The first week of the 2021 NFL season is now in the books, with plenty of great Fantasy Football performances taking shape. We saw a ton of rookie players have stellar debuts across the NFL and there were some surprising outings by players as well. There’s no time to wait to begin looking forward to Week 2 as we attempt to predict who will be the highest-scoring players at each position.
With the second week of the 2021 NFL season set to begin on Thursday night, here are 10 bold predictions in Fantasy Football for Week 2.
Jameis Winston Throws Another Five Touchdowns
One of the most surprising outcomes in Week 1 was the dominant performance by the New Orleans Saints over the Green Bay Packers. While the Saints won the game 38-3, it was Jameis Winston who threw all five of New Orleans’ touchdowns. Winston didn’t need to do much as he threw for only 148 yards on 20 attempts. But when he was needed, Winston delivered with five touchdown passes to four different receivers.
As Winston prepares to face the Carolina Panthers, I believe he could have another five touchdown passes in him for Week 2.
Noah Fant Is TE1
Most people are going to predict that either Travis Kelce or Darren Waller are the highest-scoring tight end each week in Fantasy Football. While Kelce and Waller are always candidates to lead the position in scoring, Noah Fant will be TE1 in Week 2. The Denver Broncos will be without Jerry Jeudy for over a month, leaving more opportunities for Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, KJ Hamler, and Fant.
Fant had a solid outing in Week 1 with six receptions for 62 yards in his first game with Teddy Bridgewater. He will put up huge numbers in Week 2.
Tua Tagovailoa Outscores Josh Allen
It was a surprise to see the offense of the Buffalo Bills struggle like they did, even in a tough matchup versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following Buffalo’s loss to Pittsburgh, they’ll be facing a stingy Miami Dolphins defense in Week 2. As a result, Tua Tagovailoa will outscore Allen in Fantasy Football this week.
Tagovailoa will see a much better matchup against the Bills after having to begin his season versus the New England Patriots.
Dak Prescott And Justin Herbert Combine For 80+ Fantasy Points
There’s no doubt that all eyes will be on the projected high-scoring showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s Dak Prescott versus Justin Herbert — not directly since their quarterbacks — in the Chargers’ first home game at SoFi Stadium with fans. Both Prescott and Herbert are capable of putting up points with the best of them.
With that in mind, Prescott and Herbert will combine for 80+ fantasy points in a shootout in Week 2.
Nick Chubb And Kareem Hunt Both Finish As Top 10 Running Backs
The Cleveland Browns were so close to upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs on the road until they made a few errors that led to their demise. Cleveland is in a perfect bounce-back spot in Week 2 versus a Houston Texans team that has one more win than some people expected they’d get for the entire season.
I expect the Browns to lean on Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, leading to both of them being top 10 performers in Fantasy Football at the running back position.
Justin Fields Outscores Andy Dalton… Again
The Chicago Bears refuse to start Justin Fields under center with Andy Dalton being the starter that Matt Nagy wants to roll with for now. Despite Fields not starting, the Bears ran a few plays for the rookie signal-caller in Week 1 to get him involved. While he didn’t see the field much, Fields outscored Dalton in fantasy football due to finding the end zone on the ground.
Even though Dalton gets to face his former team in the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, Fields will outperform him in Fantasy Football again on Sunday.
Mike Evans Scores More Than Chris Godwin And Antonio Brown Combined
It was a fun game between the Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 as Tom Brady and Prescott duked it out through the air. For the Buccaneers, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown were the main targets for Brady at wide receiver, along with Rob Gronkowski at tight end. Mike Evans had a quiet game, but he’s in a prime position to explode in Week 2.
After being the lowest-scoring wideout in the trio, Brady feeds Evans this week, giving him more fantasy points than Godwin and Brown combined.
Derrick Henry Catches Five Passes
It was a disappointing performance for the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 as they were routed by the Arizona Cardinals. And while Derrick Henry didn’t do much on the ground to begin the season, it was a positive development to see him catch three passes for 19 yards on four targets. Maybe after all of these years, Henry is finally going to be involved in the passing game.
Despite his career-high in receptions being three, Henry will haul in five passes versus the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2.
Christian Kirk Is A Top 20 WR Again
Speaking of the Cardinals, they have an offense that looks poised to be one of the highest-scoring units in 2021. With Kyler Murray under center, Arizona has a dynamic receiving corps with DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, A.J. Green, and Rondale Moore. While some believe Green is the No. 2 guy on the team, Kirk showed that he could easily be the second target for Murray behind Hopkins.
In another favorable matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, Kirk finishes as a top 20 wide receiver in Fantasy Football for the second straight week.
Davante Adams Catches A Career-High 14 Passes
Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for the Packers in Week 1. They couldn’t get anything going on offense, Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions, and the defense couldn’t do anything to slow down the Saints. The good news is that Green Bay draws the Detroit Lions in Week 2.
With Rodgers and Adams not able to put together a big game in Week 1, the dynamic duo will connect on 14 passes, giving Adams a new career-high in receptions. If you’re in a league that has half-point or full-point PPR scoring — which should be every league — then you should be in for a massive week from Adams.
