Fantasy Football: 10 biggest reactions to NFL Week 2

• Patriots are down to a two-man committee: Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson split third-down snaps with Ty Montgomery out on injured reserve, improving both of their fantasy prospects.
• Rookie Wide Receivers Breakout: Both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were huge parts of their offenses in Week 2, which will help their fantasy prospects in the long run but maybe not the short run.
• Darren Waller’s perplexing performance: Waller had a solid stat line for a fantasy tight end, but the Raiders aren’t using him as much this season as in the past.

Estimated Reading Time: 8 mins

PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2022. Here, we touch on only players who are relevant in fantasy football leagues.

These are my 10 biggest reactions to the games from the Week 2 Sunday slate. To get a more in-depth breakdown, check out my full Sunday recap.

Patriots become a two-man backfield

Ty Montgomery was the clear third-down back in Week 1, but he landed on injured reserve. New England gave its two other backs more playing time in Week 2 rather than bringing a third player into the rotation.

• • The Patriots rotated their backs by drive rather than the situation. Typically, the only times both backs saw snaps on a drive was when the drive lasted for double-digit plays.
  • This means the Patriots had no preference for Damien Harris or Rhamondre Stevenson on third downs, and both are likely to be used there for the immediate future if healthy.
  • Harris suffered a knee injury on the Patriots' last normal offensive play of the game. It’s unclear at this time how serious it is.
  • If Harris misses time, Stevenson would become a must-start player, as he would see a clear majority of offensive snaps.
  • Pierre Strong Jr.’s only offensive snaps came on the three kneel-downs to end the game.

Dameon Pierce’s emergence

Pierce became the player we thought we’d see in Week 1, gaining 69 yards on 15 carries.

• • He handled a clear majority of snaps on early downs, leading Rex Burkhead to not get a single carry.
  • Pierce played a few snaps on third downs, but they were all relatively short yardage. Three of them were with two yards to go or less and count toward short yardage in the below graph, while one was on a third-and-4.
  • It’s unlikely Pierce sees this much of a majority of snaps in the future. Burkhead still received every two-minute drill snap and every third down snap of five yards or longer.
  • The Texans will see more clear passing situations against other opponents, which will lead to fewer snaps.
  • This makes Pierce a potential sell-high player.

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