NFL Week 2 Survivor Pool: Expert R.J. White Shares Top Pick and Strategy

It's already been a rough start to the season for NFL survivor pool entrants. One of the top picks in Week 1 was the Los Angeles Chargers behind veteran Justin Herbert, who were going up against a new coach with a new quarterback in Mike LeFleur, Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals. The game was at home, no less. The result, however, was a 26-14 Cardinals win. That result alone wiped out $10.3 million in survivor equity across two contests at Circa Sports in Las Vegas, according to their vice president Mike Palm. So for those still alive in their survivor pool, its time to finalize your Week 2 NFL survivor picks.  Claim the latest Polymarket promo code CBSSPORTS to get a $50 bonus after $10 in trades :

Six teams are favored by 7 or more points: 49ers (-13.5) vs. Dolphins, Buccaneers (-8.5) vs. Browns, Ravens (-8.5) vs. Saints, Eagles (-7) vs. Titans, Chargers (-7) vs. Raiders and Rams (-7) vs. Giants. Should you back one of them, or roll the dice a bit and try to set yourself up for more success later in the season? Before finalizing any Week 2 NFL survivor picks, you need to see which team proven expert R.J. White is backing .

White has been SportsLine's No. 1 NFL against-the-spread expert over the last nine years, going 803-705-41 against the spread to put him up more than 27 units on those picks at NFL betting sites since 2017. He has also delivered a 55% hit rate on his Vegas contest picks over the last 11 seasons and has two finishes in the money, including finishing 18th out of 2,748 entries back in 2017. He knows the NFL at a level that few do, making him the perfect expert to give NFL survivor pool strategy tips. And in Week 1, he wisely avoided the Chargers, the consensus pick, and backed the Jaguars, who handled the Browns 34-10.

Now, White has turned his attention to the latest Week 2  NFL odds  and locked in his Week 2 survivor pool pick.  You can only see who White is backing this week at SportsLine .

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Top Week 2 NFL survivor pool predictions

After studying all of his 2026 NFL Week 2 survivor options, including this week and the rest of the year, White is avoiding the 49ers versus the Dolphins despite San Francisco being the consensus selection. Although the 49ers are -13.5 favorites (-926 on the money line), they face the unknown in that they are making their return after playing the Rams in Australia just a week and a half earlier. That long distance turnaround could have a clear affect in the team's performance.

"The 49ers seem destined to be the consensus pick this week after destroying the Super Bowl favorite on a neutral field," White told SportsLine. "That would steer me away from them anyway, but we should also be worried about the effect that traveling to and from Australia will have on a team in a sleepy spot where they're expected to get an easy win."

Another factor White is considering is that Miami looked much better than the 27-13 final score indicated in the loss at Las Vegas. Quarterback Malik Willis showed some good signs in the loss. He completed 15 of 27 passes (55.6%) for 220 yards and one interception. He also led the Dolphins in rushing, carrying six times for 39 yards and a score. Rookie third-round pick Caleb Douglas had a solid debut at wide receiver with five receptions for 94 yards.

White notes that there's another team that has less future value on the board this week, so he's going to save the 49ers for later in the season.  See which team to pick instead here .

How to make Week 2 NFL survivor pool picks

White says he's comfortable with saving a couple of his heavy hitters for later in the season, and he's found a surprising team to jump on in Week 2, while it still makes sense. "There will only be one or two spots where people will feel comfortable using (them)," White said. The time to pick this team is now, and  you can only see the play over at SportsLine .

Which team is a must-back in your Week 2 NFL survivor pool? Visit SportsLine now to see which team carries you to victory in Week 2, all from SportsLine's top NFL expert all time.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/week-2-nfl-survivor-pool-picks-advice-strategy-knockout-pick-teams-to-avoid/)._