SEC in Fantasy, Week 2: In case you forgot, Cam Newton is still Cam Newton
The leading fantasy football player from an SEC school after two weeks is one that a bunch of teams didn't sign for several months. Whoops!
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Remember when Cam Newton was apparently finished?
Remember when some people thought the Patriots had a legitimate QB battle?
Remember when Madden 21 rated him behind 17 other starting quarterbacks?
Remember when an NFL team decided to give more money to more than a dozen backup quarterbacks this offseason?
Yeah.
Through the first two weeks of the NFL season, Newton has put on a clinic. In Week 1 against the Dolphins, his biggest impact came on the ground. In Week 2, he aired it out more in a Sunday night shootout against Russell Wilson, putting up 444 yards of total offense in a loss decided on a late goal-line stand — one from a Seahawks defense that executed its own call to perfection.
And, for the purposes of this series, Newton’s resurgence has made him the No. 1 SEC player in fantasy football through two weeks.
Auburn will need it to compete with several of its rivals with deeper NFL rosters, especially after a heartbreaking recent injury. LSU made a massive jump in the standings this week, and Georgia put together a strong charge after the Tigers’ Week 1 showcase.
In alphabetical order, here are the half-point PPR fantasy best ball scores for each SEC school during Week 2 of the NFL season, along with the updated standings and this week’s All-SEC squad:
Alabama
QB: Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) - DNP
RB: Mark Ingram (Ravens) - 14.7
RB: Josh Jacobs (Raiders) - 12.0
WR: Calvin Ridley (Falcons) - 26.4
WR: Amari Cooper (Cowboys) - 13.0
TE: O.J. Howard (Buccaneers) - 1.6
FLEX: Kenyan Drake (Cardinals) - 10.5
TOTAL = 78.2
After not making the team at all last week, Ingram was Alabama’s top fantasy running back in Week 2. Ridley also had another massive fantasy output, which including this bonkers touchdown catch before the Falcons utterly collapsed. Quieter games elsewhere, though, made the Crimson Tide just the No. 3 SEC fantasy team this week but still atop the overall league standings.
Arkansas
TE: Hunter Henry (Chargers) - 11.3
FLEX: Jeremy Sprinkle (Redskins) - 0.0
TOTAL = 11.3
Cody Hollister has been waived and moved down to the practice squad for the Titans, so it’s going to be up to Henry and Sprinkle. Henry brought the Hogs up to a top 10 finish this week.
Auburn
QB: Cam Newton (Patriots) - 35.6
RB: Kerryon Johnson (Lions) - 9.2
RB: Peyton Barber (Football Team) - 0.1
WR: Darius Slayton (Giants) - 4.8
TE: C.J. Uzomah (Bengals) - 12.2
FLEX: Chandler Cox (Dolphins) - 0.0
K: Daniel Carlson (Raiders) - 12.0
TOTAL = 73.9
In addition to Newton’s monster Sunday Night Football performance, Johnson and Uzomah found the end zone again — but now Uzomah is out for the season with a devastating Achilles injury. Meanwhile, Carlson looked great again, with a long field goal clinching the Raiders’ Monday Night Football victory. (Unfortunately for Johnson, you do not get bonus points for Lambeau Leaping as a visiting player.)
Florida
QB: Jeff Driskel (Broncos) - 19.7
RB: La’Mical Perine (Jets) - 1.7
WR: Freddie Swain (Seahawks) - 8.6
WR: Van Jefferson (Rams) - 6.4
TE: Jordan Reed (49ers) - 20.5
FLEX: Demarcus Robinson (Chiefs) - 4.3
TOTAL = 61.2
Driskel took over for an injured SEC quarterback and slung the ball all over the yard in his emergency performance. Reed took full advantage of his opportunity via George Kittle’s absence. Between those games and solid performances from the receivers, Florida made one of the biggest jumps for any team in Week 2.
Georgia
QB: Matthew Stafford (Lions) - 17.2
RB: Nick Chubb (Broncos) - 25.8
RB: D’Andre Swift (Lions) - 9.7
WR: Chris Conley (Jaguars) - 6.8
WR: Mecole Hardman (Chiefs) - 6.3
TE: Charlie Woerner (49ers) - 0.0
FLEX: Todd Gurley II (Falcons) - 6.1
K: Rodrigo Blankenship (Colts) - 15.0
TOTAL = 86.9
Chubb broke out on Thursday Night Football to lead the way for Georgia, and Blankenship was the top fantasy kicker in the league. The Bulldogs got contributions from a new crop of receivers, and it will be interesting to see how Sony Michel follows up his quiet Week 2 performance.
Kentucky
RB: Benny Snell Jr. (Steelers) - -1.4
WR: Randall Cobb (Texans) - 8.4
WR: Lynn Bowden Jr. (Dolphins) - 0.4
TOTAL = 7.4
After a strong Week 1, it was a nightmare game for Snell, who went backwards and fumbled the ball with his couple of opportunities. Cobb was solid again, and Bowden saw four offensive snaps in his debut with the Dolphins.
LSU
QB: Joe Burrow (Bengals) - 24.5
RB: Leonard Fournette (Buccaneers) - 25.6
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Chiefs) - 10.0
WR: Odell Beckham Jr. (Browns) - 15.4
WR: Russell Gage Jr. (Falcons) - 13.6
TE: Foster Moreau (Raiders) - 3.6
FLEX: D.J. Chark Jr. (Jaguars) - 10.4
TOTAL = 103.1
LSU was the big winner in Week 2, starting with Burrow’s fantastic second start on Thursday night. Fournette broke out with two touchdown runs for the Bucs, and OBJ found the end zone as well. The breakout star of the early season might be Gage, who caught another TD pass and nearly had a passing touchdown to Julio Jones.
