Putting together rankings in only the second week of play is never easy for fantasy football. That much is true tenfold this week in a league that is only entering its second week of existence entirely! We learned a lot about true depth charts at least in the first week of play in the new Alliance of American Football league and got a pretty good idea of which players passed the eye test and others to avoid.

Advanced stats are still a little hard to come by for AAF, especially fantasy focused ones with only two platforms offering a place to play. AltFantasySports.com is the home to season-long redraft leagues while Fanball.com has been offering weekly DFS tournaments. Pro Football Focus has made a decent amount of stats available to the public while their own Jeff Ratcliffe has been producing solid content and stats as well. His WR/CB matchup review is a must read and the chart included was helpful when setting my own weekly rankings. NoExtraPoints.com also continues to be the leading independent site and is just beginning to offer content and rankings of their own.

Speaking of which, let’s get to the rankings! I haven’t really seen much along the lines of fantasy points allowed tools outside of basic rankings on Fanball so I made some handy charts for reference. These will be more useful once we get about three weeks into the season. With such a small sample size of only one week of play, these stats are really just as much a reflection of the opposing team’s offense as it is the listed team’s actual defensive capabilities. The Commanders and Apollos stood out as the top-two all-around defensive units in Week 1 and while the Birmingham Iron ranked out well, that could be more to do with Memphis struggling as an offense in Week 1 as opposed to the Iron’s actual defensive strengths.

Quarterback

Production Allowed:

Team Comp Att Cmp% Pass Yds Pass TD INT 2PT FPTS Salt Lake 18 29 62.1 275 4 0 2 33.3 Atlanta 16 26 61.5 231 2 0 1 27.9 Arizona 17 35 48.6 159 2 2 1 16.8 Memphis 19 33 57.6 252 0 0 1 13.3 San Antonio 20 35 57.1 244 0 3 0 13.1 San Diego 18 36 50.0 255 0 2 0 11.1 Orlando 19 35 54.3 164 0 3 0 7.4 Birmingham 13 27 48.1 109 0 2 0 4.9



Rankings:

Rank Name Matchup 1 Luis Perez (BIR) vs. SLC 2 John Wolford (ARZ) at MEM 3 Philip Nelson (SD) vs. ATL 4 Garrett Gilbert (ORL) at SA 5 Logan Woodside (SA) vs. ORL 6 Aaron Murray (ATL) at SD 7 Christian Hackenberg (MEM) vs. ARZ 8 Matt Linehan (SLC) at BIR 9 Josh Woodrum (SLC) at BIR 10 Mike Bercovici (SD) vs. ATL 11 Matt Simms (ATL) at SD 12 Brandon Silvers (MEM) vs. ARZ



While most people are comfortable putting John Wolford back at the number one spot in Week 2, I am going to give a slight edge to Luis Perez. Perez looked fantastic between the 20s in Week 1 but was held without a TD pass. This week Perez gets the SLC team that just allowed Wolford four TDs in Week 1.

Wolford should still put up a fight close to the top spot but I’ve got him at QB2 for now. Philip Nelson is someone else I am rather high on this week as he is slated to be under center for the SD Fleet with Berco on the bench.

I’m also predicting Aaron Murray taking over the starting job from Matt Simms in Week 2 after he was just awful in the first week of play. The SLC QB situation is another one that could be on shaky ground this week with Linehan showing a slightly more efficient outing than Woodrum in Week 1. Woodrum is also nursing a hamstring injury and was reported day-to-day on Wednesday according to team beat reporter Chantel Buchi.

Running Back

Production Allowed:

Team Rush Yds Y/A Lng Rush TD Rec Tgt Yds Rec TD YScm 2PT RRTD FPTS Memphis 28 71 2.5 10 2 7 11 50 0 121 1 2 33.1 Atlanta 20 121 5.6 31 1 2 5 41 1 162 1 2 32.2 Salt Lake 39 149 3.8 25 0 1 2 30 1 179 2 1 26.6 San Diego 29 116 4.0 21 1 2 3 8 0 124 0 1 20.4 Arizona 28 83 3.0 9 1 1 4 6 0 89 1 1 17.9 Birmingham 24 94 3.9 11 0 3 5 12 0 106 0 0 13.6 Orlando 20 59 3.0 13 0 4 5 18 0 77 0 0 11.7 San Antonio 12 65 5.4 25 0 2 4 17 0 82 0 0 10.2



