AAF Fantasy Projections and Rankings - Week 02

Access the full player projections here: Week 02 AAF Fantasy Projections

Updated: Friday, Feb 15

What a terrific opening weekend for AAF football. Exciting play across the league has caused plenty of buzz, and I’m personally excited to devour all the statistics finally available. Speculating for Week 1’s rankings was a trip through a time machine to the days before the internet would provide depth charts and projected scores, instead just trying to read between the lines of coach speak and playing detective with what little camp footage was available.

As if February fantasy football wasn’t special enough, the relatively quiet preseason coverage made for a unique Week 1 experience (mostly missing wildly with predictions). For Week 2, we warp back to the present, which of course means crunching a lot of numbers. My results are as follows:

Quarterbacks

1. John Wolford – Arizona Hotshots

2. Garrett Gilbert – Orlando Apollos

   An easy top tier this week, Wolford and Gilbert scored gaudy totals of 41.3 and 31.58 fantasy points in Week 1. No other QB scored 14! Given the limited information we have to go from, these two are no brainer studs this week.

3. Luis Perez – Birmingham Iron

4. Philip Nelson – San Diego Fleet

   When QBs tear up a defense like Wolford and Gilbert did last week, it’s reasonable to ask ‘Was it just a weak defense?’ Find out in Week 2 by starting Perez or Nelson against the Stallions and Legends, and try and take advantage of what might be the premium QB matchups.

5. Josh Woodrum – Salt Lake Stallions [Monitor Injury]
6. Logan Woodside – San Antonio Commanders
7. Christian Hackenberg – Memphis Express

8. Matt Simms – Atlanta Legends

   These four QBs round out the bottom of the rankings, with neither impressive Week 1 stats or appealing Week 2 matchups. Hackenberg and Simms could be on short leashes, as both were pulled for backups in Week 1.

   Woodrum DNP Thursday, and is reportedly day-to-day with a hamstring injury. And while Woodside is the only QB in this tier to turn in a Week 1 victory, the latest San Antonio depth chart lists Woodside, Marquise Williams, and Dustin Vaughan as co-starters. Avoid that situation if possible.

Running Backs

1. Trent Richardson – Birmingham Iron [Monitor Injury]
2. Jhurell Pressley – Arizona Hotshots

3. Akeem Hunt – Orlando Apollos

   Our first RB tier features three studs, each receiving 10+ carries and featured on at least 50% of snaps. All three are on teams favored to win by at least 6 points. Nothing to overthink here, these guys should be locked and loaded.

4. Ja’Quan Gardner – San Diego Fleet
5. Tarean Folston – Atlanta Legends
6. Joel Bouagnon – Salt Lake Stallions
7. Ladarius Perkins – Birmingham Iron
8. Branden Oliver – Salt Lake Stallions

9. Kenneth Farrow II – San Antonio Commanders

   The middle tier of RBs features lead backs Gardner and Folston, a target hog in Perkins, and a few RBBC members projected to be playing from behind this weekend. Despite playing alongside power back Matt Asiata, Bouagnon was 2nd among Week 1 RBs with 4 RZ carries.

10. De’Veon Smith – Orlando Apollos
11. Zac Stacy – Memphis Express
12. D’Ernest Johnson – Orlando Apollos
13. David Cobb – San Antonio Commanders
14. Larry Rose – Arizona Hotshots
15. Matt Asiata – Salt Lake Stallions
16. Trey Williams - San Antonio Commanders
17. Rajion Neal – Memphis Express

We wrap up RBs with your desperation plays. Rose and Asiata are TD-or-bust goal line backs with RZ carries and not much else going for them. Rajion Neal was 2nd among RBs with five Week 1 targets, but managed just 2.6 fantasy points with that opportunity. Smith and Johnson both managed TDs when the Apollos routed Atlanta, but neither back surpassed 6 carries + targets last week, so their production will be nearly impossible to sustain with Akeem Hunt hogging snaps. Keep an eye out for a healthy Trey Williams, debuting in Week 2 as a passing down specialist in San Antonio.

