NFL1000: Ranking the Top 1,000 Players from Week 2

It’s said in various iterations that once is a fluke, twice is a pattern and three times is a trend.

What that means for NFL teams is that after Week 2, patterns become obvious and can turn into trends quickly. That’s good news for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, who have enjoyed strong performances two weeks in a row from their rookie quarterbacks.

It’s not so good news for the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings, who have seen their offensive lines fall apart when tested in the first two games of the season. It’s good news for the New York Giants, who spent a ton of money on their defensive front in the offseason to be rewarded by strong performances from Damon Harrison and Olivier Vernon.

For every outlier, a player or team plays to its hype. Josh Norman was brutalized for his Week 1 performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers but recovered nicely against the Cowboys. Darrelle Revis is a different story—it’s officially OK to be concerned after the man who was once the best cornerback in football has allowed 10 catches on 13 targets for 173 yards, a touchdown, no picks and a 143.9 quarterback rating in two games.

Yeah, that’s a problem. Is it a trend? We'll find out more Sunday when Revis faces the Kansas City Chiefs.

Part of Bleacher Report’s NFL1000 player rating methodology that matters is the ability to look at our grades from week to week (as you, dear reader, can) and suss out which patterns are turning into trends and which are flukes in the relatively small sample size of an NFL season.

There are many ways to dissect and learn from what the NFL presents on the field every week, and the NFL1000 goes as deep as any to tell you just what’s going on out there.

With a 16-person crew of experienced evaluators, we'll comb through the game tape each week to bring you concise, clear evaluations of every player in the NFL. We'll tell you which rookies are rising and which undrafted players are coming out of nowhere to make an impact. We'll tell you which players are rising and falling in performance and why.

There is no predetermined narrative with these grades. No mysterious "clutch factor." No tweaked-out quarterback ratings that defy explanation. Our grades are based on pure scouting, and lots of it. We grade the key criteria for each position based on a series of attributes and add in a score for positional importance.

In the case of a tie, our scouts ask, "Which player would I want on my team?" and adjust accordingly.

Is it a subjective process? Of course—that's what scouting is, and as we like to say, ties are no fun.

Each player is evaluated and graded by our crack team of scouts, who possess more than 100 combined years of experience in playing, front-office work, coaching and media. Cian Fahey, John Middlekauff, Alex Kirby, Mark Schofield, Duke Manyweather, Ethan Young, Joe Goodberry, Charles McDonald, Zach Kruse, Derrik Klassen, Jerod Brown, Ian Wharton, Kyle Posey, Mark Bullock, Chuck Zodda and Doug Farrar have watched tape for months to bring you these grades, and we'll be bringing you player grades based on the game action every week.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 2 of the 2016 NFL season.

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

Methodology

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The NFL1000 team of scouts has a series of important attributes to grade for every player in their positional review. Using a grading scale starting at 0 and going up to anywhere from 10 to 40 based on the position and the attribute, our scouts have graded each player based on their own expertise and countless hours of tape review over the years. Our evaluators were given specific positional assignments based on their proven fields of expertise. 

• Doug Farrar: Lead Scout/Centers
• Cian Fahey: Quarterbacks
• John Middlekauff: Running Backs/Fullbacks
• Alex Kirby:- Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
• Mark Schofield: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
• Duke Manyweather: Offensive Tackles
• Ethan Young: Offensive Guards
• Joe Goodberry: Defensive Ends
• Charles McDonald: Defensive Tackles
• Zach Kruse: 3-4 Outside Linebackers
• Derrik Klassen: 4-3 Outside Linebackers
• Jerod Brown: Inside Linebackers
• Kyle Posey: Cornerbacks
• Ian Wharton: Cornerbacks
• Mark Bullock: Safeties
• Chuck Zodda: Special Teams

Every NFL player with snaps in offensive and defensive roles is observed and graded based on a multi-tiered process that marks specific attributes per position. As we're combing through All-22 footage to assess each performance, there are additional factors to consider.

We'll adjust for opponent based on the obvious notion that the cornerback we're grading is doing a better job if he's shutting down Antonio Brown than if he's negating the efforts of a seventh-round rookie receiver.

• Does Eli Manning get a higher grade than his stats might indicate because the guys around him didn't play up to his level? Indeed. 
• San Diego Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett allowed one catch on three targets last Sunday. Is he graded higher because the receiver he was defending was Jacksonville's Allen Robinson, one of the league's best? Absolutely. 
• Are the performances of the Los Angeles Rams' and Green Bay Packers' defensive lines affected in an evaluative sense because they were ripping through the regrettable efforts of the Minnesota and Seattle offensive lines? Without question.
• Do we grade Chicago Bears rookie center Cody Whitehair on a more favorable curve when he fights the great Fletcher Cox to a draw? Of course we do.

We take these types of things into consideration every week.

We'll also adjust for players with multiple responsibilities in the course of a game and over the course of time. Think of J.J. Watt or Michael Bennett on the defensive line and how they seamlessly switch from gap to gap. Or how cornerbacks such as Chris Harris and Tyrann Mathieu dominate outside and in the slot. Or how receivers such as Doug Baldwin and Larry Fitzgerald bedevil those cornerbacks from multiple field positions.

That's more important than ever in today's NFL, and we pay attention to it.

We will not adjust for injuries. If a player is underperforming because of an injury, that's part of his performance, fair or unfair, and it needs to be graded accordingly.

Grading any player is a subjective process, but with a series of attributes per position and a specific direction as to what to grade and how, we'll work to make it as definitive as possible.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 2 of the 2016 NFL season.

Top 50 Overall from Week 2

Peter Aiken/Getty Images

You may have noticed that the NFL1000 is a bit top-heavy on cornerbacks this week. Well, that’s what happens when Jason Verrett shuts down Allen Robinson, Chris Harris allows two catches for 18 yards against the Colts, and Josh Norman has a nice game with excellent coverage and a forced fumble against the Cowboys. San Diego’s defense has question marks, but hardly any of them reside in a secondary with Verrett and Casey Hayward.

You may also notice two Vikings players high in our rankings this week—quarterback Sam Bradford and receiver Stefon Diggs, Well, that’s what happens when Bradford completes 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns (many of those completions were plus arm throws) and Diggs catches nine of those balls for 182 yards and a score.

You may also ask why Eli Manning ranks so high this week when he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and wasn’t that great in the red zone. Well, that’s what happens when he completes 32 of 41 passes for 368 yards and his receivers drop his three best throws—two of which would have gone for touchdowns.

You’ll find all of this week’s NFL1000 grades per position on the following pages, but here’s the top 50 for Week 2.

Top 50 Overall from Week 2

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	NFL1000 Score	LW	Moving
1	Jason Verrett	CB	SD	93	41	↑
2	Chris Harris Jr.	CB	DEN	89	28	↑
3	Ndamukong Suh	DT	MIA	88	6	↑
4	Josh Norman	CB	WAS	88	104	↑
5	Eli Manning	QB	NYG	88	139	↑
6	Jerrell Freeman	ILB	CHI	87	19	↑
7	Casey Hayward	CB	SD	87	713	↑
8	Marcus Peters	CB	KC	87	674	↑
9	Sam Bradford	QB	MIN	87	NR	↑
10	Philip Rivers	QB	SD	87	43	↑
11	Aaron Donald	DT	LA	86	1	↓
12	Luke Kuechly	ILB	CAR	86	130	↑
13	Lamarcus Joyner	CB	LA	86	714	↑
14	Joe Staley	LT	SF	86	56	↑
15	Taylor Lewan	LT	TEN	85	516	↑
16	Jason Peters	LT	PHI	85	14	↓
17	Lane Johnson	RT	PHI	85	15	↓
18	Ross Cockrell	CB	PIT	84	812	↑
19	Johnny Hekker	P	LA	84	265	↑
20	Russell Okung	LT	DEN	84	20	↔
21	Drew Brees	QB	NO	84	112	↑
22	Zack Martin	OG	DAL	83	60	↑
23	Fletcher Cox	DT	PHI	83	3	↓
24	Von Miller	3-4 OLB	DEN	83	78	↑
25	Trent Murphy	3-4 OLB	WAS	83	861	↑
26	Alterraun Verner	CB	TB	83	599	↑
27	Justin Tucker	K	BAL	83	162	↑
28	Joe Thomas	LT	CLE	83	4	↓
29	Trent Williams	LT	WAS	83	30	↑
30	Tyron Smith	LT	DAL	83	8	↓
31	Riley Reiff	RT	DET	83	34	↑
32	Marshal Yanda	OG	BAL	82	9	↓
33	Eric Kendricks	ILB	MIN	82	156	↑
34	Bradley Roby	CB	DEN	82	132	↑
35	Kemal Ishmael	SS	ATL	82	260	↑
36	Micah Hyde	SS	GB	82	222	↑
37	Terron Armstead	LT	NO	82	110	↑
38	Nate Solder	LT	NE	82	NR	↑
39	Trenton Brown	RT	SF	82	311	↑
40	Stefon Diggs	WR	MIN	81	316	↑
41	Joel Bitonio	OG	CLE	81	286	↑
42	Mike Iupati	OG	ARI	81	47	↑
43	Kelechi Osemele	OG	OAK	81	74	↑
44	Gerald McCoy	DT	TB	81	10	↓
45	Kawann Short	DT	CAR	81	48	↑
46	Nigel Bradham	4-3 OLB	PHI	81	181	↑
47	C.J. (Clint) Mosley	ILB	BAL	81	627	↑
48	Adam Jones	CB	CIN	81	630	↑
49	Devin McCourty	FS	NE	81	62	↑
50	Harrison Smith	FS	MIN	81	105	↑

Quarterbacks

Al Bello/Getty Images

Eli Manning was the best quarterback in the NFL in Week 2. Ridiculous, right? He didn't even throw a touchdown pass. His offense scored nine points. The Giants only won because of a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown. 

It's true the Giants struggled to score on what is quite clearly a bad New Orleans Saints defense, but Manning wasn't why. He was phenomenal. He showed off great arm talent, was consistently effective against pressure, threw with precision to every level of the field and made the right decision on almost every play.

His performance didn't result in more points for a couple of reasons, primarily drops. In the first quarter, Manning threw a touchdown pass to Larry Donnell on a third down that the tight end dropped. On the following fourth down, he threw a touchdown pass to Odell Beckham that he dropped. Beckham, Donnell and Victor Cruz would combine to drop Manning's best throws of the game; the quarterback threw two exceptional deep balls down the left sideline in the second half that were dropped, one by Cruz and one by Beckham.

Furthermore, Cruz fumbled after a huge gain in the first half, and Shane Vereen fumbled near the Giants 40-yard line in the second quarter. Manning had a fumble that ended a drive, but that was mostly the offensive line's fault for capitulating from every angle.

The Giants offensive linemen struggled throughout the game, forcing Manning to compensate for them. He couldn't compensate when the team tried to run the ball in the red zone, though—another problem the Giants had in this game.

Drew Brees had similar issues to Manning in this game. Brandon Coleman and Coby Fleener left the quarterback frustrated, as they repeatedly ruined good plays. Brees only had one major negative in the game when he overthrew Fleener on a deep out, giving Janoris Jenkins an opportunity for an interception that he couldn't take advantage of.

Only a handful of quarterbacks were better than Brees in Week 2, and one was considered a big surprise. Sam Bradford's debut for the Minnesota Vikings couldn't have gone much better. He immediately established a rapport with Stefon Diggs.

Bradford didn't force Diggs to work for his yardage like Shaun Hill had the previous week either. Bradford consistently threw with precision and showed off impressive arm talent while delivering the ball against pressure on a number of occasions. He protected the ball and put his team in the best position to win a tight game.

Bradford's plaudits were overshadowed by criticism for Aaron Rodgers, who was better than his numbers suggest. His offense as a whole is an anchor on his performance right now, especially when teams force him to throw to Davante Adams, the worst receiver in the league who is getting consistent playing time. Rodgers is forced to hold the ball and create offense, something he did for two touchdowns in this game, because of the lack of quality around him. That's without even mentioning Mike McCarthy's scheme of isolation routes.

Jimmy Garoppolo's week 1 debut was impressive relative to who he was at the time. He carved open an admittedly bad Miami Dolphins defense by throwing accurately while executing the offense as designed. He wasn't protected as much in week 2 as he had been the previous week, though. His injury prevented him from ranking even higher, as the sample size for his performance was cut too short.

At the bottom of the rankings, it was a horrendous week for Kirk Cousins. The Washington quarterback again stockpiled yardage while making bad decisions and throwing inaccurate passes. He had one awful interception and was lucky that Sean Lee didn't catch another one. He also missed Josh Doctson and DeSean Jackson for at least two touchdowns.

Cousins couldn't even blame pressure or the coverage of the defense. His receivers were constantly open, and he wasn't under any pressure in the pocket. It was a catastrophic performance.

Week 2 also offered our first perfect category rating, as Cam Newton hit 25 in arm talent. Hitting 25 in any category is going to be rare, but such was the quality of Newton's Week 2 performance. To hit 25, you need to show off sustained velocity to every level of the field and an ability to throw with precision while manipulating the trajectory of your passes to fit them into specific windows.

Newton's arm is special, and he showcased that with two phenomenal deep throws to Ted Ginn, one to Greg Olsen and another to Kelvin Benjamin. While his accuracy wasn't consistent throughout the game, the range he showed off with his arm talent was a pleasure to watch.

