NFL survivor picks, strategy: Week 2 safe, value, and trap options

CINCINNATI, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 13: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half of the game at Paycor Stadium on September 13, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. | Getty Images The NFL is officially underway and we have one week in our rear view mirror. The biggest upset last week saw the Giants thump the Cowboys, while the 49ers sprung a smaller upset of the Rams in Australia. The Bills might have had the most impressive win, putting up 36 points on the road against a tough Texans defense. We return for Week 2 and that means it’s time for another round of Surivor picks. If you’ve never played before, a survivor pool involves picking one team each week that you think will win. If your team wins in Week 1, you can make a pick in Week 2. If your team wins in Week 2, you can make a pick in Week 3, and so on. The catch is that you cannot pick a team twice. You could very well use a heavy favorite in Week 1, but you won’t have access to them later in the year if you’re alive in the closing weeks. Most pools knock you out after one incorrect pick, but some do offer a double elimination process. I’m here to offer up some advice once again. I’m in one Survivor pool, but I have four entries and it’s a double-elimination league. Last week, I took the Chargers over the Cardinals, the Steelers over the Falcons, and two picks of the Jaguars over the Browns. My LA pick went south, so I’m down to three entries undefeated and one with one strike. Below I’ve got a look at the safest choices, best value picks, and then trap picks. I’ll post my own picks at the end. Since I publish this article on Thursday, I’ll update on Sunday once I lock in my three picks. I’ve included odds for the favorite in each game, courtesy of FanDuel. Safest picks 49ers (-13.5) over Dolphins Ravens (-8.5) over Saints The Dolphins struggled to do much of anything against the Raiders, while the 49ers looked great against the Rams. I do think this could be closer than expected with the 49ers coming back across the international date line, but the Dolphins are one of the ideal opponents for this kind of game. The Saints gave the Lions a ton of trouble, but I think Baltimore is a much more put together team than Detroit right now. I’m just not buying into the Saints being as good as they looked last week. Best value picks Buccaneers (-8.5) over Browns The Browns are awful while the Bucs looked good enough to be decent in their loss to the Bengals. Tampa is not a team I’d use much the rest of the year. Right now, their biggest remaining potential spreads are home games against the Falcons, Panthers, and Saints — all divisional games. They might make big strides over the coming weeks, but right now they’re not a team worth investing in the rest of the way. Trap pick Chargers (-6.5) over Raiders I suspect the Chargers bounce back from last week’s embarrassing loss to the Cardinals. And yet, a divisional game against a Raiders team that showed some decent signs of life does not strike me as a great option. My picks this week I won’t use the Bucs for all my picks this week, but I’m strongly leaning toward two of them. I don’t want to use the Chargers, but with four entries at hand, I’m tempted to use them for one anyway. If this was a one-off pool I wouldn’t use them, and with double elimination at hand, I might use them anyway. I’ll sleep on it until Sunday and make the call then. The 49ers are intriguing as a safe pick. There are some other options for using them later this season, but I wouldn’t feel awful not having them available for one entry later this year.

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