The best and worst fantasy players from Week 2

Week 2 of the NFL season has come and gone. In what was one of the most confounding weeks in recent regular season history, multiple upsets took place around the NFL. More than that, there were a ton of proven stars struggle to do anything of significance from a statistical lens.

That's where this article comes in. While the likes of Tom Brady, Adrian Peterson and Antonio Brown had some stellar individual fantasy performances, other veterans struggled big time. Andrew Luck turned the ball over four times and Jimmy Graham caught one pass on two targets.

Meanwhile, three up-and-coming running backs simply couldn't repeat what were solid Week 1 performances.

Here are your best and worst fantasy football performances for Week 2 of the 2015 NFL season.

Note: We will use a point-per reception (PPR) format to rank each player. The scoring comes from eDraft.com.

Best QBs 

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

Roethlisberger was tremendous against an over-matched San Francisco 49ers secondary on Sunday, going for nearly 300 passing yards in the first half alone. The Super Bowl champion ended his afternoon completing 21-of-27 passes for 369 yards with three touchdowns and zero picks. His near perfect quarterback rating of 155.8 aside, Big Ben showed that he has the ability to put up elite fantasy numbers on a consistent basis.

The interesting dynamic here is that Pittsburgh was without Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant — both to suspension — in this game. Just imagine how dynamic the team's offense will be when those two are on the field.

However, we do want to mute expectations a tad here. In season-long leagues, Roethlisberger remains a risky proposition to put up consistently good fantasy numbers. After all, 44 percent of his fantasy points last season came in four games. Just remember this when you are expecting the veteran to put up top-end fantasy numbers on a weekly basis.

Tom Brady, New England Patriots

If Brady is going to put up 50-plus passing attempts on a consistent basis, he will find himself among the top fantasy quarterbacks over the course of the season. On Sunday against a darn good Buffalo Bills defense, Brady completed 38-of-59 passes for 466 yards with three touchdowns and zero picks. This was good enough for him to finish as the third-best fantasy quarterback on the week.

In what could be a sign of things to come this season, New England dropped back to pass the ball 80 percent of the time on Sunday. That in and of itself should make Brady fantasy owners extremely happy. Equally as important, the four-time Super Bowl champion didn't rely too much on Rob Gronkowski. Only 22 percent of his attempts went to the star tight end, which is an indication that the veteran is spreading the ball around a great deal.

Through two games this season, Brady is completing over 69 percent of his passes while leading the NFL in passing yards (754) and touchdowns (7). He's also leading the NFL in completions and attempts. That's about all we need to know when it comes to Brady's fantasy relevance moving forward. His performance on Sunday represents this to a T.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers

Despite a 43-18 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, Kaepernick continued to shine this season. Facing pressure a ridiculous 42 percent of the time he dropped back to pass on Sunday, this ultra-enigmatic quarterback completed 33-of-46 passes for 335 yards with two touchdowns and zero turnovers. He added 51 rushing yards on nine attempts en route to the second-best fantasy week for a quarterback.

Some may conclude that Kaepernick's numbers came with the Steelers playing prevent defense in a game that was out of control by halftime. Based on the pressure stats listed above, that was obviously not the case. And with San Francisco being forced to give up in the run game about midway through the third, Kaepernick was still able to perform at a high clip.

Overall, the fifth-year quarterback connected on receptions with 10 different receivers, which is further indication that he's improved from a pocket passing standpoint. Depending on whether San Francisco is continually playing from behind this year (a real possibility), Kaepernick could be a great roster addition moving forward. Sunday showed us this first-hand.


Worst QBs

Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

For the second consecutive week to start the season, Luck struggled big time against a good defense. This time it was in the Colts home opener against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. An MVP candidate entering the season, Luck completed 21-of-37 passes for 250 yards with one touchdown and four turnovers (three interceptions). Those four turnovers mean that Luck has now coughed the ball up more than any other signal caller in the NFL since the start of last season.

What makes Luck's Week 2 performance so dreadful is that it came in a 20-7 loss — Indianapolis' second consecutive defeat to start the season. It also came in a game that saw Luck sacked a grand total of zero times. While his receivers struggled getting open, pass protection wasn't as much of an issue as it was in the season opener against Buffalo.

Luck has now thrown three touchdowns compared to five interceptions while leading the Colts to an average of 10.5 points in two games. He's also now the 26th-ranked fantasy quarterback heading into Week 3.

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

Brees could very well get back what it appears he's lost, but there just seems to be something off about the 36-year-old quarterback. Going up against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that allowed four touchdowns to Marcus Mariota in the opener, Brees just wasn't able to get on track in Week 2.

