5 SuperFlex Options for Your Week 2 Lineup
Last week, I wrote about players who are new to a two-quarterback system possibly forcing two passers into a lineup because they can. As we quickly learned, the ability to start two such players in the same lineup is a gift.
Still, it isn’t a necessity.
I always approach my SuperFlex with the opportunity to use a second quarterback if I choose. Usually, I will because I can find one in the price range that I like. Still, the idea is that we can cast as wide a net as possible and land on a play that completes our lineup. Sometimes, it’s simply in the form of the “best player available.”
QB Mac Jones – NE $5,600 at NYJ – Mac Jones’ NFL debut was met with some mixed results, but largely because his team lost. In reality, he was asked to protect the football, not make mistakes, and win. Once again, he didn’t do the final step in the process. Based on a matchup with the New York Jets, “winning” is within reach for Jones.
It doesn’t matter, though. Jones’ game is completions and methodical movement down the field. He’s priced so low that he is competing with skill position players for a spot in a fantasy lineup, but he’s not likely to give negative points through interceptions. He has tremendous upside in the event that his team’s offense thrives.
QB Trevor Lawrence – JAX $6,000 vs. DEN – I wrote about Trevor Lawrence in my sleeper column, but the reality is that he stands to be one of the best risk-reward players on the slate. His matchup with Denver — as well as the three interceptions he threw in Week 1 — will almost certainly lower his popularity, but he proved that he can — and will — throw when needed. On Sunday, it will be needed.
The Broncos already showed that they may be returning to form as their players return to health, but Lawrence isn’t being targeted for efficiency purposes. We want him to throw his way into a winning lineup as a SuperFlex.
QB Justin Herbert – LAC $7,400 vs. DAL – When I’m looking for a SuperFlex player, I’m generally trying to find someone who fits into a lineup at a reasonable cost and still can produce like any of the other members already included. Justin Herbert does not have that price tag. He’s one of the more expensive players — not just quarterbacks — on the slate. That’s not an accident. Herbert might end up as the highest-scoring player of the weekend.
Since the start of last year, we have seen almost every offense surge against the Dallas Cowboys’ pathetic defense, and the beginning of 2021 continued the trend without a hiccup. Perhaps some of the reasons why the Cowboys’ defense struggled in its first game included the talent level of the opponent — Tampa Bay — but we’re not buying into the quarterback of the Jets or Bears here. Herbert is widely considered the leader of a prolific offense with great promise. If he’s going to deliver on said promise, it would have to include a positive outing at home against the Cowboys. After all, he just went toe-to-toe with Washington’s defense and won.
WR Calvin Ridley – ATL $6,900 at TB – The Atlanta Falcons were one of the most disappointing teams in Week 1, both in terms of on-field play and for fantasy football purposes. Not to be lost in this disappointment was wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who ended with five catches for 51 yards in the disaster that was a home loss to Philadelphia. On paper, traveling to Tampa Bay to face the defending champions is not a much situation for the Falcons. But it might be for Ridley.
There is almost no scenario in which Atlanta isn’t throwing at one point – the Buccaneers are too powerful to be stopped and held in check via a low-scoring game. When that happens, Ridley becomes the main target for the offense and one of the best WFS players of the weekend. Specifically, the Cowboys’ top receiving option — Amari Cooper — dominated the Buccaneers in Week 1, and Ridley slides nicely into that role.
QB Tyrod Taylor – HOU $5,500 at CLE – Heavy sigh. Tyrod Taylor is not for the faint of heart. Then again, neither is trying to win a WFS tournament.
One of my favorite picks of last week was the Houston Texans pulling off the ‘upset’ against the Jaguars, but there didn’t appear to be a game script in which Tyrod Taylor would thrive. The key to Houston winning was Taylor not getting in the way.
Apparently not.
The Texans leaned on Taylor throughout the game and he carried the team — and fantasy managers — to a successful Sunday. The irony? He’s actually in a better position to put up solid numbers in Week 2.
Taylor’s game script is in his favor. Houston has a major uphill battle to climb if it even wants to compete with — let alone beat — the Browns. If Cleveland starts to pull away as expected, then Taylor can keep throwing. Unless he’s turning the ball over at a frantic rate — which isn’t his game as he has an excellent interception percentage — he has the perfect setup for a repeat fantasy performance.
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