere near as good. We saw last week as the Commanders leaned heavily on their tight end and we expect the Giants to do the same. New York is looking for a major bounce-back after last week's debacle and with Waller's hamstring hopefully back to 100-percent, we're going to get him into our lineups.

Even with an array of wide receivers, the Jags continued to keep Engram heavily involved. He saw five targets and caught all five passes and continues to see looks inside the red zone as well. He's got the speed to shake linebackers in coverage and the size to out-muscle the Chiefs safeties. Look for him to have another solid performance.

We all loved what we saw from LaPorta last week and if Jamal Adams is out once again for the Seahawks, he could have an even bigger day. Great hands, great size and strong speed should help him move freely through the Seahawks defensive backfield. Expect strong targets once again.

I just said it up above in the Waller write-up and will happily point is out again. The Commanders leaned heavily on Thomas in the passing game which should come as no surprise given OC Eric Bieniemy's offense. He's been used to having a strong pass-catching tight end in Kansas City and that same scheme is now being employed here in Washington. At this price and in a full-point PPR format, Thomas should provide us with a very strong return, even against Josey Jewell and a tough Denver secondary.