He completed 24-of-38 passes for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 26-19 loss. That was good enough for him to finish as the 26th-ranked fantasy quarterback this week, behind the likes of Kirk Cousins, Johnny Manziel and Ryan Mallett. Ouch.

Brees will continue to put up enough passing yards to remain fantasy relevant, mainly because the Saints will be relying a great deal on the passing game. Unfortunately, he's just not doing too much with the opportunities he has received through two weeks.

Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

Fresh off a Week 1 performance that saw him finish as the fourth-best fantasy quarterback, Smith struggled big time Thursday night against what is becoming an elite Denver Broncos defense.

Known for limiting his mistakes, the veteran quarterback threw two interceptions compared to zero touchdowns en route to the No. 33 ranking among quarterbacks in Week 2. This means that one quarterback who didn't start (Brandon Weeden) put up more fantasy points than Smith. That pretty much tells us what we need to know about Smith's disastrous performance in a late-game loss to the Broncos.

Much like we have seen in the past, the major issue for Smith is his inability to get the ball to the outside. Chiefs wide receivers caught four of the eight passes thrown in their direction for just 57 yards against Denver. Heck, not a single wide receiver outside of Jeremy Maclin caught a pass. Thus far this season, Chiefs wide receivers have 12 catches for 134 yards and zero scores in two games.

Best RBs

DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers

After a three-touchdown performance against San Francisco on Sunday, Williams is your top fantasy running back through two weeks. Not that Le'Veon Bell has to worry about his job here, but Williams' early-season performance indicates that he could very well be a solid handcuff option in standard leagues moving forward.

Williams' total yardage wasn't much to write home about. He gained just 77 yards on 20 attempts while adding four receptions for 15 yards. It's the three scores in Week 2 that made Williams the top fantasy running back.

Now, through two weeks, the former Carolina Panthers star has put up 224 total yards on 46 touches for an average of nearly five yards per touch. Even if he sees his touch numbers dip to the low double digits when Bell returns, he's a tremendous handcuff option moving forward. That's how good Williams has been thus far.

Matt Jones, Washington Redskins

This is extremely interesting. Taking a majority of the work for Washington on Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, Jones outperformed starter Alfred Morris. And in reality, it wasn't even that close. The rookie third-round pick from Florida gained 123 yards and scored two touchdowns on 19 attempts. For comparison's sake, Morris finished the afternoon with 59 yards on 18 attempts.

Considering Jones did this against one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, it has to make us stop and think. He's likely not going to take over for Morris as the Redskins starter this season, but he seems to fit better behind what could become a dominating run-blocking offensive line.

The number of touches Jones gets over the next couple weeks could be telling, but our recommendation is that you find a way to roster him before delving further into the situation early next month. It's a risk worth taking.

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

If it wasn't for three fumbles, Peterson would have put up a monster performance against a solid Detroit Lions on Sunday. As it is, the veteran running back gained 192 yards on 31 touches. And while Peterson failed to score a touchdown, he was still able to finish as the fourth-best running back on the week. That just goes to show us how good he was.

Fumbles may be an issue until Peterson gets accustomed to actually taking hits on a consistent basis after missing the final 15 games of last season. Heck, fumbles have routinely been an issue for Peterson. However, it was nice to see him get back to what he does best — dominating a football game — after struggling Week 1 against San Francisco.

Worst RBs

Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals

Hill was actually benched Sunday against the San Diego Chargers for fumbling. While that had to be a shock to the fantasy football world, this was an issue for the former second-round pick during his rookie campaign.

If nothing else, Marvin Lewis' decision to have Hill ride the pine could act as a wake-up call. It also came in a game that saw Giovani Bernard put up 139 yards on 23 touches. While this is not an indication that Bernard will take over as the Bengals primary call carrier, it could tell us a story of a team that's prepared to go with more of a two running back system moving forward.

For his part, Hill gained 39 yards on 10 attempts with two fumbles on Sunday. It's the latter statistic that should have those who own stock in the young running back a bit concerned. He's now fumbled seven times in 18 career games. For comparison's sake, Bernard has put the ball on the ground just twice in 31 games. You can do the math there.

Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers

Most of this had to do with Hyde missing substantial time after initially being checked out for a concussion against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. While the official report indicates Hyde suffered a leg contusion, he didn't return to action after being taken to the locker room.

In all, the second-year running back put up 43 yards on 14 attempts with a lost fumble mixed in. That was good enough for Hyde to finish as the 26th-best fantasy running back on the week. Coming off a season-opening performance that saw him rank first in that category, his outing against Pittsburgh Sunday has to be seen as a disappointment.

