Click Here to:

THE SHADOW KNOWS Week 2 2019

By Gary Davenport

Well, so much for the big Week 1 showdown between Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Hill managed just two catches for 16 yards before suffering a shoulder injury that will sideline the speedster indefinitely.

Ramsey may have dodged the proverbial bullet in Week 1, but he'll be thrown right back into the line of fire Sunday in Houston, where Ramsey will be tasked with trying to cover Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

As John Oehser reported for the team's website, Ramsey looks forward to the twice-yearly challenge of trying to defend arguably the NFL's best receiver.

"I'm excited for the opportunity," Ramsey said. "I get up for every game, to be honest with you, but he's one of the best - if not the best - in the game. If you're any type of competitor, you should try to embrace this. I feel like he's a complete receiver. He's of course [Texans quarterback] Deshaun [Watson]'s favorite target, so he gets a lot of targets per game. He makes the most of his targets and he usually never drops passes, ever - even if he's guarded."

The last time this duo got together was the 2018 season finale-a game that Hopkins dominated to the tune of 12 catches for 147 yards. In their Week 7 meeting in 2018 Hopkins' catches and yardage were much lower (3/50), but he found the end zone.

In other words, while this rather goes without saying, Hopkins should be in fantasy lineups in Week 2. In fact, given the gonzo stat line that Sammy Watkins just dropped on the Jaguars, a pretty good argument can be made for rolling out Will Fuller as well.

Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins (Amari Cooper vs. Josh Norman)
The Cowboys just piled up almost 500 yards of total offense and 35 points against the New York Giants, and afterward Cooper told Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News that this offense has the potential to be among the best in the NFL.

"I think that's like a defense's nightmare when everybody is making plays," Cooper said. "How do you game plan against that? How can you make adjustments? What are you going to do? I know we were talking about this on the sidelines, we wanted everyone to get a touchdown. I scored, Jason (Witten) scored, (Ezekiel Elliott) scored, (Randall) Cobb scored. Gallup obviously got 158 yards but he didn't score. But we wanted him to get a touchdown as well. I would just say we have playmakers all across the board. We can run first, we can pass first, it really doesn't matter, I think we can get the job done."

Norman's not close to the player he once was, but he's included here because last week he followed Alshon Jeffery of the Eagles just about everywhere save the slot. That's not a big hindrance to Cooper's fantasy prospects, although it's worth noting that Cooper has yet to top 75 receiving yards in a road game since joining the Cowboys.

Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans (T.Y. Hilton vs. Adoree Jackson)
The Colts lost in Week 1 at Los Angeles, but in doing so the Jacoby Brissett-led Colts showed that that while they may not be as good as they were with Andrew Luck under center, they also can still be a factor in the AFC South in 2019. And by catching eight passes for 87 yards and two scores in the defeat, Hilton showed that he can be as fantasy-relevant as ever.

"We're going to be good,' Hilton said, via Mike Chappell of Fox 59 in Indianapolis. "I've been on the good teams, I've been on the bad teams and I've been on not-so-good teams. But this team is special. We have pretty much everything you need to have everywhere on the field.'

Jackson didn't shadow Odell Beckham last week in Cleveland, but he has been tasked by the Titans with doing so with a Hilton a couple of time over the past two seasons. Back in 2017, Jackson held Hilton to just 15 yards on two catches. Last year was a much different story-Hilton scorched Jackson and the Titans for a 9/155/2 stat line. If there's a caution here, it's that Brissett was the quarterback in meeting No. 1.

Los Angeles Chargers at Detroit Lions (Keenan Allen vs. Darius Slay)
The Chargers are the most injury-snakebitten team in forever, with tight end Hunter Henry the latest to go down (again) with a significant injury. Eric Williams of ESPN thinks (rightly) that will just mean that many more targets for Allen over the middle of the field.

"Allen is one of the best slot receivers in the NFL, and could run similar routes over the middle of the field and in the red zone that Rivers would usually look to target Henry," Williams wrote. "According to ESPN Stats & Information, Allen finished with five receptions for 76 yards from the slot against the Colts last week."

Allen finished Week 1 with an impressive 8/123/1 line-an outing that landed Allen seventh among all wide receivers in PPR fantasy points. Coming off a game like that Allen's a lock to be in fantasy lineups this week, but he doesn't get a great matchup-Slay's one of the most underrated cover corners in the game. Still, with Henry out and Mike Williams banged up, Allen's a good bet for at least a decent game based on target volume alone.

New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams (Michael Thomas vs. Aqib Talib, Marshon Lattimore vs. Cooper Kupp)
Where to start with this rematch of last year's NFC Championship game? To say that this contest is replete with fantasy football subplots is an understatement akin to saying that Taco Bell occasionally causes gastrointestinal distress. There will be more than a few Week 2 fantasy contests that will be decided by who does what at the Coliseum.

For the Saints, the passing game goes through one man-Michael Thomas, who will see more of Talib than Marcus Peters on Sunday. Thomas was peppered with targets against Houston, finishing the game with 10 catches for 123 yards. In that NFC title game tilt, the Rams did a good job on Thomas, holding him under 40 receiving yards. But in their regular-season meeting, Thomas went completely ballistic, hauling in 12 passes for 211 yards and a score.

The Rams, on the other hand, have more big-name receivers than the Saints have good cornerbacks. In theory, that means Kupp will draw Lattimore, and while that may seem a bummer in his lone game against the Saints in 2018 Kupp caught five balls for 89 yards and a touchdown-so hope is hardly lost. After last week's miserable game Brandin Cooks may well be the big winner here for L.A.-he caught at least six passes and topped 100 yards in both games against the Rams last season.

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers (Xavier Rhodes vs. Davante Adams)
Green Bay struggled mightily offensively against the Bears in the season opener, and Adams didn't mince words while speaking with Mike Spofford of the Packers website-the team needs to step it up on that side of the ball, and he wants to be a big part of it.

"It's no secret I'm a big part of this offense and how it moves," he said. "If I'm not in a position where I can make a play … I'll never complain and say I need the ball more, me-me-me. But I'm one of the ones who puts the ball in the end zone, and I like to do it a lot. It gets to me because I expect a lot from this offense with the personnel that we have."

After last week's four grabs for 36 yards against the Chicago Bears, right now all Adams' fantasy owners want is some sort of assurance that better days are ahead. Well, you're in luck-Adams went for 14-153-2 in two games with Rhodes and the Vikes in 2018, and the sixth-year veteran has touchdowns in each of his last four meetings with Minnesota.

Cleveland Browns at New York Jets (Odell Beckham vs. Trumaine Johnson)
As if there wasn't already melodrama surrounding this game given both teams' Week 1 faceplants and San Darnold's drinking faucet mishap, Beckham threw more fuel on the fire Thursday by claiming that Jets DC Gregg Williams (who was interim head coach in Cleveland last year and the Browns DC at the time) tried to hurt him in 2017.

"I had players on this team telling me that's what he was telling them to do: take me out of the game, and it's preseason," Beckham said, via Greg Joyce of the New York Post. "So, you just know who he is. That's the man who's calling the plays. I had people who were here when he was here telling [them], 'If you get a chance, take a shot at him. If you can hurt him, I guarantee he's going to leave the game hurt,' and stuff like that."

This matchup is included here for two reasons. The first is that Williams shadowed John Brown with Johnson in Week 1. The second is that John Brown posted a 7/123/1 stat line in that game-so if Beckham doesn't go off ion Monday night--as a Browns fan--I'll have little choice but to throw myself off the nearest overpass.

Been nice knowing y'all.