Grading Scale

Acc: Accuracy (Graded out of 25)

Arm: Arm Strength (Graded out of 25)

Press: Pressure/Run Threat (Graded out of 20) (Pressure weighted at 15, run threat at 5)

Dec: Decision-Making (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Quarterback Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Acc	Arm	Press	Dec	Pos	Ovr
1	Eli Manning	NYG	22	23	16	17	10	88
2	Sam Bradford	MIN	23	23	15	16	10	87
3	Philip Rivers	SD	22	21	16	18	10	87
4	Drew Brees	NO	21	21	15	17	10	84
5	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	22	20	14	15	10	81
6	Carson Palmer	AZ	18	22	16	15	10	81
7	Jimmy Garoppolo	NE	20	19	15	16	10	80
8	Matt Ryan	ATL	17	19	16	17	10	79
9	Carson Wentz	PHI	18	21	15	15	10	79
10	Cam Newton	CAR	16	25	14	13	10	78
11	Andrew Luck	IND	16	22	16	14	10	78
12	Aaron Rodgers	GB	18	23	12	14	10	77
13	Marcus Mariota	TEN	18	19	16	14	10	77
14	Matthew Stafford	DET	16	23	14	13	10	76
15	Ryan Fitzpatrick	NYJ	18	16	13	18	10	75
16	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	16	21	15	13	10	75
17	Dak Prescott	DAL	16	19	13	15	10	73
18	Tyrod Taylor	BUF	16	21	12	13	10	72
19	Andy Dalton	CIN	15	19	13	14	10	71
20	Joe Flacco	BAL	14	20	13	13	10	70
21	Russell Wilson	SEA	14	18	13	15	10	70
22	Brock Osweiler	HOU	15	19	13	12	10	69
23	Alex Smith	KC	15	17	12	14	10	68
24	Jameis Winston	TB	12	19	14	13	10	68
25	Derek Carr	OAK	15	20	12	10	10	67
26	Trevor Siemian	DEN	15	18	12	12	10	67
27	Case Keenum	LA	13	17	12	15	10	67
28	Drew Stanton	AZ	15	18	10	13	10	66
29	Jay Cutler	CHI	14	19	11	11	10	65
30	EJ Manuel	BUF	16	18	10	10	10	64
31	Blaine Gabbert	SF	13	18	12	10	10	63
32	Brian Hoyer	CHI	16	15	11	11	10	63
33	Blake Bortles	JAX	12	18	13	9	10	62
34	Josh McCown	CLE	13	16	11	11	10	61
35	Jacoby Brissett	NE	16	15	8	10	10	59
36	Kirk Cousins	WAS	12	15	9	9	10	55

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Tom Brady—suspension
• Teddy Bridgewater—injury
• Tony Romo—injury

Running Backs

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The story of Week 2 at the running back position was injuries. Adrian Peterson had to be carried off the field Sunday night with a torn meniscus and is out for the foreseeable future. Doug Martin and Jonathan Stewart both hurt their hamstrings and are unlikely to play this week. Week 1 breakout star Ameer Abdullah sprained his foot, and Tim Twentyman of Lions.com reported he's been placed on injured reserve and can't return until Week 11 at the earliest.

The worst news of the week was Danny Woodhead tearing his ACL, which will force him to miss the entire season. It was an active week for the team doctors when it came to the running backs. 

There were, however, some trends that continued from Week 1 and look to be something we can get used to as the season progresses. DeAngelo Williams is the best backup back in the league—he was awesome again on both the ground and receiving the football.

Matt Forte looks to be one of the steals of free agency with another strong game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. Both Forte and Williams look explosive despite being over 30 years old.

Though the Chargers lost Woodhead for the year, Melvin Gordon is finally meeting expectations after being drafted in the first round last year. He is running with much more confidence and vision and is breaking tackles on almost every run. He looks like he is poised for a big year.

While the Chiefs have not had Jamaal Charles because of injury, their tandem of Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West looks like one of the more balanced in the NFL. Ware is an exceptional between-the-tackles runner who just wears out defenses with his relentless nature, while West is a major threat as a receiver but keeps you honest with his ability to run the ball.

Latavius Murray had an underrated game against the Atlanta Falcons, bouncing inside runs consistently outside for first downs. Look for him to get more carries this weekend against the Tennessee Titans.

C.J. Anderson, Isaiah Crowell and DeMarco Murray all had good games. Crowell might be a future bell cow in this league, displaying the ability to do it all against the Baltimore Ravens. Anderson has earned his big paycheck for Denver, while Murray represents one of the better trades of the offseason.

Grading Scale

In: Inside Running (Graded out of 25)

Out: Outside Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Running Back Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	In	Out	Rec	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	DeAngelo Williams	PIT	20	20	18	17	6	81
2	LeGarrette Blount	NE	20	21	16	17	6	80
3	David A. Johnson	ARI	19	18	19	17	6	79
4	Spencer Ware	KC	19	18	18	17	6	78
5	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	21	18	16	16	6	77
6	Fozzy Whittaker	CAR	18	19	17	16	6	76
7	DeMarco Murray	TEN	19	17	17	17	6	76
8	Melvin Gordon	SD	19	18	17	16	6	76
9	Latavius Murray	OAK	18	19	17	16	6	76
10	Charcandrick West	KC	18	18	17	17	6	76
11	C.J. Anderson	DEN	19	18	17	16	6	76
12	Matt Forte	NYJ	18	18	17	16	6	75
13	Todd Gurley	LA	18	18	17	16	6	75
14	Eddie Lacy	GB	20	17	16	16	6	75
15	Ameer Abdullah	DET	18	17	17	17	6	75
16	Theo Riddick	DET	17	18	18	16	6	75
17	Devonta Freeman	ATL	20	19	15	15	6	75
18	Tevin Coleman	ATL	18	18	17	16	6	75
19	Matt Jones	WAS	19	17	16	16	6	74
20	Ryan Mathews	PHI	18	19	15	16	6	74
21	James White	NE	17	18	16	17	6	74
22	Lamar Miller	HOU	18	18	16	16	6	74
23	Thomas Rawls	SEA	18	17	16	16	6	73
24	Frank Gore	IND	18	16	16	17	6	73
25	James Starks	GB	16	17	17	17	6	73
26	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	17	17	16	17	6	73
27	Giovani Bernard	CIN	16	16	18	17	6	73
28	Jonathan C. Stewart	CAR	18	17	16	16	6	73
29	LeSean McCoy	BUF	17	17	17	16	6	73
30	Chris Thompson	WAS	15	16	17	18	6	72
31	Doug Martin	TB	18	17	15	16	6	72
32	Darren Sproles	PHI	17	17	17	15	6	72
33	DeAndre Washington	OAK	18	17	16	15	6	72
34	Jordan Howard	CHI	18	17	16	15	6	72
35	Duke Johnson	CLE	17	17	17	15	6	72
36	Chris D. Johnson	ARI	17	18	16	15	6	72
37	Derrick Henry	TEN	18	16	15	16	6	71
38	Christine Michael	SEA	18	15	16	16	6	71
39	Jalen Richard	OAK	17	17	16	15	6	71
40	Shane Vereen	NYG	15	17	17	16	6	71
41	T.J. Yeldon	JAX	17	17	16	15	6	71
42	Devontae Booker	DEN	18	17	15	15	6	71
43	Terrance West	BAL	17	17	16	15	6	71
44	Jerick McKinnon	MIN	16	16	17	15	6	70
45	Matt Asiata	MIN	18	15	15	16	6	70
46	Arian Foster	MIA	16	16	16	16	6	70
47	Jeremy Langford	CHI	17	16	15	16	6	70
48	Jacquizz Rodgers	TB	17	16	16	14	6	69
49	Charles Sims	TB	17	16	14	16	6	69
50	Carlos Hyde	SF	17	16	15	15	6	69
51	Mark Ingram	NO	16	17	16	14	6	69
52	Adrian Peterson	MIN	17	16	16	14	6	69
53	Jeremy Hill	CIN	15	16	16	16	6	69
54	Justin Forsett	BAL	17	16	15	15	6	69
55	Rashad Jennings	NYG	16	15	15	16	6	68
56	Kenyon Drake	MIA	15	17	15	15	6	68
57	Benny Cunningham	LA	15	16	15	16	6	68
58	Denard Robinson	JAX	17	16	14	15	6	68
59	Robert Turbin	IND	16	17	15	14	6	68
60	Josh Ferguson	IND	15	15	16	16	6	68
61	Alfred Blue	HOU	16	15	15	16	6	68
62	Alfred Morris	DAL	16	16	15	15	6	68
63	Travaris Cadet	NO	14	15	16	16	6	67
64	Jay Ajayi	MIA	15	15	16	15	6	67
65	Dwayne Washington	DET	17	15	14	15	6	67
66	Andre Ellington	ARI	15	15	16	15	6	67
67	Shaun Draughn	SF	16	14	15	15	6	66
68	Fitzgerald Toussaint	PIT	14	15	16	15	6	66
69	Bilal Powell	NYJ	15	16	15	14	6	66
70	Lance Dunbar	DAL	15	15	15	14	6	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Le'Veon Bell—suspension
• Jamaal Charles—injury
• Chris Ivory—inactive

Fullbacks

Jason O. Watson/Getty Images

While fullbacks do not fill up the stat sheet in terms of yards and touchdowns, they still play a vital role in helping running backs and offenses function. Guys such as Malcolm Johnson, Patrick DiMarco and Jay Prosch play major roles in clearing holes and being physical at the line. All three guys are great on contact and play physical. Johnson helped Isaiah Crowell have a breakout game, establishing the running game as the only thing Cleveland can hang its hat on. 

Kyle Juszczyk and Jamize Olawale continue to be the most versatile fullbacks in the game. While both were targeted only two times in Week 2, they have to be accounted for every time they run into the flat or an actual route. They are not throwaway blockers for coordinators to game-plan against during the week and require a linebacker with speed to cover them.

Jalston Fowler and James Develin are a major part of two of the more physical run games in the NFL. Both guys helped their teams rush for more than 100 yards last weekend and establish consistent run games that led to big wins.

Grading Scale

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 50)

Run: Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Fullback Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Blk	Run	Rec	Pos	Ovr
1	Jamize Olawale	OAK	43	18	11	4	76
2	Kyle Juszczyk	BAL	45	16	10	4	75
3	Andy Janovich	DEN	44	16	10	4	74
4	Malcolm Johnson	CLE	45	16	8	4	73
5	Will Tukuafu	SEA	44	15	9	4	72
6	Derek Watt	SD	44	15	9	4	72
7	Michael Burton	DET	45	15	8	4	72
8	Patrick DiMarco	ATL	44	15	8	4	71
9	Jay Prosch	HOU	44	15	8	4	71
10	Zach Line	MIN	42	16	9	4	71
11	John Kuhn	NO	42	15	10	4	71
12	Jalston Fowler	TEN	44	15	8	4	71
13	James Develin	NE	44	15	8	4	71
14	Paul Lasike	CHI	43	15	8	4	70
15	Keith Smith	DAL	42	15	8	4	69
16	Anthony Sherman	KC	42	15	8	4	69
17	Mike Tolbert	CAR	40	16	8	4	68
18	Jerome Felton	BUF	40	15	8	4	67

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

Wide Receivers

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Week 2 featured some impressive individual performances at the wide receiver position as well as some head-scratchers.

Starting out in the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks struggled to get going offensively against the Los Angeles Rams, and it showed in the grading this week. Other than a few routes from Tyler Lockett, the receiving corps struggled to get separation on its routes throughout the game, leading to contested catch situations as well as minimal yardage after the catch. 

While the 49ers lost, Quinton Patton was solid, particularly when asked to block. He threw a big block on linebacker Luke Kuechly on tight end Vance McDonald’s 75-yard touchdown run but was active throughout the afternoon in that aspect of the game.

On the other side of the field, Kelvin Benjamin found enough room to work against a shaky San Francisco secondary, and he seems to be rounding into form in the early stretch of 2016.

The much anticipated rivalry game between Dallas and Washington had some good performances and some bad. Rookie Josh Doctson was targeted on three different goal-line fade patterns—a staple of his game while at TCU—but he failed to pull in a single one of those targets. He was open on a deep ball that was underthrown by quarterback Kirk Cousins, but that was due more to a blown coverage in the Dallas secondary than his individual effort.

Dez Bryant matched up at times against Josh Norman and ran some good routes against both zone and man coverage.

The game of the week came from Stefon Diggs, when the Minnesota Vikings opened U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday Night Football. Diggs was able to get consistent separation on many of his routes and hauled in nine passes for 182 yards and a score. His route-running was near perfect, moving him to the top of the pack in Week 2.

Quincy Enunwa caught everything that came his way with six catches on six targets, but more than that, he was the most versatile guy on the field for the New York Jets. He lined up in the backfield, at the tight end spot and as a receiver, and it wasn’t just for show.

More than just a utility guy, Enunwa made a couple of tough catches and wasn’t afraid to expose his body to the big hit to come down with the football. He wasn’t scared to get his hands dirty, and his tough, hard-nosed approach as a blocker vaulted him into the top 10 this week.

Jarvis Landry was another tough-as-nails guy who put his team on his back in Week 2. With Miami facing a huge deficit against New England, Landry nearly brought his team back with 10 catches for 137 yards.

