Fantasy Football Week 2: Rankings, Projections and Waiver-Wire Tips

If you had Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner or pretty much anyone from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints game, then congratulations are in order as you probably had a successful Week 1 of your fantasy football season.

However, the campaign is a marathon, not a sprint. No one wins his or her league in Week 1. It's important to play the waiver wire and make solid start/sit decisions every week in order to win your league's title.

Here's an advance look at some Week 2 fantasy rankings, with top-10 looks at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end and defense. Most of these players are auto locks on fantasy teams, but a few players could be on the borderline of your lineup. Consider some of the players listed below if so.

The projections below are based off point-per-reception scoring systems.

Quarterback

1. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees vs. Cleveland Browns: 325 passing yards, 3 TD (25 points)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 300 passing yards, 3 TD (24 points)

3. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton at Atlanta Falcons: 250 passing yards, 2 TD; 40 rushing yards (22 points)

4. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes at Pittsburgh Steelers: 275 passing yards, 30 rushing yards, 2 TD (22 points)

5. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson at Tennessee Titans: 250 passing yards, 2 TD; 30 rushing yards (21 points)

6. Los Angeles Chargers QB Philip Rivers at Buffalo Bills: 225 passing yards, 3 TD (21 points)

7. Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck at Washington Redskins: 275 passing yards, 2 TD (19 points)

8. Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff vs. Arizona Cardinals: 275 passing yards, 2 TD (19 points)

9. San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Detroit Lions: 250 passing yards, 2 TD (18 points)

10. Philadelphia Eagles QB Nick Foles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 250 passing yards, 2 TD (18 points)

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has two of the best offensive weapons in the game in running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Michael Thomas. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Kamara gained 141 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns, while Thomas caught 16 passes for 180 yards and three scores.

Those two won't put up numbers like that all year, but they can still find success against a Cleveland Browns defense that's improved over last year but still overmatched against the Saints defense on the road. That will mean another big day for Brees, who started his 18th NFL season with 439 yards and three touchdown passes.

Running Back

1. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley vs. Arizona Cardinals: 150 total yards, 5 catches, 1 TD (26 points)

2. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara vs. Cleveland Browns: 120 total yards, 6 catches, 1 TD (24 points)

3. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley at Dallas Cowboys: 110 total yards, 5 catches, 1 TD (22 points)

4. Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon at Buffalo Bills: 110 total yards, 4 catches, 1 TD (21 points)

5. Pittsburgh Steelers RB James Conner vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 120 total yards, 2 catches, 1 TD (20 points)

6. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt at Pittsburgh Steelers: 100 total yards, 4 catches, 1 TD (20 points)

7. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson at Los Angeles Rams: 90 total yards, 4 catches, 1 TD (19 points)

8. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey at Atlanta Falcons: 80 total yards, 5 catches, 1 TD (19 points)

9. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook at Green Bay Packers: 80 total yards, 3 catches, 1 TD (17 points)

10. Chicago Bears RB Jordan Howard vs. Seattle Seahawks: 100 total yards, 1 catch, 1 TD (17 points)

Here's the final stat line for Washington Redskins running backs Adrian Peterson, Chris Thompson and Rob Kelley against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday: 301 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The Cardinals run defense has little time to right the ship as they face arguably the best running back in the league (the Los Angeles Rams' Todd Gurley) on Sunday.

Gurley dominated in 2017, as his 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns led the league last year. He had 312 of those yards against the Cardinals in two games. If he's not the top running back on the slate in Week 2, he should at least be close.

Wide Receiver

1. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones vs. Carolina Panthers: 10 catches, 120 yards, 1 TD (28 points)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 9 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD (26 points)

3. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas vs. Cleveland Browns: 8 catches, 120 yards, 1 TD (26 points)

4. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins at Tennessee Titans: 9 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (25 points)

5. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen at Buffalo Bills: 9 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (25 points)

6. Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill at Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD (22 points)

7. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. at Dallas Cowboys: 7 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD (22 points)

8. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton at Washington Redskins: 6 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD (20 points)

9. Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders vs. Oakland Raiders: 6 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD (20 points)

10. Chicago Bears WR Allen Robinson II vs. Seattle Seahawks: 6 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD (19 points)

It seems like Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones always saves his best performances for the Carolina Panthers regardless of whom is trying to cover him in the secondary.