Mississippi State
QB: Dak Prescott (Cowboys) - 39.8
TOTAL = 39.8
Prescott had one of the most statistically absurd performances in an improbable comeback win over a Falcons team that continues to get shredded through the air. He’ll keep the Bulldogs out of the bottom tier of SEC schools on his heroics alone.
Missouri
QB: Drew Lock (Broncos) - -1.2
TOTAL = -1.2
On the second drive of Week 2, fellow SEC’er Bud Dupree sacked and forced a fumble from Lock, who fell on his shoulder and sprained his AC joint. Lock would leave the game amidst a slew of injuries for the Broncos, who are also missing Missouri rookie tight end Albert Okwuegbunam due to an ankle problem.
Ole Miss
RB: Jordan Wilkins (Colts) - 4.0
WR: D.K. Metcalf (Seahawks) - 17.2
WR: A.J. Brown (Titans) - INJ
TE: Evan Engram (Giants) - 9.5
FLEX: Dawson Knox (Bills) - 2.1
TOTAL = 32.8
Metcalf put on a show with Russell Wilson on Sunday Night Football, but no Brown for the Titans hurt the Rebels big time — they felt the largest drop in the overall standings this week.
South Carolina
RB: Mike Davis (Panthers) - 11.5
RB: Rico Dowdle (Cowboys) - DNP
WR: Damiere Byrd (Patriots) - 10.2
WR: Bryan Edwards (Raiders) - 5.2
TE: Hayden Hurst (Falcons) - 15.7
FLEX: Jared Cook (Saints) - 8.3
K: Ryan Succop (Buccaneers) - 7.0
TOTAL = 57.9
Davis had eight catches out of the backfield, which bodes well for his fantasy production while Christian McCaffrey is sidelined. Newton also looked Byrd’s way a good bit for the Patriots, and Hurst continues to put up strong numbers for his new team in Atlanta.
Tennessee
QB: Joshua Dobbs (Steelers) - OUT
RB: Alvin Kamara (Saints) - 33.9
RB: Jakob Johnson (Patriots) - 6.6
WR: Josh Malone (Jets) - 4.8
WR: Cordarrelle Patterson (Bears) - 4.6
TE: Jason Witten (Raiders) - 0.8
FLEX: Luke Stocker (Falcons) - 0.0
TOTAL = 50.4
With Michael Thomas out, Kamara is essentially the Saints’ offense right now. Johnson scored on his lone target near the goal line to help the Patriots, and Malone started to get some involvement in a struggling Jets offense in Week 2.
Texas A&M
QB: Ryan Tannehill (Titans) - 26.8
RB: Cullen Gillaspia (Texans) - 0.0
RB: Trayveon Williams (Bengals) - OUT
WR: Mike Evans (Buccaneers) - 19.9
WR: Christian Kirk (Cardinals) - 7
TE: Jace Sternberger (Packers) - 0.0
FLEX: Josh Reynolds (Rams) - 4.3
K: Randy Bullock (Bengals) - 13.0
TOTAL = 71
Quietly, Tannehill has now thrown for multiple touchdowns in nine consecutive games, dating back to last season. Evans was a much bigger target for Tom Brady in Week 2, as Bruce Arians emphasized leading up to the game. And, after a tragic miss in Week 1, Bullock was perfect on his kicks in Week 2.
Vanderbilt
RB: Khari Blasingame (Titans) - 0.0
RB: Ke’Shawn Vaughn (Buccaneers) - 0.0
WR: Trent Sherfield (Cardinals) - 0.0
TOTAL = 0.0
Well, Vanderbilt… at least you weren’t the lowest-scoring team this week.
FANTASY STANDINGS THROUGH WEEK 2
Alabama: 201.4 (last week - 1)
LSU: 178.7 (3)
Auburn: 159.6 (2)
Georgia: 158.5 (4)
Texas A&M: 111.8 (5)
South Carolina: 80.1 (8)
Tennessee: 75.9 (7)
Florida: 72.7 (12)
Ole Miss: 62.2 (6)
Mississippi State: 57.4 (9)
Kentucky: 22 (10)
Arkansas: 21.1 (13)
Missouri: 11.9 (12)
Vanderbilt: 1.0 (14)
WEEK 2 ALL-SEC FANTASY TEAM
QB: Dak Prescott (Mississippi State/Cowboys) - 39.8
RB: Alvin Kamara (Tennessee/Saints) - 33.9
RB: Nick Chubb (Georgia/Browns) - 25.8
WR: Calvin Ridley (Alabama/Falcons) - 26.4
WR: Mike Evans (Texas A&M/Buccaneers) - 19.9
TE: Jordan Reed (Florida/49ers) - 20.5
FLEX: Leonard Fournette (LSU/Buccaneers) - 25.7
K: Rodrigo Blankenship (Georgia/Colts) - 15
TOTAL = 207
While Prescott edged Newton in the quarterback numbers this week, the former Heisman winner is still atop the overall player standings. Prescott is No. 2, followed by Ridley and Kamara.
The wide range of schools being represented in SEC fantasy in Week 2 was impressive. After Alabama and Auburn combined for seven of the eight spots in Week 1, Georgia was the only repeat team in Week 2.
That should make for quite a fun competition to follow for Auburn fans and others across the SEC — especially with the league’s college season starting up this weekend. We’ll keep track of it all on Tuesdays here at The Auburn Observer.
Up next on The Auburn Observer: Observations from Auburn’s depth chart release and interview sessions on Wednesday morning, followed by a piece on Bo Nix and a fresh podcast episode on Thursday. The Aubserver Mailbag is back on Friday, so send in your questions for it on Twitter @JFergusonAU or via email at the1andonlyJF@gmail.com.
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