Not content to only elude defenders after the catch, many times he preferred to bowl them over like a fullback. Even without the ball in his hands, he’s a guy who the defense has to be aware of, just because of the punishment he likes to dish out when blocking downfield.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, two of the game’s elite receivers in Antonio Brown and A.J. Green met in wet conditions against hard-hitting defenses. The slippery conditions made it tough for them to replicate their quick cuts during route running from Week 1 and also led to a couple of incomplete passes that they usually would have caught, which is a big reason they dropped so far this week.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 25)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Wide Receiver Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Stefon Diggs	MIN	21	21	17	14	8	81
2	Jarvis Landry	MIA	20	19	16	15	8	78
3	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	18	18	18	15	8	77
4	Marquise Goodwin	BUF	21	18	17	11	8	75
5	Danny Amendola	NE	20	19	16	12	8	75
6	Julian Edelman	NE	18	17	18	14	8	75
7	Quincy Enunwa	NYJ	18	20	13	16	8	75
8	Julio Jones	ATL	19	19	16	13	8	75
9	Dez Bryant	DAL	21	21	14	11	8	75
10	Sterling Shepard	NYG	20	19	15	12	8	74
11	Eric Decker	NYJ	19	21	11	14	8	73
12	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	17	19	16	13	8	73
13	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	19	20	13	13	8	73
14	Mike Wallace	BAL	21	20	13	11	8	73
15	Corey Coleman	CLE	19	20	15	11	8	73
16	Will Fuller	HOU	19	19	17	10	8	73
17	Travis Benjamin	SD	19	21	14	11	8	73
18	Greg Salas	BUF	18	19	16	11	8	72
19	Amari Cooper	OAK	17	19	15	13	8	72
20	Michael Crabtree	OAK	20	21	12	11	8	72
21	Brandin Cooks	NO	17	19	16	12	8	72
22	Willie Snead	NO	17	20	15	12	8	72
23	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	21	19	15	9	8	72
24	Tyrell Williams	SD	18	18	17	11	8	72
25	T.Y. Hilton	IND	22	17	14	10	8	71
26	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	18	18	14	13	8	71
27	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	18	18	15	12	8	71
28	Cole Beasley	DAL	19	18	15	11	8	71
29	Jordy Nelson	GB	19	20	12	12	8	71
30	Antonio Brown	PIT	21	19	13	10	8	71
31	Terrelle Pryor	CLE	19	20	12	12	8	71
32	A.J. Green	CIN	19	18	14	12	8	71
33	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	18	19	12	13	8	70
34	Phillip Dorsett	IND	18	17	13	14	8	70
35	Chris Hogan	NE	17	17	14	14	8	70
36	Brandon Marshall	NYJ	22	18	12	10	8	70
37	Tyler Lockett	SEA	19	18	14	11	8	70
38	Jamison Crowder	WAS	17	18	15	12	8	70
39	Jordan Matthews	PHI	19	17	14	12	8	70
40	Golden Tate	DET	17	17	16	11	8	69
41	Marvin Jones	DET	15	19	16	11	8	69
42	DeVante Parker	MIA	17	19	13	12	8	69
43	Quinton Patton	SF	16	17	13	15	8	69
44	Torrey Smith	SF	17	17	13	14	8	69
45	Tavon Austin	LA	19	16	16	10	8	69
46	Mike Evans	TB	18	18	14	11	8	69
47	Marqise Lee	JAX	18	18	14	11	8	69
48	Mohamed Sanu	ATL	16	18	15	11	8	68
49	Michael Thomas	NO	16	17	14	13	8	68
50	Victor Cruz	NYG	17	19	13	11	8	68
51	Adam Humphries	TB	17	18	14	11	8	68
52	Sammie Coates	PIT	16	19	14	11	8	68
53	Breshad Perriman	BAL	19	18	11	12	8	68
54	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	18	16	14	12	8	68
55	Jeremy Maclin	KC	19	17	12	12	8	68
56	Rishard Matthews	TEN	19	18	13	10	8	68
57	Tajae Sharpe	TEN	18	19	13	10	8	68
58	Allen Hurns	JAX	18	18	13	11	8	68
59	Sammy Watkins	BUF	18	15	11	15	8	67
60	Seth Roberts	OAK	13	17	15	14	8	67
61	Randall Cobb	GB	18	18	13	10	8	67
62	Brandon LaFell	CIN	18	17	12	12	8	67
63	Allen Robinson	JAX	17	16	14	12	8	67
64	Anquan Boldin	DET	15	17	15	11	8	66
65	Kenny Stills	MIA	18	18	13	9	8	66
66	Dorial Green-Beckham	PHI	17	17	13	11	8	66
67	Robert Woods	BUF	19	14	12	12	8	65
68	Adam Thielen	MIN	14	16	15	12	8	65
69	DeSean Jackson	WAS	17	17	13	10	8	65
70	Kenny Britt	LA	16	16	14	11	8	65
71	Nelson Agholor	PHI	18	15	12	11	8	64
72	Paul Richardson	SEA	15	16	14	11	8	64
73	Steve Smith Sr.	BAL	16	18	10	12	8	64
74	Doug Baldwin	SEA	15	16	13	11	8	63
75	Jalin Marshall	NYJ	16	16	10	13	8	63
76	Jaron Brown	ARI	15	16	13	11	8	63
77	Taylor Gabriel	ATL	15	15	14	11	8	63
78	Eddie Royal	CHI	14	14	16	11	8	63
79	Kevin White	CHI	14	15	13	13	8	63
80	Brandon Coleman	NO	15	16	12	12	8	63
81	Tyler Boyd	CIN	17	17	10	11	8	63
82	Andre Johnson	TEN	17	15	11	12	8	63
83	Jordan Taylor	DEN	16	15	11	12	8	62
84	Andre Holmes	OAK	15	16	10	13	8	62
85	Davante Adams	GB	15	16	12	11	8	62
86	Jeremy Kerley	SF	15	16	12	11	8	62
87	Pierre Garcon	WAS	15	15	13	11	8	62
88	Albert Wilson	KC	17	16	11	10	8	62
89	Jordan Norwood	DEN	17	12	10	14	8	61
90	Michael Floyd	ARI	14	16	11	12	8	61
91	Ted Ginn	CAR	15	15	12	11	8	61
92	Vincent Jackson	TB	16	15	13	9	8	61
93	Brian Quick	LA	14	16	14	9	8	61
94	Darrius Heyward-Bey	PIT	14	13	15	11	8	61
95	Braxton Miller	HOU	15	16	11	11	8	61
96	Arrelious Benn	JAX	16	16	10	11	8	61
97	Dontrelle Inman	SD	17	16	10	10	8	61
98	Cody Latimer	DEN	16	12	10	14	8	60
99	Aldrick Robinson	ATL	13	15	11	12	8	60
100	Devin Funchess	CAR	14	15	11	12	8	60
101	Jermaine Kearse	SEA	14	14	13	11	8	60
102	Philly Brown	CAR	13	14	14	11	8	60
103	Eli Rogers	PIT	16	15	10	11	8	60
104	Rod Streater	SF	14	15	11	11	8	59
105	Cecil Shorts	TB	13	18	10	10	8	59
106	Russell Shepard	TB	14	16	10	11	8	59
107	Josh Doctson	WAS	14	14	12	11	8	59
108	Bradley Marquez	LA	13	12	11	15	8	59
109	Kamar Aiken	BAL	14	13	10	14	8	59
110	Quan Bray	IND	16	12	10	12	8	58
111	John Brown	ARI	13	13	12	12	8	58
112	Brice Butler	DAL	14	12	11	13	8	58
113	Charles D. Johnson	MIN	13	14	14	9	8	58
114	Ryan Grant	WAS	13	14	11	12	8	58
115	Chris Moore	BAL	15	12	11	12	8	58
116	Tyreek Hill	KC	14	15	10	11	8	58
117	Malcolm Mitchell	NE	14	14	11	10	8	57
118	Terrance Williams	DAL	14	12	11	12	8	57
119	Lucky Whitehead	DAL	12	12	11	14	8	57
120	Josh Huff	PHI	15	15	10	9	8	57
121	Chris Conley	KC	16	12	10	11	8	57
122	Harry Douglas	TEN	16	12	10	11	8	57
123	Rashad Greene	JAX	14	15	10	10	8	57
124	Justin Hardy	ATL	12	14	10	12	8	56
125	Chester Rogers	IND	15	12	10	10	8	55
126	Matt Slater	NE	12	12	11	12	8	55
127	Aaron Burbridge	SF	12	12	11	12	8	55
128	Rashard Higgins	CLE	12	14	10	10	8	54
129	Andre Roberts	DET	12	12	11	10	8	53
130	Jaelen Strong	HOU	12	12	10	11	8	53
131	Isaiah Burse	SD	12	12	10	10	8	52

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Keenan Allen—injury
• Josh Gordon—suspension
• Steve Johnson—insufficient snaps
• Donte Moncrief—injury
• Ty Montgomery—insufficient snaps
• J.J. Nelson—insufficient snaps
• Cordarrelle Patterson—insufficient snaps
• Laquon Treadwell—insufficient snaps
• Kendall Wright—injury

Tight Ends

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

For the second week in a row, Carolina Panther Greg Olsen stood out among the tight ends in the NFL. The Panther hauled in five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, with the score coming on a career-best 78-yard touchdown reception. Olsen was also an effective blocker.

On the other side of the field, the 49ers' Vance McDonald nearly matched Olsen with a 75-yard touchdown of his own, but it was his only reception of the day. 

Jordan Reed turned in another solid outing, albeit in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Washington tight end caught five passes for 70 yards, which led all Redskins receivers, including a number of tough contested catches that showed his hand strength and ability. He also contributed as a blocker with a number of key blocks, including one on the edge of an outside zone running play on Washington’s touchdown drive to start the second half.

On the other side of the field, veteran Jason Witten slid a bit this week, due primarily to some difficulties blocking on the edges or when tasked with blocking across the formation on split-zone running plays.

Out in Oakland, Falcons teammates Jacob Tamme and rookie Austin Hooper were impressive in Atlanta’s victory over the Raiders. Tamme was an effective receiver, catching five passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. The rookie contributed three receptions for 84 yards, including a 44-yard catch and run on a well-designed play-action throwback passing concept. He also was stout in the running game, including delivering a strong block on Khalil Mack on one running play.

Some players fell back a bit this week, including Jermaine Gresham of the Cardinals and Luke Willson of the Seahawks. Like the rest of the offense, Willson struggled to get separation in the passing game as a receiver, and he missed some blocks up front against a tough Rams defensive front. Gresham was not as much as a factor in the passing game this week and saw just one target.

He’s not Rob Gronkowski, but Martellus Bennett continues to fill the Patriots’ No. 1 tight end role more than adequately. Showing the strength and hands that made him such an attractive acquisition for New England this offseason, Bennett hauled in five passes as well as a touchdown while continually adding strength to the run-blocking game.

In Denver, Virgil Green brought in three passes from new quarterback Trevor Siemian, but it was the way he controlled the line of scrimmage against the Colts that made him such a highly rated tight end this week. With Peyton Manning in retirement, head coach Gary Kubiak is investing in creating a powerful run game that the Broncos have been traditionally known for, and Green is one of the guys who makes it work.

Also, the Raiders saw much improved play from their tight ends Lee Smith and Clive Walford, who played well in the loss to the Falcons. Despite the disappointing finish for Oakland, Smith and Walford were much more dominant at the line of scrimmage, which is why they rose so high in this week’s rankings.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 20)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Tight End Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Greg Olsen	CAR	17	20	17	20	6	80
2	Jordan Reed	WAS	16	18	17	19	6	76
3	Virgil Green	DEN	16	19	14	20	6	75
4	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	17	18	14	19	6	74
5	Travis Kelce	KC	20	19	13	16	6	74
6	Eric Ebron	DET	15	17	16	19	6	73
7	Dennis Pitta	BAL	16	19	15	17	6	73
8	Jason Witten	DAL	16	18	15	17	6	72
9	Martellus Bennett	NE	16	18	16	16	6	72
10	Lee Smith	OAK	15	18	14	19	6	72
11	Jared Cook	GB	14	18	14	19	6	71
12	Vernon Davis	WAS	15	17	16	17	6	71
13	Jack Doyle	IND	16	18	14	16	6	70
14	Jacob Tamme	ATL	15	16	15	18	6	70
15	Trey Burton	PHI	15	17	15	17	6	70
16	Lance Kendricks	LA	15	18	13	18	6	70
17	Julius Thomas	JAX	15	17	14	18	6	70
18	Antonio Gates	SD	16	18	13	17	6	70
19	Jesse James	PIT	15	18	13	17	6	69
20	Jordan Cameron	MIA	14	18	14	16	6	68
21	Larry Donnell	NYG	15	17	12	18	6	68
22	Delanie Walker	TEN	15	20	13	14	6	68
23	Clive Walford	OAK	16	17	13	15	6	67
24	Cameron Brate	TB	14	16	14	17	6	67
25	C.J. Uzomah	CIN	13	18	12	18	6	67
26	Austin Hooper	ATL	13	15	13	19	6	66
27	Charles Clay	BUF	15	18	13	14	6	66
28	Zach Miller	CHI	15	16	13	16	6	66
29	Dwayne Allen	IND	16	17	14	13	6	66
30	Vance McDonald	SF	13	14	16	17	6	66
31	Stephen Anderson	HOU	14	17	14	15	6	66
32	Jimmy Graham	SEA	14	16	13	16	6	65
33	David Johnson	PIT	13	15	12	19	6	65
34	Marcedes Lewis	JAX	13	17	12	17	6	65
35	Garrett Celek	SF	12	13	14	19	6	64
36	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TB	13	15	14	16	6	64
37	Gary Barnidge	CLE	14	17	11	16	6	64
38	Kellen Davis	NYJ	14	17	11	15	6	63
39	Coby Fleener	NO	13	16	12	16	6	63
40	Will Tye	NYG	12	15	11	19	6	63
41	Richard Rodgers	GB	13	16	14	14	6	63
42	Luke Willson	SEA	13	13	13	17	6	62
43	Xavier Grimble	PIT	12	17	12	15	6	62
44	C.J. Fiedorowicz	HOU	13	16	10	16	6	61
45	Sean McGrath	SD	15	12	10	18	6	61
46	Hunter Henry	SD	16	12	10	17	6	61
47	Geoff Swaim	DAL	13	14	12	15	6	60
48	Levine Toilolo	ATL	12	14	11	17	6	60
49	John Phillips	DEN	14	12	10	18	6	60
50	Erik Swoopes	IND	14	12	10	18	6	60
51	Ryan Griffin	HOU	12	16	11	15	6	60
52	Dion Sims	MIA	12	14	12	15	6	59
53	Brent Celek	PHI	13	10	10	20	6	59
54	Tyler Higbee	LA	12	12	10	19	6	59
55	Crockett Gillmore	BAL	12	12	11	18	6	59
56	Darren Fells	ARI	13	13	11	15	6	58
57	Ed Dickson	CAR	13	12	10	17	6	58
58	Niles Paul	WAS	11	12	13	16	6	58
59	Anthony Fasano	TEN	13	16	11	12	6	58
60	Demetrius Harris	KC	13	15	12	12	6	58
61	Tyler Kroft	CIN	12	13	11	15	6	57
62	David Morgan II	MIN	10	11	10	19	6	56
63	Brandon Meyers	TB	10	12	10	18	6	56
64	Luke Stocker	TB	10	10	10	20	6	56
65	Randall Telfer	CLE	12	12	10	16	6	56
66	Brandon Bostick	NYJ	12	12	10	15	6	55
67	Ryan Hewitt	CIN	12	14	11	12	6	55
68	Maxx Williams	BAL	10	12	10	17	6	55
69	Cory Harkey	LA	11	10	10	17	6	54
70	Jermaine Gresham	ARI	12	12	10	13	6	53
71	Chris Gragg	BUF	10	12	10	15	6	53
72	Clay Harbor	NE	10	12	10	15	6	53
73	Troy Niklas	ARI	12	12	10	12	6	52
74	Logan Paulson	CHI	10	10	10	16	6	52
75	Khari Lee	DET	10	12	10	14	6	52
76	Rhett Ellison	MIN	10	10	10	16	6	52
77	Seth DeValve	CLE	10	12	10	14	6	52
78	Nick O'Leary	BUF	12	12	10	11	6	51
79	Scott Simonson	CAR	10	11	10	15	6	51
80	Rico Gathers	DAL	10	10	10	14	6	50
81	Blake Bell	SF	10	11	10	13	6	50
82	Phillip Supernaw	TEN	10	12	10	12	6	50
83	Ross Travis	KC	10	12	10	12	6	50
84	Mike Windt	SD	10	12	10	12	6	50

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Tyler Eifert—injury
• Zach Ertz—injury
• Rob Gronkowski—injury
• Josh Hill—inactive
• Mychal Rivera—inactive
• Nick Vannett—injury

Left Tackles

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Week 2 featured some outstanding battles on the left side of the offensive line. When the Cincinnati Bengals collided with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Andrew Whitworth went head-to-head with James Harrison. This matchup was everything you expected it to be—two savvy veterans taking turns getting the best of each other.

The Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns featured another AFC North skirmish, pitting Terrell Suggs versus Joe Thomas.

The 49ers' Joe Staley was stout as ever against a good Carolina Panthers defensive line. He showed good power in the run game and was impenetrable in pass protection, displaying the ability to consistently anchor.

Russell Okung turned in another solid performance in his second game as a Denver Bronco. Specifically, his run blocking continues to stand out, as he showed agility and targeting to cut off the back side when runs flowed away. He demonstrated strength at the point of attack to move defenders off the spot and took good angles tracking to the second level, where he was able to engage and finish on a few linebackers.

Titans tackle Taylor Lewan may have had his best game as a pro. He showed solid run-blocking technique and physicality while displaying patience in pass protection. What stood out about Lewan's performance was that he looked to finish and put guys in the turf every chance he got, whether it was run, pass or out in space.

New York Giants second-year tackle Ereck Flowers showed improvement when he used proper technique. He played hard with good physicality, but as the game went on, he got sloppy. When he is unable to use his athletic ability, he can't overcome his deficiencies in technique. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Left Tackle Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Joe Staley	SF	21	20	19	18	8	86
2	Taylor Lewan	TEN	21	21	17	18	8	85
3	Jason Peters	PHI	21	20	18	18	8	85
4	Russell Okung	DEN	19	22	17	18	8	84
5	Joe Thomas	CLE	20	19	16	20	8	83
6	Trent Williams	WAS	20	19	19	17	8	83
7	Tyron Smith	DAL	20	20	18	17	8	83
8	Terron Armstead	NO	21	18	16	19	8	82
9	Nate Solder	NE	21	20	17	16	8	82
10	Donald Penn	OAK	19	19	18	17	8	81
11	Taylor Decker	DET	20	19	16	17	8	80
12	Jake Matthews	ATL	19	20	16	17	8	80
13	Chris Clark	HOU	18	20	17	16	8	79
14	Eric Fisher	KC	20	19	15	17	8	79
15	Ereck Flowers	NYG	18	18	17	17	8	78
16	Andrew Whitworth	CIN	19	17	17	17	8	78
17	David Bakhtiari	GB	18	19	17	15	8	77
18	King Dunlap	SD	20	17	16	16	8	77
19	Anthony Castonzo	IND	17	17	15	19	8	76
20	Jared Veldheer	ARI	19	18	16	15	8	76
21	Charles Leno Jr.	CHI	17	17	15	18	8	75
22	Greg Robinson	LA	16	17	18	16	8	75
23	Cyrus Kouandjio	BUF	18	17	16	15	8	74
24	Ronnie Stanley	BAL	17	18	14	16	8	73
25	Branden Albert	MIA	18	16	15	15	8	72
26	Ryan Clady	NYJ	16	18	15	15	8	72
27	Michael Oher	CAR	16	17	15	15	8	71
28	Kelvin Beachum	JAX	16	17	15	15	8	71
29	Alejandro Villanueva	PIT	15	17	13	17	8	70
30	Matt Kalil	MIN	15	16	15	15	8	69
31	Donovan Smith	TB	14	16	16	14	8	68
32	Cam Fleming	NE	15	16	15	14	8	68
33	Bradley Sowell	SEA	13	16	14	14	8	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Duane Brown—injury
• Cordy Glenn—injury

Right Tackles

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Week 2 saw Eagles tackle Lane Johnson turn in another stout performance, and he graded out as the highest-rated right tackle of the week. Johnson got it done in pass protection and was especially effective in the run game—in both in-line blocking and getting out in space.

According to Kevin Noonan of the Morning Call, Johnson's pending 10-game suspension for his second violation of the league's drug policy will indeed go into effect. There is an appeal process, but once again the timeline is unclear as it relates to the appeal or even Johnson's availability moving forward.

Previously top-graded Week 1 right tackle Mitchell Schwartz of the Kansas City Chiefs had a rough outing in Week 2. He got off to a good start versus the Texans but was rolled up on the third drive of the game and noticeably affected. Though no visible injury occurred and Schwartz did not leave the game, it was clear his mobility and ability to anchor and recover were lacking after the pile rolled up on him.

First-year starter Trenton Brown of the San Francisco 49ers is an intriguing prospect. He is big, physical and agile, and though he plays right tackle, his movement skills and skill set are reminiscent of Cordy Glenn's.

Interesting note: For the second consecutive week, the New York Jets rotated right tackles, playing Ben Ijalana and Brent Qvale. In two weeks of action, Ijalana has seen 78 snaps, and Qvale has seen 68, but for what it is worth, Ijalana has outperformed Qvale and provides more physicality and range at the right tackle position, which gives him the edge.  

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Right Tackle Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Lane Johnson	PHI	20	22	17	19	7	85
2	Riley Reiff	DET	18	22	18	18	7	83
3	Trenton Brown	SF	22	20	18	15	7	82
4	Ryan Schraeder	ATL	20	21	17	16	7	81
5	Zach Strief	NO	20	20	18	15	7	80
6	Marcus Gilbert	PIT	21	18	17	17	7	80
7	Derek Newton	HOU	19	20	17	16	7	79
8	Jack Conklin	TEN	20	19	18	15	7	79
9	Ben Ijalana	NYJ	19	20	16	16	7	78
10	Senio Kelemete	NO	16	20	18	17	7	78
11	Bryan Bulaga	GB	19	20	16	16	7	78
12	Ja'Wuan James	MIA	19	18	16	17	7	77
13	Jermey Parnell	JAX	19	17	15	18	7	76
14	Mike Remmers	CAR	18	19	16	16	7	76
15	Demar Dotson	TB	19	18	16	16	7	76
16	Joe Barksdale	SD	15	20	17	16	7	75
17	Rob Havenstein	LA	18	18	16	15	7	74
18	Jordan Mills	BUF	18	19	16	14	7	74
19	Marcus Cannon	NE	17	18	16	15	7	73
20	Morgan Moses	WAS	19	17	15	15	7	73
21	Doug Free	DAL	17	20	16	13	7	73
22	Austin Howard	OAK	18	18	16	13	7	72
23	Cedric Ogbuehi	CIN	18	17	13	17	7	72
24	D.J. Humphries	ARI	18	17	14	15	7	71
25	Michael Schofield	DEN	17	17	15	15	7	71
26	Marshall Newhouse	NYG	13	17	17	16	7	70
27	Austin Pasztor	CLE	16	18	15	14	7	70
28	Joe Reitz	IND	16	18	14	15	7	70
29	Mitchell Schwartz	KC	16	17	14	15	7	69
30	Garry Gilliam	SEA	16	16	14	16	7	69
31	Andre Smith Jr.	MIN	14	16	15	16	7	68
32	Ricky Wagner	BAL	17	16	14	13	7	67
33	Bobby Massie	CHI	14	15	16	14	7	66
34	Brent Qvale	NYJ	16	16	14	12	7	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Breno Giacomini—injury
• Seantrel Henderson—suspension
• Matt McCants—injury
• Donald Stephenson—insufficient snaps
• Menelik Watson—injury

Offensive Guards

Larry French/Getty Images

While last week was a bit of a throwback with many veterans playing well, this week a few younger players stood out. One who really turned it around was Andrus Peat, the second-year Saints guard from Stanford. Peat really showed flashes of what he can be as a pass protector. His balance and footwork were much more consistent.

Rookie Laremy Tunsil also was impressive in pass protection. His ability to mirror defenders' movements shined. While not as highly touted as Peat, another second-year guard who had a good performance was Titans left guard Quinton Spain. While he has some work to do in pass protection, his nastiness and leg drive in the run game help fuel Tennessee's "exotic smashmouth" persona. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Offensive Guard Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Zack Martin	DAL	19	22	18	17	7	83
2	Marshal Yanda	BAL	21	20	18	16	7	82
3	Joel Bitonio	CLE	21	18	17	18	7	81
4	Mike Iupati	ARI	21	19	19	15	7	81
5	Kelechi Osemele	OAK	18	21	19	16	7	81
6	Josh Sitton	CHI	20	18	18	17	7	80
7	T.J. Lang	GB	20	20	17	16	7	80
8	Trai Turner	CAR	19	20	19	15	7	80
9	Richie Incognito	BUF	20	20	19	13	7	79
10	Clint Boling	CIN	22	18	16	16	7	79
11	Shawn Lauvao	WAS	19	18	17	16	7	77
12	Zane Beadles	SF	22	14	17	17	7	77
13	Andrus Peat	NO	20	17	17	16	7	77
14	Ramon Foster	PIT	22	17	18	13	7	77
15	Andrew Norwell	CAR	20	18	17	15	7	77
16	Jack Mewhort	IND	20	18	17	15	7	77
17	Chance Warmack	TEN	17	19	19	14	7	76
18	Evan Mathis	ARI	18	19	17	15	7	76
19	Laremy Tunsil	MIA	20	16	15	17	7	75
20	Allen Barbre	PHI	19	17	17	15	7	75
21	John Miller	BUF	15	19	18	15	7	74
22	David DeCastro	PIT	17	17	17	16	7	74
23	Orlando Franklin	SD	16	19	18	14	7	74
24	Kyle Long	CHI	17	16	16	18	7	74
25	Andrew Tiller	SF	19	17	17	13	7	73
26	Kevin Zeitler	CIN	18	17	16	15	7	73
27	Quinton Spain	TEN	15	20	18	13	7	73
28	Larry Warford	DET	16	18	18	14	7	73
29	John Jerry	NYG	19	16	17	14	7	73
30	Gabe Jackson	OAK	15	19	18	14	7	73
31	Rodger Saffold	LA	16	18	15	16	7	72
32	Brandon Scherff	WAS	17	16	17	15	7	72
33	Max Garcia	DEN	15	19	18	13	7	72
34	Brandon Brooks	PHI	16	16	16	17	7	72
35	James Carpenter	NYJ	16	18	17	13	7	71
36	John Greco	CLE	16	17	17	14	7	71
37	Justin Pugh	NYG	16	16	16	16	7	71
38	A.J. Cann	JAX	16	17	17	14	7	71
39	D.J. Fluker	SD	15	17	18	14	7	71
40	Xavier Su'a-Filo	HOU	16	16	15	16	7	70
41	Brian Winters	NYJ	16	15	16	16	7	70
42	Alex Boone	MIN	15	14	18	16	7	70
43	Cody Wichmann	LA	18	15	16	14	7	70
44	Joe Thuney	NE	16	15	14	18	7	70
45	Laken Tomlinson	DET	16	16	17	14	7	70
46	Jah Reid	KC	16	16	15	16	7	70
47	Kevin Pamphile	TB	18	14	17	14	7	70
48	Andy Levitre	ATL	16	16	17	14	7	70
49	Ted Karras	NE	15	17	17	13	7	69
50	Alex Lewis	BAL	19	14	14	15	7	69
51	Jahri Evans	NO	18	14	17	13	7	69
52	Denzelle Goode	IND	14	16	18	14	7	69
53	Darrion Weems	DEN	14	18	18	12	7	69
54	Mark Glowinski	SEA	15	14	15	17	7	68
55	Ali Marpet	TB	16	14	14	17	7	68
56	Jermon Bushrod	MIA	14	16	17	14	7	68
57	J'Marcus Webb	SEA	16	14	17	14	7	68
58	Luke Joeckel	JAX	14	15	15	16	7	67
59	La'el Collins	DAL	15	14	18	13	7	67
60	Zach Fulton	KC	14	16	16	14	7	67
61	Chris Chester	ATL	14	16	16	14	7	67
62	Wesley Johnson	NYJ	15	14	15	15	7	66
63	Jeff Allen	HOU	13	17	17	12	7	66
64	Jonotthan Harrison	IND	13	16	18	12	7	66
65	Lane Taylor	GB	15	15	15	13	7	65
66	Shaq Mason	NE	15	13	14	16	7	65
67	Brandon Fusco	MIN	14	13	14	16	7	64

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jonathan Cooper—insufficient snaps
• Anthony Davis—insufficient snaps
• Joshua Garnett—insufficient snaps
• Germain Ifedi—injury
• Ronald Leary—insufficient snaps
• Garrett Reynolds—insufficient snaps
• Stefen Wisniewski—insufficient snaps

Centers

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

There's a new No. 1 center in this week's NFL1000. Weston Richburg of the New York Giants took over the top spot from the Dallas Cowboys' Travis Frederick, who was the main man going into the season and after his Week 1 performance against Big Blue.