Wide Receivers

1. Quinton Patton – Birmingham Iron
2. Jalin Marshall – Orlando Apollos
3. Mekale McKay – San Antonio Commanders
4. Brian Brown – San Diego Fleet

5. Rashad Ross – Arizona Hotshots

   These WRs put on a show in Week 1. Patton became the first AAF player to ever have a 100-yard game. Marshall threw a TD to his quarterback, and caught another TD for a 20.3 point outing. McKay managed 80 yards on a league-leading 12 targets. Ross was the top wideout of the week, with 103 yards to go with 2 scores, in spite of playing just 57% of Arizona’s snaps.

6. Seantavius Jones – Atlanta Legends
7. Charles Johnson – Orlando Apollos
8. Greg Ward Jr. – San Antonio Commanders
9. Richard Mullaney – Arizona Hotshots
10. Malachi Jones – Atlanta Legends
11. Reece Horn – Memphis Express
12. Chris Thompson – Orlando Apollos
13. Francis Owusu – San Diego Fleet

14. Alton “Pig” Howard – Memphis Express

    Every WR in our 2nd tier managed 5+ targets in Week 1, and with what little we know so far about the AAF, it’s wise to simply follow the targets until we know more. Former Louisville QB Greg Ward Jr. is an X-Factor for the Commanders, with a carry and a pass attempt to go along with a whopping 9 targets.

15. Tobias Palmer – Birmingham Iron
16. Dontez Ford – San Diego Fleet
17. Kenny Bell – Salt Lake Stallions
18. Ishmael Hyman – Orlando Apollos
19. Rannell Hall – Orlando Apollos
20. Ervin Phillips – Atlanta Legends
21. Kameron Kelly – San Diego Fleet
22. DeVozea Felton – Birmingham Iron
23. Jordan Leslie – Salt Lake Stallions
24. De’Mornay Pierson-El – Salt Lake Stallions
25. Kayaune Ross – Memphis Express

26. Alonzo Moore – San Antonio Commanders

    This is WR dartboard territory. None of these WRs are heavily targeted, but they play significant snaps and are likely to stay involved. Moore flashed big play ability on Saturday with 3 receptions for 78 yards, the only Tier 3 WR to crack double digits.

Tight Ends

1. Gavin Escobar – San Diego Fleet

   Escobar, as in my Week 1 rankings, is in a tier of his own. Cruising to a TE-leading 66 yards on 4 receptions, he managed to break double digits without a TD. TEs that can do that are fantasy gold.

2. Anthony Denham – Salt Lake Stallions
3. Gerald Christian – Arizona Hotshots
4. Nick Truesdell – Salt Lake Stallions

5. Thomas Duarte – Arizona Hotshots

   Truesdell and Denham both saw over 50% of Stallions snaps on Sunday, and both turned in 10+ fantasy points. Multiple solid options at TE from Salt Lake. Christian had the highest PFF grade and the best fantasy outing of any TE, but played just 40% of snaps for the Hotshots. Duarte played on 59% of Hotshot snaps, but received just 2 targets.

6. Charles Standberry Jr. – Atlanta Legends
7. Marcus Baugh – San Diego Fleet
8. Connor Davis – Birmingham Iron
9. Busta Anderson – Birmingham Iron
10. Scott Orndoff – Orlando Apollos

11. Cole Hunt – San Antonio Commanders

    At the bottom of the TE list, we’re into the wasteland that fantasy owners know so well. Standberry Jr.’s 4 fantasy points were the best among this bottom tier. Regardless, these TEs all get their share of snaps and all are targeted in the passing game.

Kickers

1. Nick Folk – Arizona Hotshots
2. Nick Novak – Birmingham Iron
3. Elliot Fry – Orlando Apollos
4. Donny Hageman – San Diego Fleet
5. Nick Rose – San Antonio Commanders
6. Younghoe Koo – Atlanta Legends
7. Kyle Bertolet – Salt Lake Stallions
8. Josh Jasper – Memphis Express

Defense / Special Teams

1. Fleet D/ST
2. Iron D/ST
3. Hotshots D/ST
4. Apollos D/ST
5. Commanders D/ST
6. Stallions D/ST
7. Legends D/ST
8. Express D/ST