Daniel Jones is a Fantasy League Winner: What to Expect For Week 3 and Beyond
In this story:
Every season in fantasy football, there are always surprise league winners. This season has been no exception. One Week 2 league winner stands out above the rest, and we aren't sure that he can keep this up. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones lit up one of the best pass defenses in the league when the Colts knocked off the Denver Broncos.
From Backup To Fantasy Football League-Winning Asset: Daniel Jones
After a monster Week 1, he went off for 272 passing yards and one touchdown, plus 26 rushing yards and two more TDs, but we mostly wrote that off as a fluke game against a terrible Miami Dolphins secondary. However, in Week 2, he threw for 316 yards, one touchdown, and another rushing TD. That can't just simply be ignored. That's a monster game against an elite defense. On the season, he now has 588 passing yards, 28 rushing yards, and five total touchdowns. That's good enough to make him the QB2 overall behind only Lamar Jackson.
There are a lot of reasons to believe that he could continue to be a league winner for the foreseeable future. One of the biggest reasons is his rushing upside. When they get down by the goal line, they are looking to utilize Jones on the ground to get into the end zone. So far this season, he has only 28 yards on the ground. We'd expect that his rushing ceiling is still much higher. This is a guy who can easily come out on any given week and rip off 30, 40, or even 50-plus yards on the ground.
Daniel Jones' Weapons Are Better Than Advertised
His weapons have also looked really good. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren has looked like a monster, and it does not look like a fluke at all. Michael Pittman Jr looks healthy, and Jonathan Taylor has been contributing in the passing attack. The secondary receivers, Josh Downs and Alec Pierce, have also looked impressive and have made significant contributions. Warren, Pittman, and Pierce have all already topped 100 yards on the season, and five players have caught touchdown passes.
Daniel Jones' Favorable Schedule In September And October
The schedule for the next month and beyond also looks favorable, but we'll just focus on the next four weeks here. With that said, after beating up on the Broncos' secondary, it's hard to be afraid of any matchups right now. Nevertheless, the next four weeks he gets the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, and Arizona Cardinals. The only tough matchup on that slate of games is the Rams, and we aren't sure that they are world beaters after facing C.J. Stroud and rookie Cam Ward.
There are still leagues where Jones is sitting on the waiver wire, and he shouldn't be. You can pick him up, plug him in, and have a league winner in your lineup. Before the season, everyone was trying to identify this year's Sam Darnold. You have found him. At the very least, he's worth a roster spot and is a perfect replacement for Joe Burrow. Of course, he could always turn back into a pumpkin, but ride him until the wheels fall off, and if they do, then deal with it then.
Daniel Jones Preseason Fantasy Football Analysis
Prior to the start of the 2025 NFL season, Senior Fantasy Expert Shawn Childs had this to say about the Colts' newest signal caller:
Over his first three seasons with the Giants, Jones posted a 12-25 record with 45 passing touchdowns and 49 turnovers (29 interceptions and 36 fumbles – 20 lost). He added value to their run game (172/1,000/5 – 5.8 yards per rush), but Jones gained only 6.6 yards per pass attempt in his career. Five of his six 300-yard passing games came in his rookie season.
In 2021, he missed the final six matchups with a neck injury that didn’t require surgery. His only game of value came in Week 2 (429/2) while failing to deliver over two scores in any contest.
Jones set a career best with his completion rate (67.2%) in 2022, marking three consecutive years of improvement. The change in coaching staff allowed him to be much more active in the run game (120/708/7), but he averaged only 29.5 passes over his 16 starts.
Over his last 41 games, Jones threw only 36 passing touchdowns. His best growth area in 2022 came with fewer turnovers (five interceptions and three lost fumbles). He passed for more than 300 yards three times (341/1, 334/1, and 301/2) while finishing with 200 or fewer passing yards in 12 of his 18 matchups (including the postseason).
In 2023, Jones played in four and two-thirds games. His completion rate (67.5%) had repeated success, but he gained only 5.7 yards per attempt while taking 30 sacks (15.8% of the time – 7.9% higher than his first 54 games). Jones posted one impact game (380 combined yards with three touchdowns). He didn’t have another score in his other five matchups. A knee issue propped up in early October, followed by a right knee injury (torn ACL) that ended his season in November.
The Giants gave Jones 10 starts last year, but he went 2-8 with only 10 touchdowns. His completion rate (63.3) was a four-year low, with further weakness in yards per pass attempt (6.1). He scored over 20.00 fantasy points in four games (20.10, 21.80, 24.65, and 27.10). Jones was still active running the ball (67/265/2) despite a decline in his yards per carry (4.5).
Jones appears to have a higher passing floor than Anthony Richardson, but his path down the field has a dink-and-dunk approach. The Colts have a stud lead running back, are four-deep at wide receiver, and added a talented tight end in this year’s draft class. In essence, Indy needs stability at quarterback to take advantage of improving passing weapons. Based on this, Jones could be a dark horse fantasy quarterback at some point in the year.
Clearly, Childs was on to something. It will be interesting to see if Jones can keep the momentum riding heading into his Week 3 matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
-0e06b43c57ceb063781f337e307e72d4.png "Mark Morales-Smith")
Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.
Follow CoolCutter21