In 2015, he caught nine passes for 178 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons upset the undefeated Panthers in Week 16. In 2016, he torched Carolina to the tune of 12 catches for 300 yards and one touchdown. Those performances make last year's top stat line against the Panthers (six catches for 118 yards) almost seem like a disappointment.

Jones is a near-impossible receiver to stop, and the guess here is that the Panthers can't prevent him from having his way with them.

Tight End

1. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce at Pittsburgh Steelers: 8 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (24 points)

2. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski at Jacksonville Jaguars: 8 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD (23 points)

3. Indianapolis Colts TE Jack Doyle at Washington Redskins: 6 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (18 points)

4. San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle vs. Detroit Lions: 5 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (17 points)

5. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (17 points)

6. Washington Redskins TE Jordan Reed vs. Indianapolis Colts: 5 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (17 points)

7. Minnesota Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph at Green Bay Packers: 5 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (16 points)

8. New York Giants TE Evan Engram at Dallas Cowboys: 5 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (17 points)

9. Chicago Bears TE Trey Burton vs. Seattle Seahawks: 4 catches, 40 yards, 1 TD (14 points)

10. New Orleans TE Ben Watson vs. Cleveland Browns: 3 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD (12 points)

Don't let Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce's start to the 2018 season fool you. Although he caught just one pass for six yards against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, that was largely because the connection between quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver Tyreek Hill led to 169 yards and three touchdowns. With Hill dominating the Chargers, Kelce didn't have to do much.

Still, Kelce is one of the three best receiving tight ends in the league, and he hasn't amassed fewer than 862 yards or five touchdowns in any of his four pro seasons. Look for him to bounce back against Pittsburgh on Sunday in what could be one of the week's highest-scoring games.

Defense/Special Teams

1. Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills: 5 sacks, 3 INT, 7-13 PA (15 points)

2. Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 sacks, 3 INT, 7-13 PA (13 points)

3. Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans: 4 sacks, 2 INT, 7-13 PA (12 points)

4. Los Angeles Rams: 4 sacks, 3 INT, 14-20 PA (11 points)

5. Cincinnati Bengals: 3 sacks, 2 INT, 14-20 PA (8 points)

6. Denver Broncos: 3 sacks, 2 INT, 14-20 PA (8 points)

7. Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons: 3 sacks, 2 INT, 14-20 PA (8 points)

8. New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys: 2 sacks, 2 INT, 14-20 PA (7 points)

9. Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots: 3 sacks, 1 INT, 14-20 PA (6 points)

10. New Orleans Saints: 2 sacks, 1 INT, 14-20 PA (5 points)

The Buffalo Bills could only manage a field goal in a 47-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Although their Week 2 opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, are coming off giving up 38 points to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bolts shut down the Bills last year thanks to five interceptions of quarterback Nathan Peterman.

Either Peterman, who started against the Ravens, or rookie Josh Allen, who relieved Peterman late with the result long decided, will call signals against Los Angeles. Either way, the edge goes to the Chargers, who still have a lot of defensive talent (e.g. cornerback Casey Hayward, edge-rusher Melvin Ingram) despite potentially being without sack leader Joey Bosa (foot injury).

Week 2 Waiver-Wire Tips

Don't make the mistake of blowing your waiver order or FAAB budget in one week on a player.

Yes, a few intriguing players who crushed Week 1 should be available in most leagues, such as the Los Angeles Chargers' Austin Ekeler or the Seattle Seahawks' Will Dissly. But unless you have a significant need at a position due to injury, it's best to play the long game and wait to spend your money on the best possible options down the road.

It's also important to note that the players who did well in Week 1 may fall off the map in future weeks, failing to ever match that initial production.

Take a look at a player's long-term prospects, specifically whether they will have the opportunity to amass targets and touches on a week-to-week basis. If so, consider a bid, but don't go overboard. If not, wait for better options down the road.