Fantasy Football Hot Takes: Tony Pollard, Chris Godwin, Caleb Williams (Week 2)

It sure was exhilarating to have real NFL football back last week. I correctly predicted some layups in fantasy football, but the hot takes were frigid. My one regret was not following my gut instinct that our beloved J.K. Dobbins was going to show out, I just couldn’t form a fantasy football prediction that made sense. Oh well. It was still a very successful slate to take some victory laps and curse the 49ers for shrouding Christian McCaffrey‘s availability in secrecy.

Week 2 of fantasy football gives us a false sense of “got it figured out,” even though we know very little based on one-game samples. Those little snapshots on tape were teeming with sloppy football by players and coaches with very little to no offseason repetitions. Seeing patterns and forecasting them is where I thrive. The teams will watch the tape and see where they messed up. They will delve into their Week 2 opponents’ Week 1 film and attempt 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.

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Fantasy Football Hot Takes: Week 2

Tony Pollard Breaks off Two Long Touchdowns and Cracks the Top Five RB in PPR; Titans Turn Over the Jets Thrice and Doom Them to 0-2

Even though he’s not a Cowboy anymore, Tony Pollard is my favorite player. I still wear his jersey and beamed with pride when he scurried for a 26-yard touchdown on Sunday. The Jets’ run defense was an embarrassment on Monday night. No disrespect to Jordan Mason, but he was running through expansive running lanes.

Pollard is a home run hitter and the clear lead back over Tyjae Spears, based on their Week 1 snap share. Until New York figures out how to avoid getting gutted by the inside zone, I will have to think a good running team will pound the rock right in their face.

The Buccaneers Target Chris Godwin 13 Times for 10 Receptions and More Than 100 Yards; Continue to Roll in Road Upset Over Detroit

Pick up the phone, Baker Mayfield is the real deal. His four touchdown passes were a reminder he was never the problem in Cleveland. That post-Browns era glow-up is something we love to see. Washington’s secondary is pathetic, while Detroit really shored up that area of weakness from 2023. The Lions will undoubtedly focus on keeping Mike Evans out of the end zone.

The issue with that is just how effectively Chris Godwin shredded the Commanders from the slot. Detroit does not have the personnel to corral him like they might with Evans, so I’m predicting a deluge of targets to the middle of the field. If Jared Goff is going to continue depriving us of Amon-Ra St. Brown WR1 season, this offense will have issues moving the chains. They hit some bombs against the Rams, but those are hardly sticky against disciplined units like in Tampa Bay.

Sean Payton and Broncos Neutralize Steelers Pass Rush With Low aDOT Barrage; Greg Dulcich is a Top-Five TE in PPR With 80 Yards and a Touchdown

It was an ugly scene in Atlanta last week. Kirk Cousins was mummified in rust. He was so slow to react to pressure the Falcons offense never got off the ground. Give Pittsburgh credit. T.J. Watt and company were relentless and made only one mistake on the touchdown to Kyle Pitts. Sean Payton is the king of dink and dunk, especially with the extreme dearth of WR talent on this Broncos team.

Bo Nix was horrendous last week, seemingly blind to the middle of the field like he spent nearly a decade throwing tunnel screens in college. Good thing he is a fast learner. Dulcich is wildly underrated as a receiver. I can picture him chipping on Watt then slipping into the flat for easy completions on a repeated basis. Pittsburgh probably won’t score a touchdown in this game, either.

Rookie Fever Ramps up With a Caleb Williams Top-10 Gem Performance; Da Bears Improve to 2-0 With a Primetime Win Over Favored Texans

The jitters were real in Caleb Williams’ debut. He looked poised, but his decision making was a tick slow and ball placement was all over the place. It wasn’t pretty, but there were still flashes of the brilliance that earned him the Heisman Trophy and can’t-miss prospect status. Tennessee’s defense is really tough, whereas Houston will allow a bit more space in which to operate.

Watch out for DJ Moore and Rome Odunze to impose their will on this secondary. This is especially true when Williams is flushed from the pocket and has to improvise. The Bears will win on offense this week. Their defense is good enough on the back end to give C.J. Stroud some challenging coverage looks. This is a fantastic QB matchup in primetime.