Sneaky Starts: Week 2

Sep 17, 2015

All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough -- a waiver wire or bench player who is capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It's not pretty, but it's part of the game.

Last week’s Sneaky Starts featured Marcus Mariota (QB3), Andy Dalton (QB9), Tyrod Taylor (QB13), Bishop Sankey (RB4), Darren Sproles (RB13), Benny Cunningham (RB15), Ryan Mathews (RB26), Khiry Robinson (RB34), Jordan Reed (TE8) and Heath Miller (TE15), who all posted starter- or flex-caliber numbers in Week 1.

Due to increased opportunity and/or a good matchup, these are the players that are ranked higher than normal this week:

Quarterbacks

Andy Dalton, Bengals (vs. SD)
Matthew Stafford threw for 246 yards and two scores against the Chargers last week. Dalton finished in the top 10 against the Raiders in Week 1, utilizing enhanced weapons (i.e. Tyler Eifert) in the passing game.

Marcus Mariota, Titans (@ CLE)
Mariota threw four touchdowns last week and the Browns gave up top 20 numbers to Ryan Fitzpatrick (179 yards, 2 TD) in Week 1. Mariota is also a threat to run if the passing game isn’t going well.

Alex Smith, Chiefs (vs. DEN)
Smith was the #4 QB last week and finished in the top 20 in each of the last two seasons. With Travis Kelce emerging and Jeremy Maclin on board, he has some weapons to throw to.