Rankings:

Rank Name Matchup 1 Trent Richardson (BIR) vs. SLC 2 Jhurell Pressley (ARZ) at MEM 3 Ja’Quan Gardner (SD) vs. ATL 4 Zac Stacy (MEM) vs. ARZ 5 Branden Oliver (SLC) at BIR 6 Ladarius Perkins (BIR) vs. SLC 7 Kenneth Farrow II (SA) vs. ORL 8 Akeem Hunt (ORL) at SA 9 Joel Bouagnon (SLC) at BIR 10 D’Ernest Johnson (ORL) at SA 11 Aaron Green (SA) vs. ORL 12 Tarean Folston (ATL) at SD 13 De’Veon Smith (ORL) at SA 14 Justin Stockton (ARZ) at MEM 15 David Cobb (SA) vs. ORL 16 Rajion Neal (MEM) vs. ARZ 17 Matt Asiata (SLC) at BIR 18 Larry Rose III (ARZ) at MEM 19 Terrence Magee (MEM) vs. ARZ 20 Denard Robinson (ATL) at SD 21 Lawrence Pittman (ATL) at SD 22 Terrell Watson (SD) vs. ATL 23 Anthony Manzo-Lewis (MEM) vs. ARZ



I’m standing pat at the top-two for running back but outside of there, I see things shaking out differently in a few places this week. Ja’Quan Gardner was one of the few backs who managed to make a dent both on the ground and in the passing game in Week 1. Not only was he utilized in a versatile manner, but he was also efficient managing 7.2 yards per touch. A plush matchup against Atlanta and positive game script should push Gardner’s touch total a bit higher this week and a trip to the end zone could have him even push for overall RB1 numbers.

Zac Stacy is another player I’m pushing closer to the top this weekend. Stacy looked great averaging 4.8 YPA on 12 carries in Week 1. While Rajion Neal looks like the preferred option in the passing game, Neal couldn’t produce squat on the ground taking four carries for only three yards. Memphis had all kinds of issues in its passing game in Week 1 which could force the team to overcompensate and lean heavier on the run against an SD Fleet team that gave up over 100 yards on the ground last week.

Branden Oliver gets a bump to round out the top-five for me despite a crowded SLC backfield. Joel Bouagnon got all the volume he could handle in Week 1 but only managed 2.4 YPA on his 16 carries. Oliver was used both on the ground and through the air, and he gives the team something both Bouagnon and Matt Asiata cannot with plus versatility.

Both D’Ernest Johnson and De’Veon Smith are getting a bump down for me this week while Akeem Hunt moves up the list. As mentioned before, this San Antonio defense looked pretty solid and with such a crowded backfield, touches are at a premium. Hunt not only out-touched both Johnson and Smith in Week 1, but he did it efficiently averaging 7.3 YPA.

The bottom half of the ranks shouldn’t change too much in my opinion with most of these guys looking to have pretty concrete roles as change-of-pace options with limited touch upside. Asiata and Rajion Neal are the only two I could see making a bigger jump up the rankings. Neal’s heavy usage in the passing game could pile up the points in PPR formats while Asiata could rank highly if he takes over as the official goal-line back.

Wide Receiver

Production Allowed:

Team Rec Tgt Yds Y/R TD 2PT FPTS Salt Lake 13 20 180 10.9 2 1 45.0 Atlanta 14 20 190 13.6 1 0 43.2 San Diego 15 29 243 16.2 0 0 37.4 Memphis 9 18 168 18.7 0 0 28.1 San Antonio 12 21 150 12.5 0 0 27.0 Orlando 13 27 126 9.7 0 0 26.8 Birmingham 8 18 80 10.0 0 0 16.4 Arizona 7 19 66 9.4 1 0 15.3



Rankings:

Rank Name Matchup 1 Mekale McKay (SA) vs. ORL 2 Rashad Ross (ARZ) at MEM 3 Quinton Patton (BIR) vs. SLC 4 Jalin Marshall (ORL) at SA 5 Dontez Ford (SD) vs. ATL 6 Greg Ward Jr. (SA) vs. ORL 7 Charles Johnson (ORL) at SA 8 Richard Mullaney (ARZ) at MEM 9 Alonzo Moore (SA) vs. ORL 10 Brian Brown (SD) vs. ATL 11 Seantavius Jones (ATL) at SD 12 Jordan Leslie (SLC) at BIR 13 Ishmael Hyman (ORL) at SA 14 Justin Thomas (ATL) at SD 15 DeVozea Felton (BIR) vs. SLC 16 Bug Howard (ATL) at SD 17 Chris Thompson (ORL) at SA 18 Alton “Pig” Howard (MEM) vs. ARZ 19 Francis Owusu (SD) vs. ATL 20 Dres Anderson (SLC) at BIR 21 Marquis Bundy (ARZ) at MEM 22 Amba Etta-Tawo (BIR) vs. SLC 23 Malachi Jones (ATL) at SD 24 Tobias Palmer (BIR) vs. SLC 25 Adonis Jennings (SLC) at BIR 26 Fabian Guerra (MEM) vs. ARZ 27 Josh Huff (ARZ) at MEM 28 Ervin Philips (ATL) at SD 29 Kameron Kelly (SD) vs. ATL 30 Josh Stewart (SA) vs. ORL 31 John Diarse (SA) vs. ORL 32 Kenny Bell (SLC) at BIR 33 Freddie Martino (ARZ) at MEM 34 Reece Horn (MEM) vs. ARZ 35 Nelson Spruce (SD) vs. ATL 36 De’Mornay Pierson-El (SLC) at BIR 37 Dontez Byrd (MEM) vs. ARZ 38 Donteea Dye Jr. (ORL) at SA 39 Kayaune Ross (MEM) vs. ARZ



The top of the wide receiver leaderboard is pretty similar to Week 1 for me. With such a small sample size it’s tough to shake things up too much. I do like Mekale McKay to lead the way this week. McKay saw the most targets of any player in the league in Week 1 and in a favorable matchup against an Orlando team that put up 40 points in Week 1, McKay should be needed early and often.

Dontez Ford is one of the biggest movers near the top in Week 2 up seven spots from Week 1 while also surpassing Brian Brown as the Fleet’s WR1. Ford has one of the most favorable projected WR/CB matchups according to PFF. The Fleet are expected to start Philip Nelson over Mike Bercovici in Week 2. Nelson had a lower completion percentage and lower YPA compared to Berco last week which could work in Ford’s favor as the team’s primary slot man. Ford showed big-game potential putting up an 11/114/1 line in the preseason and gets an Atlanta defense who gave up the second most points to wideouts last week.

San Antonio looks to have the most impressive trio of wideouts in the league with all three of McKay, Ward Jr., and Moore ranking inside the top-eight last week. Ward Jr. and Moore were both top-graded wideouts according to PFF.

Arizona @aafhotshots‘ Rashad Ross leads the pack of AAF WRs in terms of overall grade after Week 1 pic.twitter.com/LO1gHmbj5w — PFF_AAF (@PFF_AAF) February 13, 2019

Despite these high grades, a tougher matchup against Orlando this week keeps me from moving Ward Jr or Moore any higher, with Moore actually taking a small step backward. These two are fairly interchangeable considering Moore’s elevated 26.0 YPR total compared to Ward Jr.’s 13.0 YPR. It wouldn’t take more than one big play for Moore to swap spots with Ward Jr. this week.

Despite Atlanta’s struggles in the passing game, Seantavius Jones is getting a bump up by four spots this week. Jones was the leading receiver for the Legends while also seeing a prominent role in the red zone. San Diego is also a much more friendly opponent for Jones this week as they gave up the most receiving yards in the league to wideouts last week.

DeVozea Felton is someone who popped off the screen in Week 1 despite only managing one catch in the game. Felton took his one catch for 32 yards while looking like a carbon copy of NFL talent, John Brown.

DeVozea Felton out here looking like John Brown for the Birmingham Iron 🧐 #AAF https://t.co/bm8zKTG5y6 — John Ferguson (@FantasyFerguson) February 10, 2019

Perez/Felton stacks are probably my favorite value play in Fanball’s DFS tourney’s this week as Felton could do a lot of damage with a small workload.

Francis Owusu gets a generous bump up seven spots in the middle of the pack this week as San Diego projects to be one of the highest volume passing attacks each week while getting a matchup against Atlanta who gave up the third most receiving yards to wideouts and second most fantasy points to the position in Week 1.

