Fantasy football streaming pickups Week 2: Brock Purdy

Each week throughout the NFL regular season, we will discuss the top fantasy football streaming options. These are deeper-league targets who have shown viable production or fit as a matchup-dependent play to give you a boost in the lineup this week.

Players listed below are rostered in less than 50% of ESPN leagues. While you might notice some overlap with Eric Moody’s waiver wire column that publishes on Mondays, an important distinction is that the options mentioned in this column are focused solely on this week’s matchup and not the players’ values for the remainder of the season.

And with injuries already taking their toll, here are the top potential streamers to target ahead of the Week 2 games:

All references to fantasy points are for PPR leagues.

Quarterback

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (24.5% rostered; at Rams)

For managers in 2-QB or superflex formats, I’d take a look at Purdy this week versus the Rams. He was efficient in the Week 1 win over a very good Pittsburgh defense, posting 16.8 fantasy points, while throwing for 220 yards and two touchdowns. And Purdy can give you some rushing totals off second-reaction scrambles (three carries, 20 yards). Plus, Kyle Shanahan will scheme up Purdy to attack the Rams’ zone-heavy coverages, with “clear and replace” concepts to open up voids. This is a high-floor play to get production out of your second QB spot in the lineup.

Running Back

Gus Edwards (21.4%) and Justice Hill, Ravens (0.3%; at Bengals)

With J.K. Dobbins now down for the season due to an Achilles injury, Edwards and Hill both jump onto the fantasy radar in Baltimore. And the club is also expected to elevate veteran Melvin Gordon III from the practice squad. Now, I do like Edwards as a potential lead back for this club given his running traits. Straight-line juice and power. He totaled 32 yards on eight carries in Week 1. But don’t sleep on Hill, who found the end zone twice in the win over Houston on low red zone carries. Let’s see if Baltimore makes any roster moves as this week progresses. A lot to monitor here.

Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers (11.3%; at Titans)

In the Week 1 loss to the Dolphins, the Chargers ran the ball 40 times. That’s a big number. And Kelley saw 16 of those carries, including a touchdown run from the 2-yard line. While Kelley doesn’t have receiving upside (zero targets in Week 1), he rushed for 91 yards, finishing with 15.1 fantasy points. Trust the volume here in deeper leagues behind starter Austin Ekeler (who is day-to-day with an ankle injury) as a potential streaming option given the foundational run game approach we saw from this Chargers offense.

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (43.6%; vs. Packers)

Allgeier figures to be a priority waiver pickup after he dropped 24.4 fantasy points on the Panthers’ defense in the Week 1 win. However, if you play in a shallower league and roster Dobbins or Aaron Jones, who didn’t finish the Week 1 game in Chicago due to a hamstring injury, then get in on Allgeier. In this run-heavy Atlanta offense, Allgeier has standalone fantasy value as the No. 2 behind Bijan Robinson. Allgeier totaled 18 offensive touches in Week 1, which included two touchdown runs on low red zone carries. It’s a tougher matchup this Sunday versus the Green Bay front, but you are betting on the volume here with Allgeier.

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Why Tyler Allgeier should be on fantasy managers’ radar

Tristan H. Cockcroft liked Tyler Allgeier’s fantasy volume after he scored two touchdowns vs. the Panthers.

Wide Receiver

Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints (2.0%; at Panthers)

In Week 1, Shaheed posted 19.0 fantasy points in the win over the Titans, catching five of six targets for 89 yards and a score, in addition to seeing two carries for 11 yards. The vertical speed is here, so is Shaheed’s ability to uncover versus man. And he has the ball carrier vision to produce after the catch. With a Week 2 Monday night matchup in Carolina, you can roll with Shaheed as a potential WR3.

Kendrick Bourne, WR, New England Patriots (2.3%; at Dolphins)

Bourne emerged in Week 1 as Mac Jones’ primary option, seeing a team-high 11 targets, which included six receptions and two touchdown grabs. Yes, the Patriots were down both Tyquan Thornton and DeVante Parker due to injuries, but Bourne’s overall production (24.4 points) warrants a look here as a possible streaming play in deeper PPR formats against the Miami defense this Sunday.

Tutu Atwell (5.9%) and Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams (2.5%; at 49ers)

I fully expect both Atwell and Nacua to be top claims on the wire this week after their production in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks. If you are in need of a receiver to stream, you need to jump here, even with a tough Week 2 matchup versus the 49ers defense. With Cooper Kupp out at least three more weeks, Atwell is your vertical, second-level target in the Rams’ route tree. He’s a burner who caught six of eight targets for 119 yards, good for 17.9 points in that Seahawks game, with Nacua racking up 21.9 points after catching 10 of 15 targets. They both play defined roles in this offense, and the Week 1 tape on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is really good. He was throwing rockets. I see both wide receivers as potential WR3s in all scoring formats.

Tight End

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (4.1%; vs. Dolphins)

Henry, who logged 16.6 points in the Week 1 loss to the Eagles, is a smart streaming play for deeper-league managers. He caught five of six targets in that Week 1 game, including a red zone touchdown on a schemed throw where the Pats isolated the safety in coverage. We have to look at where Henry is being targeted, too, as he caught four passes on throws inside of the numbers. And that meshes with the traits of quarterback Mac Jones, who is at his best when throwing the ball to the middle of the field. Plus, with the split-safety coverages Miami plays, there will be opportunities for Henry to work the second level (inside the numbers) on Sunday.