The good news here is that Hyde is 100 percent and appears to be ready for San Francisco's big Week 3 outing against the Arizona Cardinals. If that's the case, he's still a viable RB1 option. After all, he's still the second-ranked fantasy running back after two weeks.

Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions

This was bad. Really bad. Abdullah was shooting up draft boards big time during the preseason — a preseason that saw him impress the entire football world. And after tallying 94 yards on 11 touches against the San Diego Chargers in his NFL debut, many had the Nebraska product pegged for a big outing.

This was magnified by the fact that Abdullah was lining up against a Minnesota Vikings defense that was eaten alive by the aforementioned Carlos Hyde in Week 1.

The rookie second-round pick responded by gaining 18 total yards on seven touches en route to totaling 2.80 fantasy points. Those of you who either relied on him as a RB2/FLEX option in redraft leagues or were banking on a solid performance in weekly contests were thrown for a loop here. Maybe it's time to curtail expectations for the running back a bit.

Best WRs

Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

Notice a theme here? Pittsburgh's offense absolutely dominated San Francisco's defense on Sunday, going for 453 total yards. As it relates to Brown, he took advantage of an inexperienced secondary to the tune of nine receptions on 11 targets for 195 yards and a touchdown. Interestingly, and we will get into this a bit below, this wasn't good enough for the star receiver to finish as the best fantasy player at his position in Week 2.

Still, Brown's performance may signify that he's clearly taken the next step and is now the best receiver in the game. Dating back to the start of last season, the former sixth-round pick has tallied 147 receptions for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns in 18 games. During that very same span, Brown is catching a ridiculous 72 percent of the passes thrown in his direction. His performance against San Francisco represented just another notch on a trajectory that seems to have Brown among the top modern pass catchers in league history.

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

For the first time in his Hall of Fame-worthy career, this 12-year NFL veteran caught three touchdown passes in a game. While he had put up multiple scores 14 times throughout his career, hitting the trifecta against the Chicago Bears had to feel good for a receiver that's obviously on the downswing of his career.

Fitzgerald caught eight of the nine passes thrown in his direction for 112 yards and those three scores. That brings his two-week total to 14 receptions for just under 200 yards and three scores. It might not be enough for anyone to consider Fitzgerald a WR1 like he had been in so many previous seasons, but it appears the 32-year-old receiver has gained a solid relationship with Carson Palmer.

If that's the case, and especially with Palmer playing exceptional football, Fitzgerald's production should remain somewhat consistent throughout the year.

Travis Benjamin, Cleveland Browns

Following Sunday's perfomance against the Tennessee Titans, Benjamin has put up three receiving touchdowns of 50-plus yards on the season. Considering he has a total of six receptions in two games, this could be seen is nothing more than a fluke.

The interesting dynamic here is that all three of Benjamin's long touchdowns have come from Johnny Manziel, who has also seen all three of his career touchdowns passes go the the previously unknown receiver.

We are going to want to see more from Benjamin to seriously recommend starting him on a consistent basis. A two-week sample size with a total of seven targets simply isn't enough to jump on the bandwagon. Though, this Manziel-Benjamin relationship may continue to grow if the former is given the starting nod. As it is, Benjamin tallied three receptions for 115 yards and a score against Tennessee. He also added 154 yards and a touchdown on six punt returns.

Worst WRs

Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers

A week after putting up 15 receptions for 166 yards against the Detroit Lions, Allen laid a complete egg this past weekend. Going up against a solid Cincinnati Bengals secondary, the third-year receiver caught two passes for 16 yards. That was good enough for Allen, who was targeted just four times, to finish outside of the top 100 receivers in fantasy points this week.

Think about that for a second. Allen found a way to go from being one of the top-three ranked fantasy receivers last week to falling out of the top 100 this week. There's absolutely no rhyme or reason for that outside of a lack of consistency. Simply put, it might be a fool's game to rely on Allen to continually put up solid top-20 numbers this season. We simply can't wait for him to catch lightning in a bottle.

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

If you were relying on Evans to do much in his first game back after a multi-week hamstring injury that spilled over to the regular season, that simply wasn't in the cards on Sunday. The second-year receiver caught zero passes on three targets against a bad New Orleans Saints secondary. Playing in over two-thirds of the Buccaneers snaps, it appears that the team was willing to see what Evans had to offer. At least from a statistical standpoint, it wasn't much.

There really isn't much cause for alarm here. We know just how much hamstring injuries can nag players over the course of a season. The fact that Evans was able to give it a solid go in Week 2 bodes well for his potential moving forward this season. I wouldn't read too much into what we saw Sunday.

DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans

Considering Hopkins is clearly the Texans only real receiving threat on the outside, the expectation had to be that he would be targeted early and often against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. This was only magnified by the 13 targets he garnered Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Interestingly, it wasn't necessarily a lack of targets here. Ryan Mallett threw in Hopkins' direction 11 times in a 24-17 road loss to the Panthers. Unfortunately, the third-year receiver was only able to come away with five receptions for 53 yards without a touchdown.

While Hopkins' No. 48 overall ranking among wide receivers this past week has to be of concern for those relying on him to put up WR1 numbers, it's not necessarily a big deal moving forward. You had to know what you were getting yourself into when you opted to pick up a high-upside receiver on a team that doesn't have a starter-caliber quarterback.

Best TEs

Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

No real surprise here. Gronkowski will continue to be the top fantasy tight end as long as he sees the field this season. Coming off a three-touchdown performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, this Pro Bowl tight end put up seven receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown to bring his two-game total to 12 receptions for over 200 yards and four scores this season.

The great news for Patriots fans and Gronkowski owners is that he was targeted 13 times against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. That's up from the somewhat low number of eight targets he received Week 1 against Pittsburgh. Based on Gronkowski's success rate when targeted by Brady (67 percent completion in his career), the more targets Gronk receives, the happier fantasy owners around the fake football world will be. Give him 13 on a consistent basis, and it's game, set, match.

Crockett Gillmore, Baltimore Ravens

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Gillmore had a total of 12 receptions and one touchdown in 16 career NFL games prior to Baltimore taking on the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. He responded by putting up five receptions on six targets for 88 yards and a score.

Some may consider this an outlier of sorts, but there is most definitely a vacuum to be filled here for a pass-catching tight end in Baltimore. Dennis Pitta is still inactive after suffering a hip fracture early last season and rookie second-round pick Maxx Williams hasn't yet gained the trust of the coaching staff.

The one thing to look at here above everything else is Oakland's complete inability to stop tight ends. Remember, Tyler Eifert put up nine receptions for 104 yards and two scores against the Raiders in Week 1. In this, we might want to see a little more from Gillmore before considering him a potential rosterable option.

Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals

We could have gone with Tennessee Titans backup tight end Anthony Fasano here, but the whole point of these articles is to give readers a statistical understanding of where relevant fantasy options stands in a given week.

In that, we have to turn our focus to a player in Tyler Eifert who has one of the highest upward trajectories in fantasy football right now.

The third-year tight end from Notre Dame followed up an outstanding two-touchdown performance against the Oakland Raiders in Week 1 with another solid outing this past weekend. Eifert caught four of the five passes thrown in his direction for 49 yards and a score against a good San Diego Chargers secondary. That was good enough for him to finish as the fifth-best fantasy tight end of Week 2.

Worst TEs

Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks

Considering Seattle gave up a Pro Bowl center and a first-round pick to acquire Graham from New Orleans back in March, it was shocking to see what transpired Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers.

The three-time Pro Bowl performer caught one pass for 11 yards on a measly two targets from Russell Wilson. Needless to say, this made him about as fantasy irrelevant as can be. There's nothing here that say Graham has lost his swagger. Instead, it's all about getting him involved in the passing game.

And in reality, that's all going to be up to Graham building a solid relationship with his new quarterback. If that doesn't happen, those who bought fantasy stock in the ultra-talented tight end will be sorely disappointed. As of now, Graham is the 18th-ranked fantasy tight end on the season.

Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears

Heading into a Week 2 outing against an Arizona Cardinals team that has struggled to cover tight ends over the past couple seasons, the expectation had to be that Bennett would put up a stellar performance. Unfortunately, those of us who bought into that idea were left asking ourselves what could have been.

Maybe it had to do with Chicago having to go with Jimmy Clausen after Jay Cutler suffered a hamstring injury, but Bennett simply didn't look like the fantasy dynamo we have been accustomed to. He caught four of the six passes thrown in his direction for 48 yards.

This was good enough for Bennett to finish as the 22nd-best fantasy tight end during a week that players at this position struggled.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 1 overreaction here. The fantasy world was abuzz with what this second-year tight end did last week against the Tennessee Titans, going for two touchdowns en route to a No. 4 fantasy ranking among tight ends.

Still raw, Seferian-Jenkins saw his production dip big time this week. He put up just two receptions for 29 yards on three targets. Needless to say, that probably ruined a lot of people's fantasy weeks. Sadly, this will continue to be the case if you are relying on the former second-round pick to be a consistent performer moving forward this season.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL