Fantasy Football DFS Week 2 Lineup: Going Strong at QB and TE with Jalen Hurts, Trey McBride, and More

DFS is better than season-long fantasy for those who like instant gratification. You know if you came out on the right side by the end of Monday and don't have to worry about building on the current roster or playing the waiver wire. It's a quick hitter and then move onto the next one.

Full-season fantasy leagues take patience and dedication that not everybody has time for. We've all been in a league with someone who stops checking their team a month into the season, and it takes away from everyone else to have that dead team just sitting there. Those owners can now go play DFS, where the time and commitment are much less than an actual league.

Building a lineup can also be more enjoyable when choosing from all players rather than the tedious task of picking through free agents and bench players. Instead of being stuck with the roster you were unhappy with after the draft, you can include any player in your lineup as long as you are willing to build around him accordingly within the budget.

I recently went through an example DFS lineup built around ultra-strong running backs and discounts taken at other positions. Let's now look at a Sunday lineup with a strong player at every other position and cheaper RBs. This is a strategy some people employ over the full season, feeling that running backs move in and out of the lineup at times and get hurt more often, but it's also a feasible way to build a DFS lineup if you get impact players everywhere else.

Use FantasySP's defensive rankings tool to find the best matchups at each position, identify streamers, and help with your lineup decisions every week.

Quarterback

• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City Chiefs

With this strategy, I'm looking for Hurts, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Jayden Daniels as my quarterback. They are the top runners of the football at the position and also bring passing value. Daniels played Thursday night, Jackson might have a tougher matchup against Cleveland, and Allen is the most expensive QB of the week, so let's go with Hurts, the guy who ran for 62 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1.

That's always going to be Hurts' main appeal. He's fine throwing the ball but has plenty of slow days, like last week when he had just 152 yards on 6.6 yards per attempt with no touchdowns or interceptions. By moving the ball with his legs and especially finding the end zone, he's a completely different fantasy player from what his throwing stats show.

Kansas City has been a bit of a tougher matchup the past few years, but Hurts had success in the Super Bowl against KC (221 yards on 10.0 yards per attempt, two touchdowns, one interception, 72 rushing yards, and a TD on the ground), and Justin Herbert also had a good game against the Chiefs in Week 1. I expect them to have a better D moving forward, but Hurts still has a chance for a good fantasy day in this one.

Running Backs

• J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos @ Indianapolis Colts
• Breece Hall, New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills

Going cheaper at running back means finding guys down the pecking order who have a path to fantasy-starter-level production. We have two guys here who are in timeshares of sorts but are probably the clear lead backs on their team.

Dobbins carried the ball 16 times for 63 yards in Week 1 compared to just six carries for rookie RJ Harvey. The latter was more efficient, breaking off a 50-yard run to put him at 70 yards total, but Dobbins is likely to be the lead back for the time being and do more of the pass catching.

Hall was rumored to be losing the starting job to Braelon Allen, but Hall ran 19 times for 107 yards in Week 1 while Allen had just six carries for nine yards. Allen scored a touchdown, but Hall was the top man and caught two passes for 38 yards. I feel much better about Hall in my lineup than Allen because he is likely to touch the ball much more often.

Wide Receivers/Flex

• Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins
• Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers
• Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears

St. Brown is the top guy at the position that I secured by skimping at RB. He has a decent matchup against the Bears after going against a possibly stifling defense in Green Bay. After seeing the Packers thoroughly handle the Commanders on Thursday night, it's worth considering that Detroit will fully bounce back in this one after a quiet first game, and St. Brown would be a major benefactor.

Diggs was OK in his New England debut, catching six passes for 57 yards. Kayshon Boutte was the guy who went off (six catches for 103 yards), but it's more likely that Diggs has bigger days moving forward than Boutte, who has mostly been anonymous as a pro. The matchup here against Miami is a juicy one after they were handled by Indianapolis last week.

Harrison has been a little bit forgotten because he didn't break records as a rookie the way that Malik Nabers did. He still had 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns, though, a very good rookie year from which to springboard. Five receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown was a fine way to start the season and could just be the start of things.

Down to the flex spot, the top options in my remaining price range were Odunze and Detroit tight end Sam LaPorta. I'll go with the Chicago receiver who topped his team in targets and receptions in Week 1 (nine and six, respectively) and scored a touchdown, though he gained only 37 yards. Odunze could be the Bears' WR1 many weeks.

Tight End

• Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers

When using this strategy, I'm always looking for a tight end who stands above and beyond most others at the position. With Brock Bowers not playing until Monday night (and maybe missing Week 2), McBride stands out as the clear option among TEs from the Sunday games.

He had a good Week 1, leading the team with nine targets and six receptions while gaining 61 yards. McBride and Harrison are the top two targets in Arizona with no one else really close to them, making them worthy fantasy players and guys who are OK being in the same lineup; there's enough to go around.

The Panthers gave up four receptions and 59 yards to Jacksonville's Brenton Strange in Week 1 in a game in which Trevor Lawrence only completed 19 passes for 178 yards. Last year, Carolina allowed more points than any other team and were second in most fantasy points per game given up to tight ends, making this a really strong matchup for the star McBride.

Defense/Special Teams

• New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins

It's enticing to want to attack the Dolphins in as many ways as possible after Week 1. I've already got Diggs at receiver, and now we go after Miami's offense, who turned the ball over three times and allowed three sacks of Tua Tagovailoa against Indianapolis.

I don't think the Colts are that good on D, so that means plenty of the blame must go toward the Dolphins. If they are going to be a below-average unit, that gives upside to opposing defenses, and the Patriots are a low-cost option here who also have a bit of a lower floor, though offseason additions make them intriguing compared to last year.