Although last week was tough for Los Angeles Chargers fans, things were good for the most part on the fantasy front.
In Week 1, many of the Chargers skill position players performed pretty well, with the major exception being the tight ends. The Bolts’ Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins is definitely more favorable than last week’s for fantasy, so let’s look at some of the Chargers’ top players for this week.
Tyrell Williams
Due to a very strong outing from Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams had a relatively quiet, yet productive night against the Denver Broncos. He had 54 yards on five of seven targets, with a long reception of 14 yards on the night.
While Williams may not be a WR1 in fantasy, he is a decent WR3 and a strong Flex option. I like his matchup this week against the Dolphins as most of the attention will likely be drawn to Allen, and therefore, I would feel good starting Williams in all formats this week.
Travis Benjamin
Travis Benjamin, a player who is only owned in around 2 percent of ESPN leagues at the time of writing this, had a strong outing Monday night, mostly due to a 38-yard touchdown he had in the fourth quarter.
While Benjamin’s large touchdown may seem enticing to some, his other statistics are a bit worrying. Apart from the score, Benjamin’s other two receptions only resulted in five yards, and he was only targeted four times overall. Although there is always potential for a big play, I would sit Benjamin in most leagues this week.
Hunter Henry
Perhaps the most surprising fantasy performance of last week, Hunter Henry had a total of zero targets Monday night. For a player who was expected to be an integral part of the offense, this was extremely surprising.
While Henry is likely to see more targets than he did last week, it still seems that his role in the offense has yet to be decided. I would not recommend starting Henry this week, but I would pay close attention to how he does for future reference.
Start or Sit?
Here are the players previously mentioned, along with some who were not, with the parentheses indicating the tier of each player in fantasy terms and my projection for them this week:
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- Philip Rivers – Start (QB2) – My Projection: 18 points (Standard)
- Melvin Gordon – Start (RB1) – My Projection: 16 points (Standard), 20 points (PPR)
- Keenan Allen – Start (WR2) – My Projection: 9 points (Standard), 16 points (PPR)
- Tyrell Williams – Start (WR3/Flex) – My Projection: 11 points (Standard), 15 points (PPR)
- Hunter Henry – Sit (TE2) – My Projection: 4 points (Standard), 7 points (PPR)
- Travis Benjamin – Sit (WR3/WR4) – My Projection: 5 points (Standard), 7 points (PPR)
- Antonio Gates – Sit (TE2) – My Projection: 5 points (Standard), 9 points (PPR)
- Branden Oliver – Sit (RB3) – My Projection: 3 points (Standard), 4 points (PPR)
- Austin Ekeler – Sit (RB4) – My Projection: 1 points (Standard), 3 points (PPR)
What are you expecting out of the Bolts this week in fantasy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.