Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

As expected, matchups ruled the day in fantasy football's opening salvo.

Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints crushed the Oakland Raiders on the way to 30 points. Jordan Matthews of the Philadelphia Eagles cruised against Cleveland Browns defensive backs on the way to 17.

Those are just a few notable examples, but they're proof enough that paying attention to matchups remains just as important as any work an owner can do on the waiver wire. In fact, those who stand likeliest to win Week 2 matchups started prepping days ago.

Here's a refresher and projections.

Week 2 Schedule

Sunday, September 18	Time (ET)
Monday, September 12
New Orleans at N.Y. Giants	1 p.m.
Kansas City at Houston	1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	1 p.m.
Dallas at Washington	1 p.m.
Miami at New England	1 p.m.
Tennessee at Detroit	1 p.m.
Baltimore at Cleveland	1 p.m.
San Francisco at Carolina	1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Arizona	4:05 p.m.
Seattle at L.A. Rams	4:05 p.m.
Indianapolis at Denver	4:25 p.m
Jacksonville at San Diego	4:25 p.m
Atlanta at Oakland	4:25 p.m
Green Bay at Minnesota	8:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Chicago	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Eli Manning	29
2	Cam Newton	27
3	Aaron Rodgers	25
4	Matthew Stafford	25
5	Drew Brees	22
6	Carson Palmer	21
7	Blake Bortles	20
8	Russell Wilson	19
9	Jimmy Garoppolo	18
10	Philip Rivers	16
11	Kirk Cousins	14
12	Joe Flacco	13
13	Andy Dalton	12
14	Marcus Mariota	12
15	Ben Roethlisberger	12

Call the quarterback position The Eli Manning Show this week. 

Finally the lone Manning slinging it around the field, the New York Giants star deserves to sit in every lineup this weekend thanks to a quality matchup against the New Orleans Saints.

Manning dropped 18 points and three touchdowns on the Dallas Cowboys to start the season, needing all of 28 attempts to get there. With Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz and Sterling Shepard looking deadly, Manning will post huge numbers in a shootout with Brees and a shaky New Orleans defense.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles is much more underrated by comparison. In fact, he's not even owned in 90 percent of leagues.

Savvy owners know the deal—Bortles didn't impress much last week with 14 points, but a matchup against the San Diego Chargers screams money. Remember, Bortles finished as the fourth scorer at quarterback last year while going for 20 or more points eight times.

Week 2 seems like another 20-plus performance for Bortles after San Diego went out last week and found a way to let Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith carve up the defense for 27 points.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	C.J. Anderson	17
2	DeAngelo Williams	17
3	Adrian Peterson	16
4	David Johnson	15
5	Jeremy Langford	15
6	Lamar Miller	15
7	Mark Ingram	14
8	Matt Forte	13
9	Rashad Jennings	13
10	LeGarrette Blount	12
11	DeMarco Murray	12
12	Spencer Ware	12
13	Jonathan Stewart*	11
14	Devonta Freeman	11
15	Ezekiel Elliott	11
16	Theo Riddick	10
17	Ameer Abdullah	10
18	Latavius Murray	9
19	Doug Martin	8
20	Todd Gurley	8
21	Eddie Lacy	8
22	Isaiah Crowell	8
23	Danny Woodhead	7
24	Carlos Hyde	7
25	Jeremy Hill	7
26	Ryan Mathews	7
27	Justin Forsett	7
28	Matt Jones	6
29	Melvin Gordon	6
30	Arian Foster	6

Running back was a position ruled by DeAngelo Williams and Spencer Ware last week, so it can get a little weird at times.

A case in point: the outlook for C.J. Anderson of the Denver Broncos. In fact, Anderson finished only behind those two names in scoring last week thanks to 25 points from getting it done on the ground and through the air.

ESPN Stats & Info shared a notable nugget:

With Trevor Siemian under center, Anderson will remain the focal point of the offense. 

Just in time, too, because he next lines up against the Indianapolis Colts, the team that gave up the most points to running backs last week by a mile, coughing up 45 to the Detroit Lions. Anderson is like Theo Riddick in his ability to produce in a versatile manner, so expect a big day.

Rashad Jennings is a more unexpected name, but the Giants running back deserves the attention going into Week 2. It's more than clear that the veteran is the lead back over Shane Vereen after handling 18 carries in the opener.

Granted, Jennings only found room for 75 yards and seven points. But owners can expect much more in Week 2 when he goes up against the Raiders, a team that landed only behind the Colts last week in points allowed to backs thanks to 151 yards and three rushing scores permitted.

