Fantasy Football Rankings: Week 2 Matchups to Consider
I have watched a lot of football, and I knew pretty quickly that this Week 1 was special. Turns out, it tied the record for most points scored in the opening week of the NFL season with 791 points. It was incredible to finally watch some football after months and months of waiting, and this is what we got. You really couldn’t have drawn it up better.
Ben Johnson wants to break the scoring record, and the Bears put up 59 points. The 49ers and their depleted pass-catchers defeated the Rams with ease. The Vikings scored 22 unanswered points to come back and beat the Packers. And of course the Arizona Cardinals, who were 9.5-point underdogs, won by 12 against the Chargers. I swear Andy’s Almost Upsets rarely miss.
Absolutely cinema.
In Week 2, we are looking for more puzzle pieces to help us make better-informed decisions. I watched film on all of these players and looked at plenty of advanced statistics so that you do not have to.
Here are some matchups and players to consider heading into Week 2:
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff
QB - DET
When you have Jahmyr Gibbs, who had more carries (29) than Jared Goff completed passes (26), sometimes you just let him take over the game. Goff’s 200-yard, two-TD performance is right in line with QB-streaming territory. Not great, but not bad. Jameson Williams did not do him any favors either. While he had a strong catch and went down at the one-yard line, Jamo also had a handful of drops throughout the game (I counted two for sure, with two others that he had a 50/50 chance on). Nine targets is very encouraging, as it looks like he is picking up right where he left off last season.
I am expecting a bounce-back week for Goff (and Jamo) as they travel to Buffalo to face the Bills in the highest O/U of the week at 54.5 points. It helps that C.J. Stroud threw for 274 yards against the Bills in Week 1, after doing so only twice in 12 full games in 2025.
Trevor Lawrence
QB - JAX
Horseboy strikes again! Four passing TDs in Week 1 is something I am sure we all saw coming. No one has more passing TDs than Trevor Lawrence over the past eight regular-season games (22). While Brian Thomas Jr. was mostly used as a decoy and blocker after returning from injury, it is something to note. The Browns are also kind of a joke of a team, at least on offense with Deshaun Watson under center.
In Week 2, this is certainly a matchup to consider. The Jags travel to Mile High to face the Broncos and a defense with plenty of question marks. Part of analyzing Week 1 is trying to decipher what is real and what isn’t. Without a doubt, there was some very poor tackling by Denver on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs. There are tougher defenses on the horizon for T. Law, but if he puts together a repeat performance in Week 2, it may give fantasy managers some peace of mind that he can get it done, even without using his legs.
Running Backs
MarShawn Lloyd
RB - GB
Who knows how long the MarShawn Lloyd ride will last while we wait for Josh Jacobs’ legal issues to wrap up, but here is what I noticed from Lloyd in Week 1. Chris Brooks got the start over Lloyd, which was a surprise, but was mostly irrelevant considering the workload difference. Lloyd saw 13 carries to Brooks’ seven. When Lloyd wasn’t slipping and falling, he was getting met in the backfield, early and often. I liked seeing his ability to make a defender miss with one cut, but it was hard to see his talents against the Vikings defense, which was one of the league’s better units.
While the Jets shut down the Titans’ RBs in Week 1, I am not shocked. The Packers are a much better team, and this week will be very telling about what the Jets really are. In 2025, the Jets ranked as the third-easiest matchup for RBs. This feels like a make-or-break week for Lloyd believers.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt
RB - WAS
Overall, I thought Bill looked very explosive, even opening the game with a nice 11-yard run. I was really concerned about the backfield and the offense in Washington, considering they had one of the worst-ranked offensive lines going into the season, but in Week 1, they gave Jayden Daniels the longest time to throw at 3.41 seconds, according to NextGenStats. It’s worth noting that mobile QBs can, and usually do, inflate that stat because they can get outside the pocket and extend the play before passing.
While there were only four minutes left in the game, it is worth mentioning that after Bill fumbled in the red zone, he never saw the field again for the remaining eight plays, despite the Commanders recovering the fumble.
JCM had two 100-yard games in his rookie season, with one of them coming against Dallas, whom he faces in Week 2. It has only been one week, but the Cowboys may not have figured out their defense just yet. I liked what I saw on film, and the matchup is good enough for me to throw him back out there this week.
Bhayshul Tuten
RB - JAX
My favorite part about Week 1 is confirming our priors. I know most people were in on Bhayshul Tuten over Chris Rodriguez Jr. (CROD), but the Jaguars showed us just how much. While none of the RBs were heavily involved in the passing game, I like to believe that was mainly due to game script, as the Browns failed to put up points. Lawrence only threw the ball 23 times. Only two of his 17 games last season featured that few pass attempts.