Frederick was overaggressive at times against Washington's defense and had a few outright whiffs in space. Richburg, who has become one of the strongest and most consistent centers in the game, graded out far higher against the Saints. Quite simply, Richburg did everything well; he got out against the tackles in the run game, walled off his targets in run-blocking and pass protection, and proved to be accurate on the move when hitting his targets.

Perhaps even more surprising is our second-ranked center this week. You can head over to the Rookie Review for more details, but Bears rookie Cody Whitehair did an unbelievable job against Philadelphia's dominant front seven in Chicago's Monday night loss. A tackle and guard at Kansas State, Whitehair has transitioned to his new position well and took on the great Fletcher Cox snap after snap.

With one exception—a bull-rush pressure in the fourth quarter—Whitehair wrestled Cox to a draw for the most part and even had a couple of wins. He's smart, sound in his technique and agile, and he has the kind of nasty streak you want in an offensive lineman. On one third-quarter play, Whitehair got knocked back a bit by defensive tackle Beau Allen; on the very next play, Whitehair knocked Allen right on his butt. It's early yet, but there's a lot to like about this kid.

Two veteran centers who continued their improvement over their 2015 performances are Denver's Matt Paradis and Detroit's Travis Swanson. Paradis has added power and improved technique to his toolkit, making him an ideal zone center. And Swanson has been a bit of a revelation this season. Not only is he far more sound in his overall technique, but he's also a much more powerful player.

Swanson was dominant on Ameer Abdullah's touchdown run late in the first quarter against the Titans. The play was negated because of a holding call on tight end Eric Ebron, but Swanson took linebacker Avery Williamson from the 14-yard line all the way to the end zone. When you can truck a guy that far downfield, you are playing your position the right way.

It's also time to give a bit more recognition to Jacksonville center Brandon Linder. He is a powerful blocker with surprising agility and a good nasty streak to his playing style. The Jaguars are still trying to piece together their line overall, but they have a good one in the third-year third-rounder from Miami.

On the downside? Well, New Orleans' Max Unger looked overwhelmed against the Giants front (Damon Harrison was throwing him around like an empty soda can at times), and Cincinnati's Russell Bodine isn't showing a ton of improvement. He's been at or near the bottom of our rankings since they started, and it'll take some serious improvement to turn that around.

Grading Scale:

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Center Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Weston Richburg	NYG	19	20	18	17	6	80
2	Cody Whitehair	CHI	17	20	17	18	6	78
3	Eric Wood	BUF	19	19	15	18	6	77
4	Matt Paradis	DEN	18	19	16	18	6	77
5	Travis Swanson	DET	18	20	17	16	6	77
6	Brandon Linder	JAX	18	19	17	16	6	76
7	Ryan Kelly	IND	18	18	16	18	6	76
8	Ryan Kalil	CAR	19	16	16	17	6	74
9	Jason Kelce	PHI	16	18	16	17	6	73
10	Maurkice Pouncey	PIT	18	16	17	16	6	73
11	Travis Frederick	DAL	17	19	17	14	6	73
12	Rodney Hudson	OAK	16	19	17	14	6	72
13	Cameron Erving	CLE	15	18	14	18	6	71
14	David Andrews	NE	18	16	14	17	6	71
15	Justin Britt	SEA	18	15	15	16	6	70
16	Ben Jones	TEN	15	18	17	13	6	69
17	Matt Slauson	SD	16	18	17	12	6	69
18	Greg Mancz	HOU	17	15	17	13	6	68
19	A.Q. Shipley	ARI	16	17	14	14	6	67
20	Anthony Steen	MIA	15	17	13	16	6	67
21	Jeremy Zuttah	BAL	16	17	13	15	6	67
22	Joe Berger	MIN	16	15	14	16	6	67
23	Joe Hawley	TB	17	15	14	15	6	67
24	Alex Mack	ATL	14	19	17	10	6	66
25	Kory Lichtensteiger	WAS	16	16	13	15	6	66
26	Nick Mangold	NYJ	16	18	18	8	6	66
27	Daniel Kilgore	SF	16	14	14	14	6	64
28	Tim Barnes	LA	14	15	16	13	6	64
29	Mitch Morse	KC	15	16	11	15	6	63
30	JC Tretter	GB	11	16	13	16	6	62
31	Max Unger	NO	14	15	11	16	6	62
32	Russell Bodine	CIN	16	15	15	9	6	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Mike Pouncey—injury

3-4 Defensive Ends

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The usual suspects populate the top of our 3-4 defensive end grades this week. Timmy Jernigan may be a surprise at the top, but at some point, he may have become the Ravens' best defensive lineman. He's disruptive as a run defender, and he's Baltimore's only base defensive lineman who plays in nickel as a pass-rusher. 

Two guys I didn't know were this good but showed out this week are Jaye Howard of the Chiefs and Zach Kerr of the Colts. Both graded well against the run, with Kerr accumulating two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits with a sack. Howard beat everyone who lined up in front of him and allowed the Chiefs linebackers to roam free and make the tackles.

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 15)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 30)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Defensive End Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Timmy Jernigan	BAL	11	18	21	17	6	73
2	J.J. Watt	HOU	14	21	16	13	6	70
3	Mike Daniels	GB	12	18	21	13	6	70
4	Derek Wolfe	DEN	11	20	17	14	6	68
5	Zach Kerr	IND	10	16	20	16	6	68
6	Jaye Howard	KC	11	14	23	14	6	68
7	Calais Campbell	ARI	12	14	19	16	6	67
8	Xavier Cooper	CLE	11	21	17	12	6	67
9	Jadeveon Clowney	HOU	13	18	19	10	6	66
10	Cameron Heyward	PIT	13	16	18	12	6	65
11	DeForest Buckner	SF	12	12	17	15	6	62
12	Karl Klug	TEN	11	14	17	14	6	62
13	Lawrence Guy	BAL	8	15	18	13	6	60
14	Stephon Tuitt	PIT	8	12	18	16	6	60
15	Ziggy Hood	WAS	12	14	16	12	6	60
16	Ricky Jean Francois	WAS	9	13	16	15	6	59
17	Arik Armstead	SF	11	15	15	11	6	58
18	Leger Douzable	BUF	11	14	12	15	6	58
19	Chris Jones	KC	10	12	17	11	6	56
20	Chris Baker	WAS	8	12	19	11	6	56
21	Jihad Ward	OAK	8	13	18	11	6	56
22	Jurrell Casey	TEN	8	12	18	12	6	56
23	DaQuan Jones	TEN	9	12	17	10	6	54
24	Jared Crick	DEN	7	13	16	12	6	54
25	Akiem Hicks	CHI	8	14	14	12	6	54
26	Angelo Blackson	TEN	8	10	18	12	6	54
27	Carl Nassib	CLE	9	13	15	10	6	53
28	Jonathan Bullard	CHI	11	11	14	10	6	52
29	Quinton Dial	SF	7	11	16	12	6	52
30	Denico Autry	OAK	7	10	16	12	6	51
31	Billy Winn	DEN	8	10	15	11	6	50
32	Allen Bailey	KC	9	10	14	10	6	49
33	Adolphus Washington	BUF	7	12	13	10	6	48
34	Corey Liuget	SD	8	10	14	10	6	48
35	Jamie Meder	CLE	6	11	13	12	6	48
36	Mitch Unrein	CHI	7	10	13	10	6	46
37	Darius Philon	SD	6	10	14	10	6	46
38	Kendall Langford	IND	7	10	12	10	6	45
39	Christian Covington	HOU	8	10	12	7	6	43

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Henry Anderson—injury
• Joey Bosa—inactive
• Taylor Hart—inactive
• Tony Jerod-Eddie—inactive
• Bronson Kaufusi—injury
• Mike Pennel—suspension
• Kendall Reyes—injury
• Frostee Rucker—injury

4-3 Defensive Ends

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Week 2 didn't give us a single dominant performance, but plenty of players flashed their upside and earned good grades. Brandon Graham once again scored well, as he made life hard for the Bears on Monday Night Football. He is so quick off the snap, plays low and can overpower or run around most offensive linemen. Don't sleep on Graham's run defense, either; he is as active as any defensive end in the NFL.

Chris Long seems to have been rejuvenated by the Patriots aura, as he looks quicker than he has in years and has been disruptive over the first two weeks of the season. He's the comeback defensive end of the year so far.

Devin Taylor had to pick up the slack after Ezekiel Ansah got hurt, and he didn't disappoint. Taylor was tough against the run and offered versatility for the Lions as he rushed the passer from both sides of the line.

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Defensive End Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Snap	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Brandon Graham	PHI	17	18	16	16	7	74
2	Chris Long	NE	20	13	15	15	7	70
3	Frank Clark	SEA	19	14	16	14	7	70
4	Robert Quinn	LA	19	13	16	15	7	70
5	Danielle Hunter	MIN	19	13	17	12	7	68
6	Dante Fowler Jr.	JAX	18	14	13	14	7	66
7	William Hayes	LA	16	16	12	15	7	66
8	Cameron Jordan	NO	16	18	12	12	7	65
9	Michael Bennett	SEA	15	19	12	12	7	65
10	Cliff Avril	SEA	14	14	16	13	7	64
11	Everson Griffen	MIN	18	12	14	13	7	64
12	Devin Taylor	DET	12	18	14	13	7	64
13	Khalil Mack	OAK	14	13	15	14	7	63
14	Muhammad Wilkerson	NYJ	13	17	11	15	7	63
15	Yannick Ngakoue	JAX	17	14	13	12	7	63
16	Carlos Dunlap	CIN	17	13	13	12	7	62
17	Charles Johnson	CAR	11	18	12	14	7	62
18	Jabaal Sheard	NE	16	13	12	14	7	62
19	Michael Johnson	CIN	16	12	12	15	7	62
20	Margus Hunt	CIN	15	13	12	14	7	61
21	Tyrone Crawford	DAL	15	14	12	12	7	60
22	Mario Addison	CAR	14	12	13	14	7	60
23	Brian Robison	MIN	15	12	13	12	7	59
24	Connor Barwin	PHI	13	12	15	12	7	59
25	Noah Spence	TB	14	11	15	12	7	59
26	Paul Kruger	NO	13	13	12	14	7	59
27	Sheldon Richardson	NYJ	12	15	10	15	7	59
28	Jack Crawford	DAL	16	11	14	10	7	58
29	Jason Pierre-Paul	NYG	14	12	13	12	7	58
30	Olivier Vernon	NYG	12	13	14	12	7	58
31	Eugene Sims	LA	13	14	12	11	7	57
32	Cassius Marsh	SEA	15	11	14	10	7	57
33	Andre Branch	MIA	13	13	12	11	7	56
34	Vinny Curry	PHI	14	12	11	12	7	56
35	Cameron Wake	MIA	14	10	14	11	7	56
36	Mario Williams	MIA	14	12	12	11	7	56
37	William Gholston	TB	10	16	8	15	7	56
38	Kerry Hyder	DET	15	11	11	12	7	56
39	Robert Ayers	TB	11	14	12	11	7	55
40	Trey Flowers	NE	11	16	10	11	7	55
41	Will Clarke	CIN	13	12	12	11	7	55
42	Jason Jones	MIA	13	11	11	12	7	54
43	Kony Ealy	CAR	12	14	11	10	7	54
44	Lorenzo Mauldin	NYJ	12	11	13	11	7	54
45	Vic Beasley	ATL	11	13	12	11	7	54
46	Adrian Clayborn	ATL	11	12	9	14	7	53
47	David Irving	DAL	15	10	11	10	7	53
48	Benson Mayowa	DAL	11	10	12	11	7	51
49	Ethan Westbrooks	LA	11	12	11	10	7	51
50	Dwight Freeney	ATL	10	8	15	10	7	50
51	Jared Odrick	JAX	10	12	10	10	7	49
52	Ryan Delaire	CAR	10	10	12	10	7	49
54	Kasim Edebali	NO	11	9	11	10	7	48
54	Romeo Okwara	NYG	11	10	9	11	7	48
55	Darryl Tapp	NO	10	11	9	8	7	45
56	Owa Odighizuwa	NYG	10	10	8	10	7	45
57	Wallace Gilberry	DET	8	11	8	10	7	44

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Ezekiel Ansah—injury
• Mario Edwards Jr.—injury
• Randy Gregory—suspension
• George Johnson—injury
• DeMarcus Lawrence—suspension
• Rob Ninkovich—suspension
• Jacquies Smith—injury
• Tyson Alualu—inactive

Defensive Tackles

Associated Press

The usual suspects played well again this week, as Ndamukong Suh, Aaron Donald, Geno Atkins, Gerald McCoy and Kawann Short showed why they're the cream of the crop among NFL defensive tackles. The Jets have a hellacious defensive front, and their interior duo of Leonard Williams and Steve McLendon played well against the Bills. So far, McLendon has been one of the best free-agent signings in the NFL.

Michael Brockers of the Rams received a contract extension Sept. 15 and showed why he deserved it against the Seahawks. Seattle doesn't exactly have the strongest offensive line, but Brockers was a monster against the run, as the Rams only gave up 2.8 yards per carry.

The Giants' monstrous duo of Damon Harrison and Johnathan Hankins devoured the Saints offensive line and stuffed the run well, limiting rushing lanes for Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower. Staying in the NFC East, Terrell McClain had a strong showing both stopping the run and rushing the passer against Washington's offensive line.

Danny Shelton has been excellent against the run in the early portion of the season. The second-year pro bullied Jeremy Zuttah and is finally starting to show why he was deserving of a first-round pick in 2015.

On the flip side, Atlanta's defensive tackle group struggled greatly against the Raiders' vaunted offensive line. Grady Jarrett had a decent outing, but the rest of the group was moved around against the run and failed to generate any pressure rushing the passer.

Jacksonville's defensive tackle group struggled mightily against the run in San Diego (save for Roy Miller), but it was able to generate some interior pressure, with Malik Jackson starting to show why he was a big-ticket free agent for the Jaguars. Jackson collapsed the pocket on both of Dante Fowler Jr.'s sacks and Yannick Ngakoue's sack.

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Defensive Tackle Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ndamukong Suh	MIA	23	20	24	15	6	88
2	Aaron Donald	LA	23	20	22	15	6	86
3	Fletcher Cox	PHI	22	20	21	14	6	83
4	Gerald McCoy	TB	21	19	20	15	6	81
5	Kawann Short	CAR	20	18	22	15	6	81
6	Kyle Williams	BUF	19	19	22	14	6	80
7	Geno Atkins	CIN	20	20	19	15	6	80
8	Steve McLendon	NYJ	20	17	22	15	6	80
9	Leonard Williams	NYJ	20	18	21	14	6	79
10	Alan Branch	NE	19	16	22	15	6	78
11	Michael Brockers	LA	17	17	23	15	6	78
12	Nick Fairley	NO	19	17	21	14	6	77
13	Dontari Poe	KC	19	17	20	15	6	77
14	Malcom Brown	NE	18	18	20	15	6	77
15	Johnathan Hankins	NYG	18	16	21	15	6	76
16	Roy Miller	JAX	18	14	23	14	6	75
17	Brandon Mebane	SD	16	14	23	15	6	74
18	Linval Joseph	MIN	17	16	20	15	6	74
19	Brandon Williams	BAL	17	16	21	13	6	73
20	Damon Harrison	NYG	17	12	23	15	6	73
21	Corbin Bryant	BUF	19	17	18	13	6	73
22	Terrell McClain	DAL	17	14	22	14	6	73
23	Jarran Reed	SEA	16	17	19	14	6	72
24	Grady Jarrett	ATL	19	16	18	13	6	72
25	Sylvester Williams	DEN	18	15	20	13	6	72
26	Tom Johnson	MIN	19	19	15	13	6	72
27	Eddie Goldman	CHI	19	14	19	13	6	71
28	Dominique Easley	LA	19	17	16	13	6	71
29	Vincent Valentine	NE	16	17	18	14	6	71
30	Star Lotulelei	CAR	17	15	19	14	6	71
31	Bennie Logan	PHI	17	16	19	13	6	71
32	Ra'Shede Hageman	ATL	17	14	19	14	6	70
33	Danny Shelton	CLE	15	13	22	14	6	70
34	Ahtyba Rubin	SEA	15	17	19	12	6	69
35	John Jenkins	NO	17	15	18	13	6	69
36	Caraun Reid	SD	17	15	17	14	6	69
37	Tyeler Davison	NO	16	15	19	12	6	68
38	Vernon Butler	CAR	16	15	17	14	6	68
39	Haloti Ngata	DET	14	15	19	13	6	67
40	Rodney Gunter	ARI	16	15	18	12	6	67
41	Jonathan Babineaux	ATL	17	16	15	13	6	67
42	Tony McDaniel	SEA	15	16	18	11	6	66
43	Jordan Phillips	MIA	16	15	17	12	6	66
44	Stacy McGee	OAK	17	16	14	12	6	65
45	David Onyemata	NO	15	15	17	11	6	64
46	Cullen Jenkins	WAS	15	14	18	11	6	64
47	Cedric Thornton	DAL	16	14	16	12	6	64
48	Justin Ellis	OAK	16	13	16	12	6	63
49	Maliek Collins	DAL	15	16	14	11	6	62
50	Vince Wilfork	HOU	14	13	17	12	6	62
51	Darius Latham	OAK	14	16	13	12	6	61
52	Kenny Clark	GB	16	14	15	10	6	61
53	A'Shawn Robinson	DET	15	14	15	11	6	61
54	Abry Jones	JAX	15	14	14	12	6	61
55	Beau Allen	PHI	13	14	17	10	6	60
56	Domata Peko	CIN	15	14	14	10	6	59
57	Mike Purcell	SF	14	11	15	13	6	59
58	Clinton McDonald	TB	14	15	14	10	6	59
59	Adam Gotsis	DEN	14	13	16	9	6	58
60	Javon Hargrave	PIT	14	12	15	10	6	57
61	Tyson Jackson	ATL	14	14	13	10	6	57
62	Akeem Spence	TB	15	12	14	10	6	57
63	Shamar Stephen	MIN	14	13	14	9	6	56
64	David Parry	IND	14	13	12	10	6	55
65	Courtney Upshaw	ATL	13	11	15	10	6	55
66	Dan Williams	OAK	13	14	12	10	6	55
67	Sheldon Day	JAX	15	13	12	8	6	54
68	Al Woods	TEN	13	10	14	9	6	52
69	Hassan Ridgeway	IND	14	11	12	9	6	52

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Marcell Dareus—suspension
• Sharrif Floyd—injury
• Letroy Guion—insufficient snaps
• Jarvis Jenkins—insufficient snaps
• Robert Nkemdiche—inactive
• Ian Williams—injury

3-4 Outside Linebackers

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

You'd think teams would understand by now. Attempt to block Von Miller one-on-one, and you're asking for all kinds of trouble.

The Indianapolis Colts learned that lesson the hard way in Week 2, when Miller terrorized right tackle Joe Reitz for three sacks, including a strip-sack that was a returned for a Broncos touchdown and a final sack to finish off the contest. He also bull-rushed Reitz into Andrew Luck's lap for a sack in the first half. As a result, the reigning Super Bowl MVP graded out as the best 3-4 outside linebacker for the week.

He was joined at the top by Washington's Trent Murphy, who was a one-man wrecking crew in the second half against Dallas. He beat Tyron Smith and Doug Free for sacks, and his big hit on Ezekiel Elliott after beating his man to the inside caused a fumble. Buffalo's Jerry Hughes was equally disruptive in the first half against the Jets, but he couldn't maintain the havoc after New York started scheming away from him in the second half.

John Simon, Melvin Ingram, Julius Peppers and Chandler Jones all had big weeks pressuring the quarterback, while Terrell Suggs, Jarvis Jones, Tamba Hali, Nate Orchard and Willie Young produced notable performances against the run. For the second week in a row, the most disappointing outside linebacker was likely Robert Mathis, who appears to be running out of gas at age 35.

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Cvg	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Von Miller	DEN	23	18	12	23	7	83
2	Trent Murphy	WAS	19	23	12	22	7	83
3	Jerry Hughes	BUF	20	19	13	18	7	77
4	John Simon	HOU	22	18	8	20	7	75
5	Melvin Ingram	SD	21	17	10	20	7	75
6	Shane Ray	DEN	19	18	10	20	7	74
7	Terrell Suggs	BAL	16	22	9	20	7	74
8	Julius Peppers	GB	20	17	10	20	7	74
9	Jarvis Jones	PIT	16	21	11	19	7	74
10	Tamba Hali	KC	19	20	8	20	7	74
11	Nate Orchard	CLE	17	21	10	19	7	74
12	Chandler Jones	ARI	20	17	10	19	7	73
13	Willie Young	CHI	18	20	9	19	7	73
14	Whitney Mercilus	HOU	17	19	11	19	7	73
15	Kevin Dodd	TEN	18	18	11	19	7	73
16	Nick Perry	GB	17	19	10	19	7	72
17	Clay Matthews	GB	18	17	10	20	7	72
18	Brian Orakpo	TEN	19	16	10	19	7	71
19	James Harrison	PIT	15	18	12	18	7	70
20	Markus Golden	ARI	18	17	10	18	7	70
21	DeMarcus Ware	DEN	19	18	9	17	7	70
22	Za'Darius Smith	BAL	18	18	10	17	7	70
23	Emmanuel Ogbah	CLE	18	16	11	18	7	70
24	Dee Ford	KC	14	18	11	19	7	69
25	Ryan Kerrigan	WAS	18	16	7	21	7	69
26	Jerry Attaochu	SD	17	16	10	18	7	68
27	Ahmad Brooks	SF	15	16	12	17	7	67
28	Matt Judon	BAL	17	16	10	17	7	67
29	Eli Harold	SF	16	16	10	18	7	67
30	Kyler Fackrell	GB	15	18	10	17	7	67
31	Kyle Emanuel	SD	14	18	11	16	7	66
32	Lorenzo Alexander	BUF	16	15	11	17	7	66
33	Datone Jones	GB	15	18	9	17	7	66
34	Shaquil Barrett	DEN	15	16	9	18	7	65
35	Arthur Moats	PIT	15	16	11	15	7	64
36	David Bass	TEN	15	16	9	17	7	64
37	Sam Acho	CHI	16	15	9	17	7	64
38	Tank Carradine	SF	15	15	9	17	7	63
39	Leonard Floyd	CHI	15	14	10	17	7	63
40	Erik Walden	IND	14	15	12	15	7	63
41	Alex Okafor	ARI	14	15	9	17	7	62
42	Tourek Williams	SD	14	15	9	17	7	62
43	Preston Smith	WAS	14	14	8	18	7	61
44	Anthony Chickillo	PIT	12	15	10	16	7	60
45	Robert Mathis	IND	17	9	8	17	7	58
46	Joe Schobert	CLE	12	14	9	16	7	58
47	Frank Zombo	KC	11	13	9	17	7	57
48	Aaron Wallace	TEN	13	13	9	15	7	57
49	Albert McClellan	BAL	13	12	9	16	7	57
50	Lerentee McCray	BUF	11	10	9	15	7	52
51	Akeem Ayers	IND	10	10	9	16	7	52
52	Curt Maggitt	IND	9	10	8	16	7	50

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Armonty Bryant—suspension
• Trent Cole—inactive
• Elvis Dumervil—inactive
• Justin Houston—injury
• Lamarr Houston—injury
• Jordan Jenkins—inactive
• Shaq Lawson—injury
• Aaron Lynch—suspension
• Pernell McPhee—injury
• Derrick Morgan—inactive
• Aldon Smith—suspension

4-3 Outside Linebackers

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

This week has a few surprises. Philadelphia's Nigel Bradham and Jacksonville's Telvin Smith top the list.

Bradham wreaked havoc around the field against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, proving to be a force in every aspect of the game. Bradham intercepted Jay Cutler and nearly ran it back for a pick-six. Though he didn't score himself, the Eagles offense finished the job a couple of plays later. The Bears had no answer for Bradham. They couldn't throw near him in coverage, nor could they keep him away from the ball-carrier in the run game. 

Smith quietly had an outstanding game Sunday. He looked more comfortable and fluid in coverage than he did all of last season. Granted, he wasn't really tested in coverage, but that's due in part to his being in position to persuade the quarterback to look elsewhere. Smith was a monster in the run game. He racked up a couple of tackles for loss and looked to be on his game in terms of reading the offense.

Both of Oakland's linebackers, though highly regarded heading into the season, struggled against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons offensive line put together a nice game, and Malcolm Smith and Bruce Irvin were the victims of that. Smith was especially porous, too often getting washed out of the run game. He still made a handful of solid plays, but the consistency wasn't there.

Irvin, on the other hand, put together a great game against the run and in coverage but was completely stonewalled as a pass-rusher. Atlanta's offensive tackles shut out Irvin on almost every one of his pass-rushing attempts, rendering him far less effective than he could have been.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Nigel Bradham	PHI	23	22	9	21	6	81
2	Telvin Smith	JAX	20	22	8	22	6	78
3	Lavonte David	TB	20	20	11	20	6	77
4	Anthony Barr	MIN	21	21	10	19	6	77
5	K.J. Wright	SEA	20	22	8	21	6	77
6	Thomas Davis	CAR	20	21	10	19	6	76
7	Vincent Rey	CIN	18	22	8	22	6	76
8	Sean Lee	DAL	22	20	7	20	6	75
9	Mark Barron	LA	19	21	8	21	6	75
10	Darron Lee	NYJ	18	21	9	21	6	75
11	Karlos Dansby	CIN	20	18	8	21	6	73
12	Bruce Irvin	OAK	18	20	8	20	6	72
13	Keenan Robinson	NYG	18	19	7	19	6	69
14	Sean Weatherspoon	ATL	17	19	7	20	6	69
15	Shaq Thompson	CAR	19	20	7	17	6	69
16	Chad Greenway	MIN	18	19	7	18	6	68
17	Mike Morgan	SEA	15	18	8	18	6	65
18	Jonathan Casillas	NYG	16	17	7	17	6	63
19	Josh Forrest	LA	14	18	7	18	6	63
20	Mychal Kendricks	PHI	15	17	8	17	6	63
21	Malcolm Smith	OAK	16	16	7	18	6	63
22	Antwione Williams	DET	15	17	7	18	6	63
23	Daryl Smith	TB	15	19	7	16	6	63
24	Jonathan Freeny	NE	14	15	8	20	6	63
25	Myles Jack	JAX	14	19	7	16	6	62
26	Erin Henderson	NYJ	14	17	7	18	6	62
27	Koa Misi	MIA	14	15	7	18	6	60
28	Mike Catapano	NYJ	13	15	9	17	6	60
29	Brandon Copeland	DET	16	15	6	15	6	58
30	Craig Robertson	NO	14	15	7	16	6	58
31	Kyle Van Noy	DET	13	15	8	14	6	56
32	Kyle Wilber	DAL	14	14	8	14	6	56
33	Thurston Armbrister	DET	13	16	7	14	6	56
34	Devon Kennard	NYG	12	15	7	15	6	55
35	Jelani Jenkins	MIA	11	13	7	15	6	52
36	Andrew Gachkar	DAL	12	13	6	15	6	52
37	Dan Skuta	JAX	8	14	8	15	6	51
38	Philip Wheeler	ATL	12	13	7	12	6	50
39	Shea McClellin	NE	11	13	7	12	6	49

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Vontaze Burfict—suspension
• De'Vondre Campbell—injury
• Dont'a Hightower—injury
• DeAndre Levy—injury
• Jaylon Smith—injury

Inside Linebackers

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Week 2 of the NFL season could be seen as a slight regression to the mean. The majority of inside linebackers throughout the league were clustered in one range, with a few playing exceptionally well or exceptionally poor. The ability to play downhill and with speed stands out as the primary separating factor this week. Inside linebackers in the NFL work laterally far too often, failing to capitalize on alleys to shoot in run support.

The strength of competition proved to assist or hurt some of the grades. Los Angeles Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree faced a poor Seattle offensive line and failed to make much of an impression on the game. Contrary to Ogletree, Indianapolis Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson was cleaning up the mess of his teammates against a formidable and revamped Broncos offensive line.

