Fantasy football: Saquon Barkley among Week 2 upgrades

Saquon Barkley is back. And Curtis Samuel's versatility is elevating the wide receiver. Let's get in the film room and talk more fantasy football here. I'm looking at players to upgrade based on the upcoming NFL slate, along with those I'm pushing down in my Week 2 PPR rankings. And I'll give you the players to monitor, too.

Vets, rookies, quarterbacks. Here's what I'm seeing on the tape.

RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

Everyone is in on Barkley after Week 1. And they should be. He dropped 33.4 PPR points on the Titans' defense. But I wanted to write on the Giants running back because of just how far he elevated in my ranks. Entering last week, I had Barkley as a mid-tier RB2. Had to see it first. This week, with a matchup versus a Carolina defense that was just shredded by the Browns' run game, Barkley is my RB4. I think he's back. Yeah. Explosive, sudden and powerful. An upper-tier, dual-threat fantasy player at the position.

WR Curtis Samuel, Washington Commanders

Matt Bowen explains why he believes Curtis Samuel should be in WR3 territory for Week 2 against the Detroit Lions.

The Week 1 tape told us a story on Samuel's usage and versatile deployment in the Washington offense. He caught eight of a team-high 11 targets for 55 yards and a score. Plus, he added another 17 yards rushing on four carries. He's a motion/movement player who will be schemed up in the pass game to get free access off the ball, then find space there. And those rushing totals were from backfield alignments. Take the volume and the creative offensive approach in Washington. Samuel is a WR3 in my ranks this week with a matchup versus the Lions.

RB AJ Dillon, Green Bay Packers

There's no question the Packers are going through a major transition