Bold Predictions For Fantasy Football Week 2: Projecting A Massive George Pickens Bounceback

Our bold predictions for fantasy football weren't perfect last week.

There was some good, some bad. Tyler Shough did not finish as a top-five quarterback (though QB8 was solid), while Quentin Johnston was the disappointment of the week. And of course he was.

He plays for the Chargers.

We did, however, predict Quinshon Judkins would finish outside the top 30 fantasy running backs, and he barely finished inside the top 40. Let’s try to bat 1.000 this time around.

Three Fantasy Football Bold Predictions For Week 2

Kaelon Black Finishes As A Top-30 RB

Do I truly believe Kaelon Black, a third-round rookie, is set to take half of Christian McCaffrey’s carries? No, not really. But do I think he’ll have the largest role we’ve ever seen from a CMC backup?

Yeah. Yeah I do.

Last week was weird for the 49ers. They traveled to Australia and McCaffrey was reportedly dealing with cramping during the game. It’s possible that led to the spike in usage for the rookie, but I also doubt it was solely the reason. And while I would be surprised if he handled 50% of the team rush attempts again, I do think Black sees enough volume in this particular game to warrant FLEX consideration for those in deeper formats.

The 49ers are 12-point home favorites against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. And if they play like they did last week, this game could be over by the middle of the third quarter. Black just touched the ball 15 times, 11 of which came before the fourth quarter in what turned out to be a one-sided affair. It wouldn’t shock anyone to see him flirt with 15 touches again this week, this time against a Dolphins defense that will have no answer for this offense.

George Pickens Is The Overall WR1

Week 1 was a fairly quiet game for the Cowboys passing attack, but especially for George Pickens, who hauled in just three passes for 28 yards. A 30-plus-yard drop down the right sideline didn’t help matters, nor did Dallas’ offense being on the field for just 52 plays. You can thank their defense's inability to get off the field for that one, as the Cowboys had just two drives during the entire second half.

Brutal.

Pickens’ Week 1 usage was pretty interesting, too. Pickens handled 40% of Dallas’ air yards, with go routes making up a whopping 37.5% of his usage. It’s only one week, but it was a bit surprising to see after the Cowboys utilized him much more on in-breaking routes during his first year with the team. In 2025, Pickens ran go routes a career-low 21.9% of the time, while in routes made up a career-best 11% of his usage. HC Brian Schottenheimer said in the offseason that Pickens would be moved around the formation more, but he ran only one route from the slot this past weekend.

Hopefully Pickens is moved around more this weekend, but regardless of his deployment, he should find plenty of success. Washington’s front seven impressed last weekend, but their secondary remains a weakness. Dontayvion Wicks just roasted this unit to the tune of 73 yards and a touchdown, as Mike Sainristil really struggled in coverage. Pickens will also see coverage from Amik Robertson, who allowed 2.08 fantasy points per target a season ago. And while he was in Detroit, Robertson did allow the sixth-most air yards in coverage last year.

Stefon Diggs Finishes As A Top-15 WR

While it wasn’t perfect, Stefon Diggs was productive in his Washington debut, catching four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. He was targeted nine times for a 31% target share, though his route participation was surprisingly lower than his 2025 rate with New England, sitting at 66%. I’d like to believe that will climb, especially considering that, for whatever reason, Dyami Brown ran over 60% of the routes. Diggs wasn't exclusively on the field in two-wide sets, though the Commanders did run 11 personnel 72% of the time in Week 1 (5th), a rate that could even increase if they're without starting tight end Chig Okonkwo. Once he left the game in the third quarter, the Commanders ran three-wide sets on 24-of-33 second half plays.

As for the matchup, this is a great spot for Diggs to keep it going. Dallas’ defense may have been overhyped during the offseason. The Cowboys were just picked apart by the Giants passing attack, playing some of the softest zone coverage I’ve ever seen. No team allowed a worse EPA/DB in zone coverage in Week 1 than Dallas (0.225), deploying it 74% of the time. This bodes well for Diggs, who was targeted on 35% of his routes against zone against the Eagles. He ran hitch routes 24% of the time, so I expect him to find those soft spots in the middle of Dallas’ zone this weekend. And against the Giants, the Cowboys surrendered seven receptions off hitch routes, the most in the league.

Players Mentioned in this Article

KaelonBlackQ
RBSF
PPG
7.5
Proj
6.9
GeorgePickens
WRDAL
PPG
4.3
Proj
11.7
StefonDiggs
WRWAS
PPG
13.5
Proj
8.8

Published Sep 17, 2026, 4:01 AM ET