The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders are both entering their AFC West showdown this Sunday on a high note, as the Chiefs topped the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend and the Raiders took care of the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
Obviously, the Raiders may be in over their heads here, as the Chiefs have the most explosive offense in the NFL and are the prohibitive favorites to repeat as division champions.
However, Oakland is at home, and Kansas City is missing Tyreek Hill, who suffered a clavicle injury in Week 1, so maybe the Raiders have a puncher's chance.
Here is the Fantasy Football outlook for these clubs ahead of their Week 2 matchup:
QBs
How much more needs to be said of Patrick Mahomes at this point?
The wonderkid threw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns last season, and he opened up the 2019 campaign by completing 25 of his 33 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns against a tough Jaguars defense.
What makes Mahomes' performance even more impressive is that Hill was only there briefly, catching two passes for 16 yards before exiting with his injury.
Against a shoddy Raiders defense that is now missing rookie safety Johnathan Abram, expect Mahomes to light it up.
As for Derek Carr? He looked terrific in Week 1, shredding the Broncos by completing nearly 85 percent of his throws for 259 yards and a score.
It's not like the Chiefs' defense is any better than Denver's. As a matter of fact, it's worse, so Carr may very well be impressive again in Week 2.
Both Mahomes and Carr are good plays in your Fantasy Leagues this week.
RBs
Kansas City may have essentially split carries between Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy in Week 1, but the two halfbacks certainly did not split the production.
While Williams totaled just 26 yards on 13 carries, McCoy finished with 81 yards on 10 attempts. Albeit, Williams did score a touchdown, but there is little doubt who had the better game on the ground.
That being said, Williams added six catches for 39 yards while McCoy caught just one ball for 12 yards.
I'm not crazy about either running back, not just for this game, but for the remainder of the season, but McCoy may end up being the better play of the two due to his experience.
Many felt Oakland would go running back by committee, but Jon Gruden definitely did not take that approach in the season opener, as Josh Jacobs carried the ball 23 times for 85 yards and a couple of scores.
His efficiency could stand to be better, but volume-wise, he is a good pick.
It seems like Jacobs is the clear favorite in the Raiders' backfield, so he seems like the best Fantasy play out of the running backs participating in this game.
WRs
Again, Hill is gone, which means that other Chiefs pass-catchers will eat.
Take Sammy Watkins, for example, who hauled in nine receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1. Should we expect that type of outlandish production in Week 2? Probably not, but he will almost surely be Mahomes' favorite target.
A heck of a lot of people liked rookie wideout Mecole Hardman coming into this season, but he did not log a single catch last Sunday. I expect him to be more involved against the Raiders, but Watkins is still the main guy to play here.
For Oakland, it's all about Tyrell Williams.
With Antonio Brown gone, Williams takes over as the clear-cut No. 1 receiver for the Raiders, who don't really have a ton of other options as far as wideouts are concerned.
Watkins and Williams are both terrific plays in Fantasy this weekend, as both guys should put up numbers.
TEs
When isn't Travis Kelce a dynamite play? Do I even need to extrapolate here?
Kelce caught three passes for 88 yards in Week 1, which was actually a relatively tame outing for the All-Pro. Against a questionable Raiders defense, I expect more volume from Kelce this Sunday.
Then, you have Raiders tight end Darren Waller, who has been the talk of the town this summer.
Waller's talent has never been in question; it's simply been a matter of whether or not he can avoid drug suspensions, and this year, he has been in the clear, and he showed his skill in Week 1, snaring seven balls for 70 yards.
The jury is still out on Waller as a whole, but with Oakland lacking weapons in general, he seems like he should be one of Carr's favorite targets moving forward.
Both Kelce and Waller are good plays this week, with Kelce obviously being the superior choice.
DST
This is where it gets tricky.
Neither of these clubs are exactly defensive stalwarts.
Yes, I get that the Raiders help the Broncos to 16 points on Monday, but Denver's offense is not even in the same stratosphere as Kansas City's, and I find it hard to believe that Oakland's defense has improved that much from last year when it ranked 26th in the league in yardage and dead last in points allowed.
The Chiefs aren't great defensively either, but because I expect Kansas City to win this game, the Chiefs' defense is the better pick here. Not that that's saying much.
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