Only one rush came in the red zone, and it was by CROD. Tuten clearly had more speed and burst on his carries, with 20% of his runs going for 10 or more yards. He also had 50 of his 66 yards come after contact, which is a testament to his talent. In his first game as the lead back, I saw him falling forward after a lot of runs, but he also held on to the ball with both hands, similar to how an RB would run after fumbling, and did not bounce outside when he had opportunities to do so. Tuten is no Kenneth Walker, but if the Broncos defense doesn’t rebound after a terrible performance, Tuten could have himself a day. Let’s hope for more red zone usage and targets in Week 2.
Wide Receivers
Luther Burden III
WR - CHI
Ah, yes. Of course we all predicted Kalif Raymond would lead the Bears in all receiving metrics and Colston Loveland would end the day with no catches. This is where Week 1 doesn’t fully match reality. Those two things are not going to happen again (and if they do, please check in on me). The Bears opened up the game with a screen to Burden, who made a few moves to get upfield, but then fumbled the ball directly to the Panthers. He also had only a 19% target share in a game where none of the big three for the Bears were really used. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Burden saw the highest snap percentage of his young career and caught all five of his targets. The Bears absolutely dominated on the ground, but with their weapons on the outside, I would expect the passing game to make some plays soon. I am not worried about any of the Bears’ pass catchers after one week of football.
The Vikings matchup should be interesting, especially after they just got torched by the Packers through the air. The game script pushed the Packers toward a more pass-heavy approach, which has not totally been their calling card in the Jordan Love era. Regardless of whether Carson Wentz or Kyler Murray is at QB, I believe this will live up to the 48.5 O/U, which is the third-highest of the week. The Bears defense will make sure this game stays close, and it is not because they are good.
DJ Moore
WR - BUF
If you are a truther, stand up! In Week 1, D.J. Moore had a 28% target share, which is phenomenal. It is fair to be a little skeptical, as 43 of his 100 yards came on one big broken play, but that play still happened, and it was against the Houston Texans’ defense. Derek Stingley Jr. was in coverage for most of his routes, too.
After watching all of his routes in Week 1, I believe D.J. Moore is the real deal. He and Josh Allen are already trying to exploit mismatches, even against an elite defense like the Texans. With time, their timing should only improve. The Bills play the Lions on Thursday Night Football, and all I keep wondering is whether this could be a Super Bowl preview. Fire up D.J. Moore, and, oh yeah, it’s a 54.5-point O/U, but let’s round it up to 55!
Terry McLaurin
WR - WAS
In Week 1, Scary Terry gave us a dud. But should we have learned our lesson after three other consecutive duds in season openers? It was a weird week for Washington pass catchers. McLaurin scared managers, Diggs looked good when he wasn’t dropping the ball, and I thought rookie WR Antonio Williams was the best WR on the field. Williams almost came up with two TDs, but he went down at the one-yard line.
McLaurin ran the most routes among Commanders receivers. Now put him against the Cowboys defense in the second-highest O/U at 50.5 points, and my interest is officially piqued.
Tight Ends
Evan Engram
TE - DEN
Entering his 10th season, Evan Engram has seen a lot. On Sunday, he will see his old team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, in what I am sure he hopes will be a solid revenge game. The Broncos defense looked horrible, and the offense was arguably even worse. OC and play-caller Davis Webb did about as bad a job as you could in Week 1. I would be surprised if Sean Payton doesn’t take the reins back from him at some point this season, but doing it this early would be surprising. You must give Webb a chance to improve.
While the offense couldn’t really stay on the field, Engram still managed to run the third-most routes, tied with Pat Bryant at 19. I know Deshaun Watson could not get Harold Fannin going in Week 1 against the Jags, bT. LawLaw is an actual professional QB, and the Jags were susceptible to giving up fantasy points to TEs in 2025.
David Njoku
TE - LAC
I thought it was rather odd that the Chargers would bring in David Njoku and then list him as the TE3 on the depth chart. Turns out depth charts are like points in Whose Line Is It Anyway? Neither one matters.
According to NextGenStats, Njoku ran 16 routes to Charlie Kolar’s 12 and Oronde Gadsden’s five. With the Chargers’ leading receiver, Ladd McConkey, not practicing on Wednesday, that may open up more opportunities for other pass catchers. With the TE position being so grim, this nasty boy who was tied with Ladd in receptions on Sunday might be worth considering.