It was a true test of character Sunday as we saw star after star drop out of action while Darrell Young, Matt Asiata and Jed Collins paced the early scoring. If you managed to survive Week 2 without a significant player hitting the turf, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Still, as is the case in most fantasy weeks, the cream eventually rose to the top and we got a number of stand-out performances from our studs. Thankfully, it appears that the majority of our injured elites escaped serious long-term maladies and while you may have some question marks heading into Week 3, the early news on most is encouraging. It’s weeks like this that remind us just how volatile this game can be.
Enter the filthy 40.
To help you make sense of all of the ups and downs on Sunday, we’re going to take some time each week to provide you an updated (and quite frankly, fluid) ranking of the top-40 overall players for standard leagues. Previous performance will certainly carry weight, but consider this list as a quick little cheat sheet if drafting today for the rest of the season. Whenever a trade inquiry flies into our mailbox and we quickly respond “Get the best player” it is this elite tier of talent that we are targeting. Disagree with how things shake out? We certainly welcome criticism in the comments — or a more public form of shaming if you choose.
After a painful Week 2, here’s how things stack up.
| Rank | Player | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeSean McCoy | PHI | With AD (off-field) and JC (injury) becoming huge question marks, Shady remains at the top of the heap |
| 2 | Matt Forte | CHI | Forte remains elite despite tough sledding against the Niners in Week 2 (36 total yards on 17 touches). It’s not time to panic. |
| 3 | Calvin Johnson | DET | When 6 for 83 on 13 targets is a down week, you’ve got something special. |
| 4 | Peyton Manning | DEN | With six TDs in the first two weeks, Manning is tuned up for a Super Bowl rematch in Week 3. |
| 5 | Jamaal Charles | KC | The ankle injury is a clear concern but at least the KC offense showed signs of life Sunday. |
| 6 | LeVeon Bell | PIT | Do-it-all Bell has tallied a Forte-esque 201 total yards in his first two weeks. |
| 7 | Dez Bryant | DAL | Injury scares have have threatened Dez’ early season, but Week 2 numbers say it all (10-103-1 on 14 targets). |
| 8 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | Seattle got punched in the mouth by a bounce-back Chargers team and Lynch was a victim of game flow despite 6.0 YPC. |
| 9 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | Found the end-zone in Week 2, but we’re still waiting on the breakout. |
| 10 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | A-Rod bounced back in a huge way (346 yds, 3 TDs) posting the top QB performance Sunday. |
| 11 | Brandon Marshall | CHI | Posted a hat-trick on a number of benches thanks to his game time uncertainty. |
| 12 | A.J. Green | CIN | Early reports on the toe have downplayed a serious injury, but with a Week 4 bye looming, A.J. the Bengals could play it safe and hold out their star. |
| 13 | Eddie Lacy | GB | Lacy won’t see a pair of defenses as stout as SEA and NYJ in back-to-back weeks moving forward. |
| 14 | Arian Foster | HOU | A true workhorse in today’s NFL is difficult to find -- Foster’s racked up 55 carries in the first two weeks. |
| 15 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | With A.J. ailing, Gio stepped up as the Bengals workhorse in Week 2, piling up 169 yards on 33 touches. |
| 16 | Jimmy Graham | NO | Now that’s the Jimmy Graham you paid for: 10-118-2 on 13 targets against Cleveland. |
| 17 | Drew Brees | NO | Back-to-back 15 point efforts could be Drew’s lowest two-week total all year. |
| 18 | DeMarco Murray | DAL | With 285 rushing yards and a pair of scores through two games, Demarco has earned elite status. |
| 19 | Jordy Nelson | GB | Followed up a relatively quiet Week 1 with a career day (9-209-1 on 16 targets). |
| 20 | Alshon Jeffery | CHI | A hobbled Alshon saw just six targets in Week 2 but still managed to post 15.7 yards per catch. |
| 21 | Montee Ball | DEN | Nice 5.0 YPC in Week 2 but we need the TDs to start piling up. |
| 22 | Julius Thomas | DEN | Simply unstoppable inside the 10. |
| 23 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | Gronk’s playing time limitations should lift in the coming weeks and the production will surely follow. |
| 24 | Julio Jones | ATL | Quiet but solid 14-201-1 on 22 targets over the season’s first two games. |
| 25 | Antonio Brown | PIT | The Karate Kid manage seven catches for 90 yards despite missing significant time in Week 2 and has piled up 216 total yards so far. |
| 26 | Randall Cobb | GB | Three TDs in two weeks gives Cobb a little more red-zone juice than many predicted. |
| 27 | Percy Harvin | SEA | The long rushing score that should not have been bailed Harvin out on a generally off game for Seattle. |
| 28 | Roddy White | ATL | Disappointing performance from the ATL offense limited Roddy to 5-for-42 on 8 targets. |
| 29 | C.J. Spiller | BUF | Spiller’s explosiveness has returned: 6.1 yards-per-touch in Week 2 to go along with a 102-yard kickoff return TD. |
| 30 | Matthew Stafford | DET | Surrounded by the leagues’ most talents bunch of positions players, an off week won’t have us worrying over Stafford’s value. |
| 31 | Alfred Morris | WAS | Tickle Me Al Mo got his home run stroke going in Week 2 with a pair of TDs. |
| 32 | Andre Ellington | ARI | If the foot is an issue, it’s hard to tell. Ellington has racked up 181 total yards in two games. |
| 33 | Shane Vereen | NE | Stevan Ridley’s heavy workload Sunday certainly puts damper on our excitement over Vereen’s RB1 upside. |
| 34 | Doug Martin | TB | Week 2 DNP makes this rankings an exercise of faith. |
| 35 | Joique Bell | DET | Bell eked out 97 total yards while leading the team in carries (10) and catches (6) during Week 2. |
| 36 | Reggie Wayne | IND | We saw vintage Reggie Wayne in Week 1 and expect more of the same Monday night and beyond. |
| 37 | Pierre Garcon | WAS | Incredibly disappointing usage through two games, Garcon is barely clinging to a spot on this list. |
| 38 | Cordarrelle Patterson | MIN | Couldn’t break the big one in Week 2 but Patterson is a threat to take it to the house on every play. |
| 39 | Zac Stacy | STL | Volume is a beautiful thing: 71 yards and a TD on 19 carries in Week 2. |
| 40 | Michael Floyd | ARI | Just one catch for 19 yards in Week 2, no Cardinal will be happier to see Carson Palmer back under center than Floyd. |
Just missed (in no particular order): Emmanuel Sanders, Matt Ryan, Reggie Bush, Vincent Jackson, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Rashad Jennings, Victor Cruz, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Eric Decker, Golden Tate, Jeremy Maclin, Andrew Luck, Stevan Ridley, Darren Sproles.