Fantasy Football Week 2 Bold Predictions: Chris Brooks Stuns MarShawn Lloyd, Terry McLaurin Breakout
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The National Football League is in an unpredictable environment. The Los Angeles Chargers managed to lose in Week 1 despite Jim Harbaugh having been undefeated going into the season. Jalen Coker finished as WR1 in fantasy football. The list goes on and on. That helps fuel some bold predictions, and I've made four for NFL Week 2.
Chris Brooks Out-Rushes MarShawn Lloyd
In Week 1, Lloyd rushed an average of 2.8 yards per attempt on 13 rushes. Brooks did not stun either, but he hit 4.1 yards per attempt on his 7 rushes. Most interestingly, Brooks played more snaps than Lloyd, 38 to 30.
Matt LaFleur has never confirmed that this backfield belongs to Lloyd, minus Josh Jacobs. A hot hand shall carry the load, and Brooks seems to have more momentum in that case study. Nonetheless, I would bench both options in Week 2. The Jets have one of the strongest run stops in the NFL.
Terry McLaurin is a Top-5 WR
The Dallas Cowboys finished 2025 as 31st in EPA/Pass Allowed. In Week 1, that matched that ranking against the New York Giants. I have zero confidence that Dallas is good, and all the confidence that the Commanders have a breakout via both McLaurin and his play-caller, Jayden Daniels.
McLaurin is projected as the WR12 this week. He is projected to have 7.1 targets, 4.6 receptions, 65.8 yards, and 0.5 touchdowns. Let's not forget that McLaurin was the WR7 in Daniels 2024 rookie season.
Kayshon Boutte is a Top-20 WR
Despite losing Nico Collins to injury, the Texans remain rated just slightly below average on offense by FPI standards. Their rating is a minus-0.7. I still have the Collins-less offense projected to average 210 passing yards per week. Where do those yards go? Many places, but Boutte is definitely the leader in that argument.
Given his high yards-per-reception, Boutte may only have a 20-25% target share, but I have his yardage share at 30% among all pass-catchers. Boutte is my WR21 this week with 7.3 targets, 4.8 receptions, 61.4 yards, and 0.4 touchdowns.
NFL Week 2 — Fantasy Deep-Sleepers
— Tom Carelli | Fantasy Football (@TCarelliTakes) September 19, 2026
• Kaelon Black
14 Attempts in Wk 1, two touchdown favorites promote a run script in 2nd Half
• Jaylin Noel
Nico Collins OUT. Boutte/Noel battle for WR1 volume. Cheaper than Boutte. Cincy D = 27th in NFL
• Braelon Allen
Rain and wind in…
The Bengals are among the NFL's worst defenses. I do see this game being among the higher-scoring games of the week, projected for over 47 combined points in Houston's indoor environment.
The Cardinals Beat the Seahawks; Go 2-0
In ESPN's latest FPI update, the Seahawks take a massive hit on offense. Drew Lock is viewed as a harsh downgrade at quarterback. Seattle is rated the NFL's 3rd-worst offense, minus Darnold.
Not only are things looking down for the defending Super Bowl Champions, but things are looking up for Mike LaFleur's Arizona Cardinals. They upset the Chargers in a controlling 26-14 Week 1 victory. I have this game closer than consensus, and actually a dead 19.2-19 tie.
As stated above, this game is intended to be lower-scoring. In fact, the Cardinals have my worst-rated rushing matchup of the week. Instead, look for must-starts in just Trey McBride, Jadarian Price, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.