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

In the opening week, we saw a few surprises. Four defenses scored more than 20 points under standard scoring settings among Yahoo Leagues. Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt racked up 40 points.

Week 2 will bring some clear-cut mismatches that should pique your interest. What should you expect from the upcoming games?

Hunt accumulated 246 yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots, but he's unlikely to repeat that performance. While owners held their heads high for picking up the Chiefs' rookie running back, it's fair to wonder where his value settles on a normal week. What should you expect from him against the Philadelphia Eagles?

How will the Patriots respond after a 42-27 home-opening loss to the Chiefs? Should you ignore the whispers about quarterback Tom Brady on the decline and plug the 40-year-old quarterback into your lineup?

We'll go through favorable Week 2 matchups with point projections based on standard scoring in Yahoo leagues.

Matchups to Love

QB, Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders vs. New York Jets

Point Projection: 28 

QB, Tom Brady, New England Patriots vs. New Orleans Saints

Point Projection: 28 

RB, Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons

Point Projection: 22

RB, Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Point Projection: 18 

WR, Brandin Cooks, New England Patriots vs. New Orleans Saints

Point Projection: 22

WR, Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers

Point Projection: 20

TE, Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers vs. Buffalo Bills

Point Projection: 13

TE, Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots vs. New Orleans Saints

Point Projection: 12 

K, Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Point Projection: 11

DEF, Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers

Point Projection: 16

Don't Give Up on Tom Brady 

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Remember the last time we thought Brady would head out to pasture as an old quarterback? Kansas City beat New England 41-14 on Monday Night Football in Week 4 of the 2014 season.

In the following week, Brady completed 23-of-35 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns.

Fast forward almost three years and the world once again places doubt on Brady's ability to defy age for another year. He'll face a poor New Orleans Saints secondary that allowed 346 passing yards and three touchdowns to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford. 

Once again, the Saints have issues within the secondary, and they'll try to limit the Patriots, who heard all week about how old their quarterback looked in the regular-season opener. Brady should finish with at least three touchdown passes and 250 passing yards—that's the low end of the prediction.

Play Kareem Hunt with Realistic Expectations

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower suffered a minor MCL sprain, which opened the middle of the field for Hunt as a receiver in Week 1:

Hunt will maintain his role as the featured back throughout the season, but it's difficult to top 40 points in a fantasy football debut. Nonetheless, it's fair to view him as a high-end dual-threat running back who's going to see several targets in the passing attack on a weekly basis.

Dating back to the preseason, Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks has effectively covered the field sideline to sideline, per ESPN Stats and Info:

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith's ability to protect the football and minimize mistakes should extend drives, which leads to more offensive plays. As a primary playmaker on offense, Hunt will continue to see a high volume of touches. 

Greg Olsen Shakes Off a Lackluster Week 1 Performance 

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The Carolina Panthers dominated the San Francisco 49ers on the road, but tight end Greg Olsen only saw four targets and hauled in two catches for 18 yards. 

Olsen eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in the previous three seasons. Even though his targets may take a dip with running back Christian McCaffrey in the fold as a receiver, he's still a reliable target. The veteran tight end also logged 100 percent of offensive snaps in Week 1.

The three-time Pro Bowler will likely see more targets and production against the Buffalo Bills who yielded a combined five receptions for 59 yards to New York Jets tight ends Will Tye and Eric Tomlinson. Both players secured their first receptions with the team in Week 1. A tight end with Olsen's caliber, who rarely comes off the field, should rack up at least 70 yards and a touchdown. 

With wideout Kelvin Benjamin back on the field during the previous season, Olsen led the team with 129 targets in the passing attack. Don't hesitate to plug him into your lineup.