Fantasy Football Studs: Puka Nacua, T.J. Hockenson, Daniel Jones (Week 2)

Another Sunday slate has wrapped in the NFL season, giving us plenty of data to digest as fantasy football managers. As always, there were studs and duds throughout the weekend, with plenty of notable names resurfacing, while other surprising prospects either exceeded or failed to meet our expectations.

Week 1 gave us a lot of point totals that went under and it was clear offenses were still trying to shake off the rust, especially most of the high-profile starters who didn’t play meaningful snaps in the preseason. Week 2, however, saw nearly every game go over the expected point total, creating a lot of dramatic, high-scoring shootouts with tons of fantasy production to be found.

Matt MacKay is back with his latest analysis on some of the best and worst performances that happened in Week 2. Using half-PPR scoring, let’s find out which players delivered for fantasy teams and which ones failed to produce in a Week 2 edition of fantasy football studs and duds. Let’s check out a few of the studs from Week 2.

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Fantasy Football Studs

Puka Nacua (WR – Rams)
Rookie wideout Puka Nacua has already set historical records by recording 25 receptions on 35 targets in his first two games. This ridiculous volume may end at some point, but at the rate Nacua is playing, expect Matthew Stafford (QB – Rams) to continue targeting his current WR1 in an underrated and rebuilt Rams offense. Nacua drew a 39 percent target share in Week 2 against a stingy 49ers defense, so in softer matchups moving forward, even with the return of Cooper Kupp (WR – Rams), Nacua is a mid-range WR2 in PPR formats.

T.J. Hockenson (TE – Vikings)
It became clear after the 2022 trade deadline just how much Kirk Cousins (QB – Vikings) loves throwing the football to T.J. Hockenson. Hockenson has 17 targets, which is eight fewer than star wideout Justin Jefferson (WR – Vikings), but five more than any other Minnesota skilled player. Hockenson scored two touchdowns during the Vikings’ loss to Philadelphia, but with a juicy matchup against the Chargers in Week 3, Hockenson remains a top-three fantasy tight end.

Daniel Jones (QB – Giants)
After six quarters of zero production and many starting to question Daniel Jones’ contract extension, the Giants’ franchise quarterback mounted a comeback from 20-0 at halftime, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for a third on the road against the Cardinals in Week 2. The confidence and momentum gained from this comeback, despite facing the lowly Cardinals, reminds us that Jones’ rushing upside makes him a weekly starter in one quarterback fantasy leagues until further notice.