When Manning isn't doing his damage through the air in a shootout, Jennings will make owners proud.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Antonio Brown	20
2	A.J. Green	18
3	Allen Robinson	17
4	Odell Beckham Jr.	16
5	Alshon Jeffery	15
6	DeAndre Hopkins	15
7	Jordy Nelson	15
8	Larry Fitzgerald*	14
9	Jordan Matthews	12
10	Kelvin Benjamin	12
11	Brandin Cooks	10
12	Mike Evans	10
13	Amari Cooper	10
14	Sterling Shepard	10
15	Julio Jones	8
16	Demaryius Thomas*	8
17	Randall Cobb	8
18	Marvin Jones	8
19	Will Fuller	8
20	Golden Tate	8
21	Michael Floyd	8
22	T.Y. Hilton*	8
23	Jarvis Landry	8
24	DeSean Jackson	8
25	Dez Bryant,	7
26	Emmanuel Sanders	7
27	Michael Crabtre	7
28	Steve Smith Sr.	7
29	Willie Snead	6
30	Jeremy Maclin	6
31	Doug Baldwin	6
32	Julian Edelman	6
33	John Brown	6
34	Donte Moncrief	6
35	Travis Benjamin	6

Other than Odell Beckham Jr., who obviously shined alongside Manning this week, one of the stars of the show will be Philadelphia's Matthews.

Folks can throw the idea of a rookie quarterback ruining Matthews' value out the window. He finished as a top-six scorer last week by catching seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, good for 17 points.

Next up is a trip to dance with the Chicago Bears, another fruitful situation, seeing as the Bears defense touts a hobbled secondary that coughed up two touchdowns and 27 points to wideouts last week.

Given the time to build further chemistry and timing against a bad opponent, Matthews should have another explosive day.

Ditto for Carolina Panthers wideout Kelvin Benjamin. He missed all of last year with an injury but announced his return in emphatic fashion, finishing with 15 points by way of six catches for 91 yards and a score.

Number Fire's JJ Zachariason shared the most important data point of all:

A matchup with the San Francisco 49ers writes itself. The defense only allowed nine points to wideouts last week, but so it goes when playing the Los Angeles Rams. Benjamin is a whole different animal who won't have any problem finishing with a large total.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Rob Gronkowski*	12
2	Antonio Gates	11
3	Greg Olsen	10
4	Jordan Reed	9
5	Gary Barnidge	8
6	Delanie Walker	8
7	Julius Thomas	8
8	Travis Kelce	8
9	Coby Fleener	7
10	Eric Ebron	7
11	Jason Witten	6
12	Zach Miller	6

Owners should not give up on Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker just yet.

Walker stumbled out of the gates, scoring just four points on three catches. But the coaching staff has already admitted that it goofed in Walker's usage.

John Glennon of The Tennessean revealed as much, alongside a fantasy note:

"

Titans coach Mike Mularkey said the Vikings did a good job defending Walker but acknowledged the team should have found a way to get Walker more involved early. Potential good news for the Titans is that Indianapolis tight ends Jack Doyle and Dwayne Allen combined for seven catches, 88 yards and three touchdowns against Detroit.

"

Any defense that can make Jack Doyle the top-scoring tight end and give a team both the first- and second-highest-scoring tight ends creates a dream matchup for Walker.

Alongside the praise of Bortles, keep an eye on tight end Julius Thomas. The veteran finished third in scoring last week behind the Indianapolis duo, catching five passes for 64 yards and a score.

Now Thomas gets to line up against a San Diego defense that allowed nine points to tight ends last week and will be too preoccupied with Allen Robinson and others to give Thomas the attention he deserves.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Panthers	10
2	Seahawks	9
3	Cardinals	9
4	Packers	9
5	Broncos	8
6	Vikings	7
7	Chargers	7
8	Bears	6
9	Ravens	6
10	Raiders	6

It doesn't get much easier than this. 

The Seattle Seahawks get to play the Rams, which could really end this whole explanation right here.

For context's sake, though, keep in mind that the Rams just got blown away by the 49ers in 28-0 fashion. Los Angeles didn't score because the 49ers have an underrated run defense that swarmed Todd Gurley and didn't have to worry about quarterback Case Keenum in any way whatsoever.

It'll be more of the same for the Seahawks, except Seattle's defense is much, much better.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Josh Brown	8
2	Graham Gano	8
3	Stephen Gostkowski	8
4	Wil Lutz	8
5	Matt Prater	8
6	Chandler Catanzaro	7
7	Justin Tucker	7
8	Steven Hauschka	7
9	Chris Boswell	7
10	Brandon McManus	6

Who?

Wil Lutz isn't a household name by any means, but he'll head in that direction soon through his fantasy production.

Lutz signed with the Saints at the start of the month, but the rookie had a rough debut, scoring nine points but going 2-for-4 on attempts. Granted, one was a 61-yard effort with the game ending, but he missed half.

The good news? Lutz isn't in danger of losing his job, he's playing on a high-scoring offense and he saw plenty of chances in his debut. Oh, and he gets to partake in a Saints-Giants shootout in Week 2.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.