The SLC Stallions wideouts will be a position I am going to watch closely in Week 2. SLC utilized tight ends more than any team in the league in Week 1 which led to diminished target and yardage totals for Dres Anderson, Jordan Leslie, and Adonis Jennings. Leslie made a nice play in the end zone for a TD but none of these guys topped four targets or 25 receiving yards in Week 1. I would expect either Leslie or Anderson to take a step forward as a more predominant feature on this offense but right now we’re waiting to see who flinches first.

Malachi Jones is the biggest overall mover on my wideout rankings this week, up 16 spots from Week 1. Jones was second on the team behind Seantavius Jones with six targets but came up with no receptions. PFF deemed all six of Jones’ targets uncatchable which makes this look like an outlier performance in Week 1. A get right matchup against a San Diego squad who gave up the most receptions and yards to wideouts in Week 1 could turn Jones’ season around in a hurry.

Josh Huff gets a bump up eight spots from me in Week 2. The volume was there for Huff last week, he just couldn’t do anything with it. In a game where Arizona will be the heavy favorites at Memphis who gave up the most yards per receptions among wideouts last week, Huff could see the start of a positive trend. I’m not expecting a big game but a more serviceable performance is possible and based on the high scoring offense, Huff could be a low-end Flex play in Week 2.

The bottom quarter of these rankings don’t change much nor do they offer much fantasy appeal this week. Kameron Kelly is someone I expect to start a positive trend as well as he will surpass Nelson Spruce in production for SD. Kenny Bell also gets a slight bump but until we see life out of him I’m not moving him any higher. He’s a hold right now if you can avoid dropping him but it won’t ruin your season if you need to make the move.

Tight End

Production Allowed:

Team Rec Tgt Yds Y/R TD 2PT FPTS Arizona 9 11 87 9.7 1 0 23.7 Salt Lake 4 6 65 17.9 1 1 16.5 San Antonio 6 9 77 12.8 0 0 13.7 Memphis 3 3 34 11.3 0 0 6.4 Orlando 2 2 20 10.0 0 0 4.0 Birmingham 2 3 17 8.5 0 0 3.7 Atlanta 1 2 4 2.0 0 1 3.4 San Diego 1 5 4 4.0 0 0 1.4



Rankings:

Rank Name Matchup 1 Gavin Escobar (SD) vs. ATL 2 Gerald Christian (ARZ) at MEM 3 Anthony Denham (SLC) at BIR 4 Nick Truesdell (SLC) at BIR 5 Connor Davis (BIR) vs. SLC 6 Thomas Duarte (ARZ) at MEM 7 Charles Standberry Jr. (ATL) at SD 8 Marcus Baugh (SD) vs. ATL 9 Evan Rodriguez (SA) vs. ORL 10 Adrien Robinson (MEM) vs. ARZ 11 Brandon Barnes (MEM) vs. ARZ 12 Scott Orndoff (ORL) at SA 13 Tanner Balderree (SLC) at BIR 14 Cole Hunt (SA) Q vs. ORL 15 Braedon Bowman (BIR) IR vs. SLC



A touchdown was all it took to rank inside the top two at tight end in Week 1. This week, I like Gavin Escobar to lead the pack. Escobar had the most receiving yards of any tight end in Week 1 and looked like one of the best tight ends in the league. His NFL pedigree should shine this week.

Gerald Christian gets just a slight bump down to TE2 for me this week. I was tempted to slide Anthony Denham in ahead of him even as Denham looked like a focal point of the SLC offense. Denham did get a little banged up in Week 1, however, and SLC had no problem utilizing Nick Truesdell in tandem. Both SLC tight ends stay near the top until one of the wideouts on the team stand up and take charge.

Unofficial reports early Thursday are reporting Birmingham Iron tight end Braedon Bowman will be placed on injured reserve. This gives a huge bump to Connor Davis as the next man up. Davis is a towering target for Luis Perez at 6’8″ and 265 lbs. He’s a priority add in fantasy and a great sleeper pick at TE in Fanball DFS tournaments. Busta Anderson is another tight end to watch on Birmingham’s roster who could leap-frog Davis on the depth chart.

The bottom half of the tight end list doesn’t change much with the exception of San Antonio tight end Evan Rodriguez becoming relevant. Cole Hunt hasn’t participated in practice this week leaving him questionable to play for Week 2.

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John Ferguson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from John, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFerguson.