Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings: Updated Overview for All Positions

We're just a day away from the Thursday night kickoff to Week 2 of the 2015 NFL season. Week 1 was exciting and featured impressive fantasy performances from some notable stars like the New England Patriots' Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

There were also a few surprises, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers' DeAngelo Williams. That's all history now. It's time to look ahead to the Week 2 schedule and each fantasy position for the upcoming week.

Thursday, September 17	Time
Sunday, September 20	Time
Monday, September 21	Time
Denver at Kansas City	8:25 p.m.
New England at Buffalo	1 p.m.
Tennessee at Cleveland	1 p.m.
Houston at Carolina	1 p.m.
Arizona at Chicago	1 p.m.
San Diego at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
Detroit at Minnesota	1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at New Orleans	1 p.m.
Atlanta at NY Giants	1 p.m.
San Francisco at Pittsburgh	1 p.m.
St. Louis at Washington	1 p.m.
Baltimore at Oakland	4:05 p.m.
Miami at Jacksonville	4:05 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia	4:25 p.m.
Seattle at Green Bay	8:30 p.m.
NY Jets at Indianapolis	8:30 p.m.

Quarterback

Rank	Player
1	Drew Brees NO
2	Tom Brady NE
3	Andrew Luck IND
4	Aaron Rodgers GB
5	Tony Romo DAL
6	Ben Roethlisberger PIT
7	Eli Manning NYG
8	Ryan Tannehill MIA
9	Peyton Manning DEN
10	Colin Kaepernick SF
11	Russell Wilson SEA
12	Sam Bradford PHI
13	Matt Ryan ATL
14	Cam Newton CAR
15	Philip Rivers SD

I like the NFC South to produce the best QB performances of Week 2.

Drew Brees will take aim at the same Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that allowed four passing touchdowns to the Tennessee Titans' Marcus Mariota in Week 1. Brees has to be licking his chops, as he knows the seams of Lovie Smith's Cover 2 defense should be open.

Because the Bucs didn't do a great job of stopping the run, or getting consistent pressure on Mariota, the rookie should have time to go through his progressions. If Brees gets the same opportunities, he could throw for 400 yards and three scores.

No QB is in better position to shine.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

The New York Giants secondary should have a hard time containing the Atlanta Falcons' Julio Jones. That will give quarterback Matt Ryan a chance to have a big day. Veteran receiver Roddy White is no longer a No. 1 threat, but he's still capable of providing Ryan with alternatives if the G-Men start to double Jones.

Running Back

Rank	Player
1.	Marshawn Lynch
2.	Adrian Peterson
3.	Carlos Hyde
4.	DeAngelo Williams
5.	Jamaal Charles
6.	Matt Forte
7.	Alfred Morris
8.	Chris Ivory
9.	Eddie Lacy
10.	Tevin Coleman
11.	Bishop Sankey
12.	Dion Lewis
13.	Joseph Randle
14.	Giovani Bernard
15.	Jeremy Hill
16.	Justin Forsett
17.	Bilal Powell
18.	Jonathan Stewart
19.	Jacquizz Rodgers
20.	Ameer Abdullah
21.	Melvin Gordon
22.	Karlos Williams
23.	Lamar Miller
24.	Darren McFadden
25.	T.J. Yeldon

After Matt Forte and the Chicago Bears ran for 189 yards against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, owners of Marshawn Lynch should be fired up. Lynch will get his chance to go for big yards on Sunday against what looks like a weak Packers run defense.

Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers thinks his unit's poor tackling was the culprit, but the Bears won a lot of the individual battles at the line of scrimmage. Per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Capers said: "We have to tackle better. Part of that is again the speed of the first game, it's the first regular season game. Forte is a good runner. We're going to see good runners every week."

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Lynch had a decent performance in Week 1 with 73 yards rushing and another 31 receiving, but he didn't find the end zone. Meanwhile, Green Bay's defensive line was getting overpowered by the Bears up front. What will happen in Lambeau Field on Sunday night?

The Packers could win again, but you can bet Lynch hits 100 yards and finds his way into the end zone at least once. 

If there was an all-underutilized team from Week 1, the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson should be the starting running back on that squad. He had just 10 carries as the Vikes were trampled by the San Francisco 49ers 20-3. 

You have to expect A.P. will get more touches in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions. Detroit gave up 499 yards of total offense, and the Vikes and A.P. should be ready to strike with a ground-focused attack. This won't be another weak performance from Peterson.

Wide Receiver

Rank	Player
1	Julio Jones ATL
2	Antonio Brown PIT
3	Calvin Johnson DET
4	Odell Beckham Jr. STL
5	Keenan Allen SD
6	AJ Green CIN
7	Terrance Williams DAL
8	Demaryius Thomas DEN
9	Brandon Marshall NYJ
10	Sammy Watkins BUF
11	Nate Washington HOU
12	Jordan Matthews PHI
13	Kendall Wright TEN
14	DeAndre Hopkins HOU
15	Julian Edelman NE
16	Travis Benjamin CLE
17	T.Y. Hilton IND
18.	Larry Fitzgerald ARI
19	Roddy White ATL
20	Steve Johnson SD
21	Percy Harvin BUF
22	Jermaine Kearse SEA
23	Pierre Garcon WAS
24	Emmanuel Sanders DEN
25	Alshon Jeffery CHI
26	Mike Wallace MIN
27	Willie Snead N.O.
28	Allen Hurns JAX
29	Darrius Heyward-Bey PIT
30	Marquess Wilson CHI
31	Cecil Shorts III HOU
32	Jarvis Landry MIA
33	Mohamed Sanu CIN
34	Tavon Austin STL
35	Michael Crabtree OAK

Jones is looking like a guy who might lead the NFL in receiving yards and touchdowns. After his nine-catch, 141-yard, two-touchdown performance, Jones is set to victimize the Giants. 

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

New York's pass defense wasn't sharp in Week 1. Despite the fact that the Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant left the game early with an injury, the Giants still surrendered 27 points and 356 passing yards. The Giants have no one to match up with Jones. He'll eclipse 100 yards with another score in this game as well.

As long as he's healthy, you can pencil the Pittsburgh Steelers' Antonio Brown's name near the top of the wide receiver rankings every week. With the Steelers still without speedy wide receiver Martavis Bryant, due to suspension, Brown will be an even bigger focus for Ben Roethlisberger.

Tight End

Rank	Player
1.	Travis Kelce KC
2.	Kyle Rudolph MIN
3.	Rob Gronkowski NE
4.	Tyler Eifert CIN
5.	Delanie Walker TEN
6.	Martellus Bennett CHI
7.	Austin Seferian-Jenkins TB
8.	Greg Olsen CAR
9.	Jared Cook STL
10.	Heath Miller PIT
11.	Darren Fells ARI

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce became a star last season, and he picked up right where he left off in Week 1. Kelce had six catches for 106 yards and two scores against the Houston Texans.

Against the AFC West rival Denver Broncos, Kelce will be instrumental in KC's win. Yes, that's a prediction. Denver's defense looks to be among the best in the NFL. That said, if there's a weakness in the team's pass coverage, it might be at linebacker.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Broncos will struggle to find the athletes big and fast enough to take Kelce away from QB Alex Smith. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid loves to employ the short passing game, which creates several weapons to defend within a five-yard span. Kelce will find his spots in the coverage and play well.

Peterson won't be the only Vikings player to do well on Sunday. Kyle Rudolph has some of the best hands at his position, but he's been slowed by injuries in his career. The Lions are a defense in transition without Ndamukong Suh.

Rudolph will take advantage of the Lions' decreased physicality up front and find paydirt from the red zone.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team
1.	St. Louis Rams
2.	Denver Broncos
3.	Miami Dolphins
4.	Arizona Cardinals
5.	Minnesota Vikings
6.	Cincinnati Bengals
7.	San Francisco 49ers
8.	Washington
9.	Jacksonville Jaguars
10.	Carolina Panthers
11.	Tennessee Titans
12.	Dallas Cowboys

Despite giving up 31 points in their Week 1 upset win over the Seattle Seahawks, the St. Louis Rams defense looked great. They sacked Russell Wilson six times and picked him off once. That performance came against a team many pegged for a Super Bowl appearance.

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

What happens when Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn and the very underrated secondary take shots at Washington? The latter moved the ball well in its Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but they could manage just 10 points. The Rams will lock down Washington and prove to people that they are an elite defense.

The Packers weren't capable of taking advantage of the Bears' lack of depth at receiver, but the Arizona Cardinals should be able to. Cornerback Patrick Peterson and safety Tyrann Mathieu have the athleticism and ball skills to make the day miserable for Jay Cutler.

Kickers

Despite the Bears' probable struggles with the Cardinals defense on Sunday, I'm still tabbing Robbie Gould as the best kicking option in the league. Even though Chicago moved the ball well against the Packers, it still settled for three field goals.

Rank	Player
1.	Robbie Gould, CHI
2.	Mason Crosby, GB
3.	Graham Gano CAR
4.	Dan Carpenter BUF
5.	Andrew Franks MIA
6.	Matt Bryant ATL
7.	Josh Brown NYG
8.	Brandon McManus DEN
9.	Zach Hocker NO
10.	Steven Hauschka SEA
11.	Phil Dawson CLE

Gould is as automatic as any kicker in the league. If he's given a shot inside 50 yards, you can just about guarantee he's putting points on the board. Touchdowns figure to be hard to come by against the Cardinals defense, so Gould could again be splitting the uprights with regularity.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Graham Gano has a similar situation with the Carolina Panthers. He didn't come through in Week 1, as he only converted two of his four attempts, but the chances should be plenty with a lot of Panthers drives figuring to stall short of the goal line.

In Week 2, I have faith he'll get some easier opportunities at home against the Texans, and he should be good for three field goals.