Fantasy football rankings, 2017: Quarterbacks for Week 2

Editor’s update: Andy Dalton stunk up the joint on Thursday Night Football, while DeShaun Watson flashed some sizzle. With TNF in our rear view mirror, we have struck through Bengals and Texans players to clear up the rankings for you a little bit.

Can you believe Alex Smith and Sam Bradford were two of the top three fantasy quarterbacks in Week 1? Neither can I. Let’s start with Smith. He played like a man striving to hold onto his job. The New England defense certainly helped him with an abysmal effort to start the season. Smith found eight different receivers and hit two of them for long touchdowns. That gave his fantasy numbers a boost. Smith isn’t going to have these big games every week. We can hope that the drafting of Patrick Mahomes has lit a competitive fire that burns hot throughout the 2017 season.

Bradford had a career season in 2016 with Minnesota. That didn’t mean we were expecting him to outduel Drew Brees in Week 1. The Vikings passing offense was outstanding. Minnesota receivers made some amazing catches but Bradford made just as many incredible passes. The offensive line was much improved and gave him ample time. We must take these results with a grain of salt since it came against a poor Saints defense. We’ll have a much greater grasp on Bradford’s future fantasy value after he faces the Steelers in Week 2.

Andrew Luck remains sidelined and even his availability for Week 3 looks grim. His throwing shoulder has shown improvement and he should be back sooner rather than later. Indianapolis desperately needs him back on the field. Scott Tolzien looked absolutely horrible in Week 1. He threw two touchdowns but they were to the guys on the opposing team. Jacoby Brissett came in to the game and outscored Tolzien in fantasy. On only three passes! Brissett looks like the better play for the Colts. Despite his relative unfamiliarity with the offense.

My first sleeper pick in 2017 turned out pretty good last week. I’ll see if I can keep this going. I’m going with Joe Flacco as my sleeper in Week 2. Flacco had a very pedestrian Week 1 but had missed a lot of time in the preseason. I think he’ll have a much better passing performance this week. I believe he’ll pass for 290 yards and two touchdowns.

(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)