What a wild and crazy Week 1.
Week 2 is one of my favorites because to start the season, all we had to go off is speculation, stories from reporters or coaches trying to be coy with their depth charts. Now, we have data to work with. Coaches’ true intentions have been exposed.
It’s now possible for me to use 2022 data to create projections.
Of course, it’s very easy to overreact to Week 1, so I’m careful in how I adjust my projections. Some of these initial Week 2 rankings may seem a bit crazy considering how attached we are to our thoughts entering the season. That makes it hard to adjust so quickly.
Keep in mind that these rankings could change quite a bit as I dig more into the data and splits from Week 1. Be sure to consult my updated tiers and rankings on Sunday morning before making any final sit/start decisions.
Fantasy Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy QB Rankings & Tiers
Tier 1
Josh Allen (vs. TEN)
Josh Allen was dominant against the Rams and finished the week as the QB2. He did nothing to lose his Tier 1 throne all to himself. To be clear, I do not expect him to finish as the QB1 overall every week, in fact, my simulation only gave him a 13.5% chance to finish as the QB1 (the next closest was Jalen Hurts at 8.3%). Patrick Mahomes was able to edge out Allen by 1.5 points to be the QB1 overall in Week 1 but needed 360 yards and five TD in order to do so. Allen’s rushing upside gives him the edge over Mahomes on a weekly basis.
Tier 2
Jalen Hurts (vs. MIN)
Patrick Mahomes (vs. LAC)
Lamar Jackson (vs. MIA)
Patrick Mahomes torched a depleted Cardinals defense for 360 yards and 5 TDs, making him the QB1 overall after Week 1. He may have lost his top WR in Tyreek Hill, but I like how the Chiefs added multiple weapons in JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore in order to replace him. He should be able to take advantage of a Chargers defense that could be without CB J.C. Jackson for a second straight week.
