Fantasy Football – Latest News: Tony Pollard, Chris Godwin, Caleb Williams (Week 2)

It was really exciting to get back to watching real NFL football last week. I correctly predicted some fantasy football layups, but the hot takes were stone cold. My only regret was that I didn't follow my gut that our beloved JK Dobbins would come through, I just couldn't make a meaningful fantasy football prediction. Oh well. It was still a very successful series to take some victory laps and curse the 49ers for keeping Christian McCaffrey's availability a secret.

Week 2 of fantasy football gives us the false sense that we've “made it,” when in fact we know very little based on one-game examples. These little snapshots on tape were rife with sloppy football from players and coaches, with very little to no offseason repetition. Identifying and predicting patterns is my forte. Teams will look at tape and see where they made mistakes. They'll look at their Week 2 opponents' tape from Week 1 and try to find exploitable matchups. Since the hot takes don't write themselves, let's dive in. Here are my fantasy football hot takes for Week 2.

Fantasy Football Hot Takes: Week 2

Tony Pollard scores two long touchdowns and cracks the top five RBs in PPR; Titans beat the Jets three times and condemn them to 0-2

Even though he's no longer a Cowboy, Tony Pollard is my favorite player. I still wear his jersey and beamed with pride when he scored a 26-yard touchdown on Sunday. The Jets' run defense was a disgrace on Monday night. No offense to Jordan Mason, but he ran through wide-open running lanes.

Pollard is a home run hitter and is clearly ahead of Tyjae Spears based on their snap share in Week 1. Until New York figures out how to avoid being taken out of the inside zone, I have to assume a good running team is going to hammer the ball right in their face.

The Buccaneers target Chris Godwin 13 times, score 10 pass catches and over 100 yards and continue to be successful in a surprising away win against Detroit

Pick up the phone, Baker Mayfield is the one. His four touchdown passes were a reminder that he was never the problem in Cleveland. We like to see this post-Browns-era rebound. Washington's secondary is pathetic, while Detroit has really built up that weak spot starting in 2023. The Lions will no doubt focus on keeping Mike Evans out of the end zone.

The problem with that is how effective Chris Godwin has been at shredding the Commanders from the slot. Detroit doesn't have the personnel to lock him down like Evans did, so I predict a flood of attacks to the middle of the field. If Jared Goff continues to deprive us of Amon-Ra St. Brown's WR1 season, this offense will have trouble moving the chains. They threw some bombs against the Rams, but those hardly hold water against disciplined units like Tampa Bay.

Sean Payton and the Broncos neutralize the Steelers pass rush with a low-aDOT barrage; Greg Dulcich is one of the top five TEs in PPR with 80 yards and a touchdown

Last week was an ugly sight in Atlanta. Kirk Cousins ​​had turned to rust. He was so slow to respond to pressure that the Falcons offense never really got going. To Pittsburgh's credit, TJ Watt and his crew were relentless, making only one mistake on a Kyle Pitts touchdown. Sean Payton is the king of the dink and dunk, especially given the extreme lack of WR talent on this Broncos team.

Bo Nix was awful last week, seemingly blind to the middle of the field, like he spent nearly a decade throwing tunnel screens in college. Thankfully, he's a quick learner. Dulcich is vastly underrated as a receiver. I can just imagine him passing to Watt and then slipping into the flat time and time again for easy completions. Pittsburgh probably won't score a touchdown in this game either.

Rookie fever rises with a top-10 gem performance from Caleb Williams; Bears improve to 2-0 with a primetime win over the favored Texans

Caleb Williams' debut was really nervous. He looked confident, but his decisions were a bit slow and the ball placement was all over the place. It wasn't pretty, but there were still moments of brilliance that earned him the Heisman Trophy and the status of an unbeatable young talent. Tennessee's defense is really tough, while Houston gives a little more leeway.

Look for DJ Moore and Rome Odunze to impose their will on this secondary, especially if Williams is forced out of the pocket and has to improvise. The Bears will win on offense this week. Their defense is good enough at the back to give CJ Stroud some challenging coverage opportunities. This is a fantastic primetime QB matchup.