Multiple linebackers padded coverage grades with tipped passes and interceptions, but with so many athletes now inside, the true run-stuffers are standing out on film. Defenses rotate and vary schemes so often that excelling at one trait can often earn more playing time. Few excel in multiple areas like Carolina's Luke Kuechly or Chicago's Jerrell Freeman. As such, those two players remain atop the board until further notice.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Defense (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 35)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Inside Linebacker Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Jerrell Freeman	CHI	22	33	13	13	6	87
2	Luke Kuechly	CAR	21	33	12	14	6	86
3	Eric Kendricks	MIN	22	32	10	12	6	82
4	C.J. Mosley	BAL	22	31	13	9	6	81
5	Jamie Collins	NE	21	30	11	12	6	80
6	Derrick Johnson	KC	19	30	13	12	6	80
7	D'Qwell Jackson	IND	22	30	9	13	6	80
8	Brandon Marshall	DEN	21	30	10	12	6	79
9	NaVorro Bowman	SF	21	31	11	9	6	78
10	Denzel Perryman	SD	19	30	11	12	6	78
11	Benardrick McKinney	HOU	19	30	11	12	6	78
12	Todd Davis	DEN	21	30	8	12	6	77
13	Bobby Wagner	SEA	19	28	12	12	6	77
14	Preston Brown	BUF	18	31	10	12	6	77
15	Danny Trevathan	CHI	18	30	10	12	6	76
16	Su'a Cravens	WAS	23	27	8	12	6	76
17	Deone Bucannon	ARI	23	28	9	10	6	76
18	Avery Williamson	TEN	18	30	10	12	6	76
19	Will Compton	WAS	19	30	8	12	6	75
20	Zach Brown	BUF	18	29	11	11	6	75
21	Christian Kirksey	CLE	17	31	9	12	6	75
22	David Harris	NYJ	17	29	11	12	6	75
23	Demario Davis	CLE	17	32	8	12	6	75
24	Ryan Shazier	PIT	16	30	10	12	6	74
25	Max Bullough	HOU	18	29	10	11	6	74
26	Mason Foster	WAS	18	31	6	12	6	73
27	Zach Orr	BAL	17	28	10	12	6	73
28	Deion Jones	ATL	19	27	10	11	6	73
29	Ray-Ray Armstrong	SF	18	28	8	12	6	72
30	Jatavis Brown	SD	21	25	8	12	6	72
31	Lawrence Timmons	PIT	16	31	8	11	6	72
32	Stephen Tulloch	PHI	17	29	8	12	6	72
33	Kevin Minter	ARI	18	27	8	12	6	71
34	Wesley Woodyard	TEN	17	29	9	10	6	71
35	Justin Durant	DAL	20	26	8	11	6	71
36	Jake Ryan	GB	17	28	8	12	6	71
37	Gerald Hodges	SF	18	29	8	10	6	71
38	Jordan Hicks	PHI	19	25	9	11	6	70
39	Paul Posluszny	JAX	14	30	7	13	6	70
40	Blake Martinez	GB	16	28	8	12	6	70
41	Rey Maualuga	CIN	16	28	7	11	6	68
42	Alec Ogletree	LA	18	24	10	10	6	68
43	Kelvin Sheppard	NYG	16	27	8	11	6	68
44	Manti Te'o	SD	17	27	9	9	6	68
45	Ben Heeney	OAK	17	27	8	10	6	68
46	Justin March-Lillard	KC	17	25	8	10	6	66
47	Anthony Hitchens	DAL	12	27	8	11	6	64
48	Kwon Alexander	TB	17	25	7	8	6	63
49	Sio Moore	IND	16	25	10	5	6	62
50	James Laurinaitis	NO	16	20	7	12	6	61
51	Kiko Alonso	MIA	13	23	8	10	6	60
52	Tahir Whitehead	DET	14	20	7	11	6	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Brian Cushing—injury
• Rolando McClain—suspension

Cornerbacks

Rob Carr/Getty Images

He didn't follow him all game, but when Josh Norman did shadow Dez Bryant, he showed why Washington spent big money on him. He was great against not only Bryant but the entire Dallas wide receiver corps. Norman allowed only one completion, which didn't hurt the team. Against Bryant, Norman broke up all four passes thrown his way, including a play where he punched the ball out, a la Charles Tillman.

He did the same thing to force a fumble and halt a Cowboys drive. Norman was about as impressive as he could be Sunday.

Rams slot corner Lamarcus Joyner had an incredible week. He was targeted five times, surrendering one catch for two yards. He showed off great acceleration and closing speed to break up two passes and assist with three stops in the run game.

Desmond Trufant shadowed Amari Cooper all game and played well, but he didn't play up to the standards of arguably the best corner in the league. He gave up four catches on six targets, a couple of first downs, a big play and a touchdown and also had a penalty.

Another star this week was San Diego Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett. From cornerback scout Ian Wharton's self-charting of the game, Verrett shadowed Jacksonville Jaguars star receiver Allen Robinson and held him without a reception until the 2:45 mark of the third quarter—when Robinson logged a nine-yard catch with Verrett in off-coverage. His teammate Casey Hayward also had great success, intercepting two passes.

Cincinnati Bengals corner Dre Kirkpatrick and Kansas City Chiefs corner Marcus Peters were two other young stars this week. Kirkpatrick has struggled with consistency to this point in his career, but he intercepted a pass and allowed zero completions on three targets against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers offense.

Peters faced the talented Houston Texans receivers, allowing five completions on 11 targets but also snagging two interceptions and breaking up two passes. Peters can be a roller coaster with his coverage at times, but he always responds positively with big plays.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

React: Reaction/Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Cornerback Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	React	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Jason Verrett	SD	28	29	19	8	9	93
2	Chris Harris Jr.	DEN	26	27	20	7	9	89
3	Josh Norman	WAS	27	26	18	8	9	88
4	Casey Hayward	SD	27	28	17	6	9	87
5	Marcus Peters	KC	25	27	17	9	9	87
6	Lamarcus Joyner	LA	25	26	18	8	9	86
7	Ross Cockrell	PIT	26	24	17	8	9	84
8	Alterraun Verner	TB	26	25	17	6	9	83
9	Bradley Roby	DEN	24	25	17	7	9	82
10	Adam Jones	CIN	26	23	17	6	9	81
11	Dre Kirkpatrick	CIN	25	23	16	7	9	80
12	Janoris Jenkins	NYG	21	24	18	8	9	80
13	Tramaine Brock	SF	24	23	16	7	9	79
14	Jimmy Smith	BAL	24	22	16	7	9	78
15	Patrick Peterson	ARI	22	23	17	7	9	78
16	Kareem Jackson	HOU	24	23	16	5	9	77
17	Kevin A. Johnson	HOU	22	24	15	7	9	77
18	Leon Hall	NYG	22	20	17	8	9	76
19	PJ Williams	NO	22	21	16	8	9	76
20	Richard Sherman	SEA	23	20	17	7	9	76
21	James Bradberry	CAR	22	22	15	7	9	75
22	Jason McCourty	TEN	22	23	15	6	9	75
23	Logan Ryan	NE	21	22	17	6	9	75
24	Trae Waynes	MIN	21	20	16	7	9	75
25	Vernon Hargreaves	TB	20	21	17	8	9	75
26	Aqib Talib	DEN	22	20	17	6	9	74
27	Tracy Porter	CHI	22	20	17	6	9	74
28	Desmond Trufant	ATL	22	19	17	6	9	73
29	Trumaine Johnson	LA	23	18	17	6	9	73
30	Marcus Cooper	ARI	19	21	17	7	9	73
31	Bene Benwikere	CAR	20	19	17	7	9	72
32	Darrelle Revis	NYJ	22	18	15	8	9	72
33	Joe Haden	CLE	23	20	14	6	9	72
34	Brent Grimes	TB	23	19	15	5	9	71
35	Jacoby Glenn	CHI	20	19	16	7	9	71
36	Brian Poole	ATL	19	19	17	6	9	70
37	Johnathan Joseph	HOU	21	19	15	6	9	70
38	Deiondre Hall	CHI	16	14	15	15	9	69
39	Ron Brooks	PHI	18	18	17	7	9	69
40	David Amerson	OAK	21	18	15	5	9	68
41	Morris Claiborne	DAL	19	18	16	6	9	68
42	Phillip Gaines	KC	20	18	15	6	9	68
43	Robert McCain	CAR	18	17	17	7	9	68
44	Darius Butler	IND	19	17	17	5	9	67
45	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	NYG	18	19	17	4	9	67
46	Jalen Mills	PHI	19	17	16	6	9	67
47	Bryce Callahan	CHI	18	17	17	6	9	67
48	Robert Alford	ATL	17	19	16	6	9	67
49	Sean Davis	PIT	18	17	15	8	9	67
50	Terence Newman	MIN	19	19	15	5	9	67
51	Tyvon Branch	ARI	19	17	16	6	9	67
52	Brandon Flowers	SD	19	17	16	5	9	66
53	Jeremy Lane	SEA	18	16	17	6	9	66
54	Jimmie Ward	SF	17	18	14	8	9	66
55	Quandre Diggs	DET	17	17	17	6	9	66
56	Darius Slay	DET	18	16	16	6	9	65
57	Orlando Scandrick	DAL	18	15	17	6	9	65
58	Buster Skrine	NYJ	17	18	14	6	9	64
59	Jalen Ramsey	JAX	17	16	15	7	9	64
60	Marcus Williams	NYJ	17	19	14	5	9	64
61	Ken Crawley	NO	17	18	15	4	9	63
62	Antonio Cromartie	IND	16	15	15	7	9	62
63	Bashaud Breeland	WAS	18	16	13	6	9	62
64	Daryl Worley	CAR	17	15	15	6	9	62
65	Ladarius Gunter	GB	17	16	15	5	9	62
66	A.J. Bouye	HOU	16	16	15	5	9	61
67	Captain Munnerlyn	MIN	20	19	7	6	9	61
68	Sean Smith	OAK	17	15	14	6	9	61
69	Steven Nelson	KC	17	15	15	5	9	61
70	Brandon Williams	ARI	14	15	15	7	9	60
71	Malcolm Butler	NE	16	15	13	7	9	60
72	Shareece Wright	BAL	18	15	12	6	9	60
73	Artie Burns	PIT	16	16	13	5	9	59
74	Damarious Randall	GB	16	16	14	4	9	59
75	Nolan Carroll	PHI	14	15	14	9	9	59
76	William Gay	PIT	17	14	14	5	9	59
77	Greg Toler	WAS	15	15	14	5	9	58
78	Jamar Taylor	CLE	15	13	14	7	9	58
79	Jude Adjei-Barimah	TB	15	14	15	5	9	58
80	Nevin Lawson	DET	16	15	13	5	9	58
81	Perrish Cox	TEN	16	14	12	7	9	58
82	Davon House	JAX	14	14	13	7	9	57
83	Nickell Robey-Coleman	BUF	14	15	12	7	9	57
84	Sherrick McManis	CHI	15	14	13	6	9	57
85	Keith Reiser	SF	14	16	13	5	9	57
86	Xavien Howard	MIA	16	13	11	8	9	57
87	Brandon Carr	DAL	14	15	13	5	9	56
88	Brice McCain	TEN	14	15	13	4	9	55
89	Byron Maxwell	MIA	15	15	12	4	9	55
90	D.J. Hayden	OAK	14	15	12	5	9	55
91	Eli Apple	NYG	13	15	14	4	9	55
92	Rashard Robinson	SF	15	13	14	4	9	55
93	Bobby McCain	MIA	13	15	11	6	9	54
94	Dwayne Gratz	JAX	13	15	12	5	9	54
95	Tavon Young	BAL	14	14	12	5	9	54
96	Tramon Williams	CLE	13	15	12	5	9	54
97	Chris Davis	SF	14	12	13	5	9	53
98	Ronald Darby	BUF	14	12	12	6	9	53
99	Stephon Gilmore	BUF	13	15	11	5	9	53
100	Justin Coleman	NE	12	13	12	5	9	51
101	Darqueze Dennard	CIN	14	12	10	5	9	50
102	DeShawn Shead	SEA	12	11	11	6	9	49
103	De'Vante Harris	NO	13	12	12	3	9	49
104	Rashaan Melvin	IND	11	13	10	5	9	48
105	Coty Sensabaugh	LA	11	10	12	4	9	46
106	Darryl Morris	IND	11	10	9	6	9	45
107	Sterling Moore	NO	11	10	10	5	9	45
108	Dashaun Phillips	WAS	10	12	9	3	9	43

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Prince Amukamara—injury
• Delvin Breaux—injury
• Vontae Davis—injury
• Patrick Robinson—injury

Free Safeties

Associated Press

Devin McCourty and Harrison Smith were both listed as two of the top free safeties coming into the season, so it's no surprise to see them atop the chart for Week 2. McCourty made a standout play on a Dolphins deep shot to receiver DeVante Parker. McCourty read the play, staying over the top initially before breaking down on the ball at a perfect angle. He got his hand in the mix to not only contest the pass but break it up. 

Outside of that play, McCourty had a solid game playing deep in center field. He stayed over the top on a number of deep shots, allowing his corners to be more aggressive in attacking the ball because they knew he was in position to make the tackle if they missed.

Smith had a strong outing against the Packers. He displayed great instincts, sniffing out multiple bootleg plays, taking away the easy dump-off in the flat and forcing Aaron Rodgers to look elsewhere. He was smooth in his movements when Rodgers began to scramble. The scramble drill is one of the hardest things for a safety to defend, but Smith never looked panicked and stuck with receivers all game.

Cowboys safety Bryon Jones stood up to the test of Washington tight end Jordan Reed. As someone who covers Washington, I've yet to see anyone cover Reed one-on-one on a consistent basis successfully, but Jones was about as good as I've seen. He stuck tight to Reed on a number of occasions, and although Reed did manage to pull in a few catches against him, those came down to Reed's excellence more than Jones' failure.

When he wasn't on Reed, Jones' concentration seemed to be lacking. He was partially at fault for a 57-yard pass to Josh Doctson that should have been a touchdown. He was covering DeSean Jackson in the slot but rushed outside to Doctson off the snap. That forced the outside corner to work inside with Jackson. But then, Jones noticed Jackson running inside and worked back inside, too, leaving Doctson outside with nobody to cover him. An underthrown ball was the only thing that saved Jones from giving up the touchdown.

I was disappointed with the performance of Steelers safety Mike Mitchell. He had some solid plays in coverage but seemed obsessed with headhunting and going for the big hit. At times, it worked for him. He landed a big hit on Bengals tight end Tyler Kroft, dislodging a ball from his grasp that fell incomplete. But later on, Mitchell went for a big hit on a receiver who was running after the catch. He completely missed the receiver and ended up hitting fellow safety Robert Golden, knocking him off the receiver and stopping him from making the tackle, too.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 10)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Free Safety Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Devin McCourty	NE	24	25	7	17	8	81
2	Harrison Smith	MIN	24	25	7	17	8	81
3	Glover Quin	DET	25	25	6	16	8	80
4	Darian Stewart	DEN	24	24	6	17	8	79
5	Byron Jones	DAL	23	24	7	16	8	78
6	Duron Harmon	NE	24	24	6	15	8	77
7	Earl Thomas	SEA	22	23	7	16	8	76
8	Jairus Byrd	NO	24	22	5	17	8	76
9	Justin Simmons	DEN	21	24	6	17	8	76
10	Vonn Bell	NO	21	21	7	17	8	74
11	Rodney McLeod	PHI	21	23	5	16	8	73
12	Dexter McCoil	SD	21	21	6	16	8	72
13	J.J. Wilcox	DAL	21	22	5	16	8	72
14	Tre Boston	CAR	21	21	6	16	8	72
15	Dwight Lowery	SD	20	22	5	16	8	71
16	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	GB	22	19	6	16	8	71
17	Lardarius Webb	BAL	21	20	6	16	8	71
18	Mo Alexander	LA	22	19	6	16	8	71
19	Rashad Johnson	TEN	21	20	6	16	8	71
20	Ron Parker	KC	20	19	7	17	8	71
21	Andre Hal	HOU	18	21	7	16	8	70
22	Eric Reid	SF	19	20	7	16	8	70
23	George Iloka	CIN	17	21	7	17	8	70
24	Marcus Gilchrist	NYJ	20	20	7	15	8	70
25	DeAngelo Hall	WAS	20	19	6	16	8	69
26	Isa Abdul-Quddus	MIA	20	19	6	16	8	69
27	Clayton Geathers	IND	18	19	7	16	8	68
28	Darian Thompson	NYG	18	20	5	17	8	68
29	Nat Berhe	NYG	19	19	6	16	8	68
30	Tashaun Gipson	JAX	19	21	5	14	8	67
31	Bradley McDougald	TB	19	19	5	15	8	66
32	Cody Davis	LA	18	18	6	16	8	66
33	Corey Graham	BUF	18	17	7	16	8	66
34	Adrian Amos	CHI	18	18	6	15	8	65
35	Ibraheim Campbell	CLE	17	18	6	16	8	65
36	D.J. Swearinger	ARI	18	18	6	14	8	64
37	Michael Mitchell	PIT	18	17	6	15	8	64
38	Reggie Nelson	OAK	17	17	6	16	8	64
39	Ricardo Allen	ATL	18	18	6	14	8	64
40	Kevin Byard	TEN	16	18	6	14	8	62
41	Chris Prosinski	CHI	15	16	4	13	8	56

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Dashon Goldson—insufficient snaps
• T.J. Green—inactive

Strong Safeties

Associated Press

The Falcons' Kemal Ishmael was the standout performer at the strong safety position this week. He was excellent in underneath zones, constantly reading the quarterback's eyes and breaking on underneath throws to limit the Raiders to minimal gains. He was at his most impressive against the run, working quickly to fill in where he could and always making the tackle.

On one play, Ishmael faced Raiders running back DeAndre Washington in the open field. Washington has already made a number of players miss open-field tackles this season, but Ishmael broke down well, took a good angle and wrapped up to make the tackle. 

Micah Hyde finished with the same overall grade as Ishmael after a strong game for the Packers. Hyde matched up well against Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph and gave him little room to work with every time the two squared off. Hyde won one matchup, taking away a deep hook route from Rudolph. The tight end responded with a drag route later on a 3rd-and-short play. Hyde managed to stay close despite the Vikings creating traffic in the middle of the field. Hyde surrendered the catch but tackled Rudolph immediately after to save the first down.

Winston Guy had a performance to forget that ended in the Indianapolis Colts cutting him this week. He had a few near-great plays, but couldn't finish them. He read a deep out route by Broncos tight end Virgil Green well but was too aggressive covering it and gave up a pass interference penalty. Later, he came unblocked off the edge on a run play but ended up running right by C.J. Anderson, who ran right past him and to the edge on his way to a 13-yard carry.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 25)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Strong Safety Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Kemal Ishmael	ATL	22	19	18	17	6	82
2	Micah Hyde	GB	21	21	17	17	6	82
3	Robert Golden	PIT	22	20	16	17	6	81
4	Kam Chancellor	SEA	19	19	18	18	6	80
5	Reshad Jones	MIA	19	21	17	17	6	80
6	Tony Jefferson	ARI	20	21	16	17	6	80
7	Jahleel Addae	SD	19	21	16	17	6	79
8	Landon Collins	NYG	19	19	16	17	6	77
9	Daniel Sorensen	KC	17	19	17	17	6	76
10	Malcolm Jenkins	PHI	19	18	17	16	6	76
11	Morgan Burnett	GB	19	19	16	16	6	76
12	Shawn Williams	CIN	19	18	16	17	6	76
13	Mike C. Adams	IND	19	18	16	16	6	75
14	Andrew Sendejo	MIN	19	16	17	16	6	74
15	Quintin Demps	HOU	17	18	16	17	6	74
16	T.J. Ward	DEN	17	19	16	16	6	74
17	Derrick Kindred	CLE	18	18	15	16	6	73
18	Eric Weddle	BAL	20	18	14	15	6	73
19	Da'Norris Searcy	TEN	17	18	15	16	6	72
20	Barry Church	DAL	17	18	15	15	6	71
21	Eric Berry	KC	18	18	14	15	6	71
22	Johnathan Cyprien	JAX	18	16	16	15	6	71
23	Antoine Bethea	SF	16	16	16	16	6	70
24	Calvin Pryor	NYJ	17	17	13	17	6	70
25	Jaquiski Tartt	SF	17	16	16	15	6	70
26	Kenny Vaccaro	NO	17	15	15	17	6	70
27	Patrick Chung	NE	17	17	14	16	6	70
28	Tavon Wilson	DET	16	17	14	17	6	70
29	Aaron Williams	BUF	18	16	14	15	6	69
30	Keith McGill	OAK	17	16	15	15	6	69
31	Roman Harper	NO	16	16	15	16	6	69
32	Anthony Levine	BAL	16	18	14	14	6	68
33	Jordan Poyer	CLE	15	15	16	16	6	68
34	T.J. McDonald	LA	16	16	15	15	6	68
35	Harold Jones-Quartey	CHI	15	15	14	14	6	64
36	Rafael Bush	DET	14	14	15	15	6	64
37	Chris Conte	TB	14	13	14	14	6	61
38	Duke Williams	BUF	13	13	14	15	6	61
39	Kurt Coleman	CAR	13	13	15	14	6	61
40	Daimion Stafford	TEN	14	15	13	10	6	58
41	David Bruton	WAS	14	13	12	13	6	58
42	Winston Guy	IND	14	13	12	13	6	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Eddie Pleasant—inactive

Kickers

Associated Press

There is a familiar face at the top of the Week 2 kicker rankings, with Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens putting together an outstanding game that earned him the second-highest rating of the year thus far. Tucker was perfect on the day, displaying his prodigious leg strength and leaving every other kicker in his wake.

Graham Gano and rising star Chandler Catanzaro fill the next two spots, with Gano's only blemish being a missed extra point due to a massive protection breakdown. Young guns Dustin Hopkins and Chris Boswell continue to show consistency and strong legs, and they appear to be solidifying themselves in the second tier of kickers with back-to-back top-10 performances. 

Blair Walsh bounced back after a tough first week, making two extra points and a 46-yard field goal. He is still getting his feet under him after missing the playoffs last year, but he appears much more comfortable this week. More repetitions should only help the young kicker, and he seems to be getting back on track after a difficult start to the year.

On the negative side of things, Jason Myers is walking proof that consistency is the most important thing in the NFL. A week after coming in second in the rankings, Myers finds himself near the bottom due to missing his only field-goal attempt, a 54-yarder. Joining him there are Roberto Aguayo and Patrick Murray, who both missed kicks in Week 2 as well. While Aguayo has had a quiet start to the 2016 season, he needs to string together several perfect performances to build his confidence after experiencing some issues throughout the preseason.

Grading Scale

Pwr: Kick Power (Graded out of 40)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 40)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Kicker Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Pwr	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Justin Tucker	BAL	36	39	5	3	83
2	Graham Gano	CAR	33	37	5	3	78
3	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI	32	37	5	3	77
4	Cairo Santos	KC	32	35	5	3	75
5	Nick Folk	NYJ	30	37	5	3	75
6	Adam Vinatieri	IND	31	36	5	3	75
7	Dustin Hopkins	WAS	31	35	5	3	74
8	Chris Boswell	PIT	32	33	5	3	73
9	Matt Bryant	ATL	31	34	5	3	73
10	Dan Bailey	DAL	31	34	5	3	73
11	Greg Zuerlein	LA	31	34	5	3	73
12	Andrew Franks	MIA	31	32	5	3	71
13	Blair Walsh	MIN	31	32	5	3	71
14	Mike Nugent	CIN	30	32	5	3	70
15	Brandon McManus	DEN	30	32	5	3	70
16	Caleb Sturgis	PHI	33	28	5	3	69
17	Dan Carpenter	BUF	27	33	5	3	68
18	Matt Prater	DET	27	33	5	3	68
19	Mason Crosby	GB	31	29	5	3	68
20	Josh Lambo	SD	25	34	5	3	67
21	Steven Hauschka	SEA	30	29	5	3	67
22	Will Lutz	NO	30	27	5	3	65
23	Nick Novak	HOU	26	31	5	3	65
24	Phil Dawson	SF	26	32	5	2	65
25	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	31	24	5	3	63
26	Ryan Succop	TEN	28	25	5	3	61
27	Josh Brown	NYG	26	27	5	3	61
28	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	26	25	5	3	59
29	Connor Barth	CHI	31	20	5	3	59
30	Jason Myers	JAX	28	23	5	3	59
31	Roberto Aguayo	TB	29	21	5	3	58
32	Patrick Murray	CLE	25	24	5	3	57

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

Punters

Associated Press

Jonny Hekker of the Los Angeles Rams takes the top spot in the Week 2 punter rankings, largely due to the precision placement of his punts throughout the battle with the Seattle Seahawks. Hekker placed every ball on or outside the numbers, locating to both sides of the field with ease.

Thomas Morstead and Brad Wing bounce into the second and third positions, respectively, with both of them showing stronger legs than they have displayed throughout their careers. 

Also in the top five are perennial punting powerhouses Pat McAfee and Sam Koch, while Marquette King slides slightly to the sixth spot this week from his perch atop the NFL in Week 1. Sam Martin and Brett Kern also turned in strong performances, staying in the top 10 once again, and Chris Jones showed sustained improvement over his 2015 numbers. Jeff Locke of the Vikings rounds out the top 10 with a bounce-back week after a tough start to the season in Week 1.

Jon Ryan and Ryan Allen continue to struggle in the early going, as both find themselves with below-average ratings this week. A lack of distance was a major issue for each of them, with slightly below-average hang times as well. These two punters are typically upper-echelon talents, so they are likely to figure things out in the coming weeks.

Donnie Jones also had issues this week with poor ball placement, something that held him back from a higher rating in Week 1 as well.

Grading Scale

Dist: Kick Distance (Graded out of 20)

Hang: Kick Hang Time (Graded out of 20)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 45)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 5)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Punter Rankings Week 2

Rank	Player	Team	Dist	Hang	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Johnny Hekker	LA	17	16	45	3	3	84
2	Thomas Morstead	NO	18	18	38	3	3	80
3	Brad Wing	NYG	19	18	36	3	3	79
4	Pat McAfee	IND	19	16	37	3	3	78
5	Sam Koch	BAL	18	18	35	3	3	77
6	Marquette King	OAK	19	16	35	4	3	77
7	Sam Martin	DET	16	18	36	3	3	76
8	Brett Kern	TEN	18	17	35	3	3	76
9	Chris Jones	DAL	18	19	33	3	3	76
10	Jeff Locke	MIN	13	19	37	3	3	75
11	Jordan Berry	PIT	18	16	34	3	3	74
12	Dustin Colquitt	KC	17	20	31	3	3	74
13	Matt Darr	MIA	16	15	36	3	3	73
14	Bradley Pinion	SF	18	19	30	3	3	73
15	Bryan Anger	TB	16	20	30	3	3	72
16	Pat O'Donnell	CHI	11	18	36	3	3	71
17	Britton Colquitt	CLE	14	17	33	3	3	70
18	Andy Lee	CAR	16	17	31	3	3	70
19	Drew Butler	ARI	12	17	35	3	3	70
20	Shane Lechler	HOU	16	12	35	3	3	69
21	Matt Bosher	ATL	17	15	30	3	3	68
22	Tress Way	WAS	9	16	36	3	3	67
23	Jacob Schum	GB	6	17	38	3	3	67
24	Ryan Allen	NE	9	14	36	3	3	65
25	Lachlan Edwards	NYJ	13	14	31	3	3	64
26	Brad Nortman	JAX	12	14	31	3	3	63
27	Colton Schmidt	BUF	5	17	34	3	3	62
28	Riley Dixon	DEN	16	12	28	3	3	62
29	Jon Ryan	SEA	9	13	32	3	3	60
30	Donnie Jones	PHI	13	14	27	3	3	60
31	Drew Kaser	SD	9	15	29	3	3	59
32	Kevin Huber	CIN	11	9	32	3	3	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None