Week 2 Fantasy Football Busts: 5 Players to Avoid

Sep 14, 2022

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Fantasy analysts have been preaching all week to not overreact. We’ve only seen one set of games. But you’re either 0-1 or churning your roster to stay out in front of your league. We need wins! So, as we consider our rosters, I’ve got a few players I’ll be looking to replace for Week 2.

Quarterback

Joe Burrow (Bengals) @ Cowboys

I’ll likely get tossed out of Ohio for this one. Let me explain first.

If you sift through last week’s disaster, there are some bright spots for the offense. Cincinnati came out with a balanced offense at 18th in PROE. It’s not the same as their 2021 finale, but we’ll take it. Plus, their offensive line wasn’t as bad in retrospect.

Last season, Cincinnati was 30th in pass block win rate. But they opened the season at 20th. Also, Joe Mixon’s yards before contact perked up from 2.3 to 3.0. It was just hard to see any positives through all the turnovers. Regardless, my concerns for Burrow aren’t about his offense. They’re about his opponent’s.

I’ll be kind and limit my opinions on Zac Taylor to his lack of aggression. With a two-score lead, Cincinnati was bottom-12 in passing rate just last season. And they’re already favored by a touchdown ahead of Week 2.

The Cowboys are without Dak Prescott and in desperate need of receiving talent. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s defense was top-10 in rush and dropback EPA allowed. I’m expecting Joe Burrow to correct his mistakes from Sunday, but it doesn’t guarantee he’ll be back in the Top 12. Without much rushing to bank on, I can see another disappointing week for Burrow even with a Bengals victory.