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Quarterback
Start of the Week: Caleb Williams (v DAL)
Based on Week 1, the Cowboys appeared back to being a top-tier defense with the secondary healthy and the run defense showing significant improvement. However, that changed last week when they allowed 37 points to a previously dormant New York offense, and DaRon Bland (foot) being out played a huge role in the decline. At the same time, Chicago’s defense was just ripped for 52 points in a loss to the Lions, so Williams will probably need to air it out this week—and he’s been doing damage as a runner this year with 11 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown in two games. Due to difficult matchups for options like Justin Herbert and Jared Goff, we have Williams as our overall QB6 for Week 3.
Start: Marcus Mariota (v LV)
Mariota seems primed to start at least one game for Jayden Daniels (knee), and the offense didn’t miss a beat when the former Heisman winner stepped in for his teammate last season—as he went 33-of-41 for 366 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions in two games of extended action off the bench. That’s without even mentioning the rushing production (16 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown), so while the Raiders play hard defensively, Mariota is a legitimate QB1 option as the starter.
Start: Sam Darnold (v NO)
A quiet opener for Darnold in a loss to San Francisco was followed up by a couple of interceptions last week in the win over Pittsburgh—but early struggles were expected based on the schedule. This week, things certainly lighten up with a matchup against a New Orleans defense that just allowed Mac Jones to rip them apart for 279 yards and three touchdowns, and I know it’s a different coaching staff, but offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak might know how to best attack the defense he faced in practice every day in 2024. We have Darnold in the low-end QB1 ranks.
Start: Carson Wentz (v CIN)
Two backups making it as a “Start” this week might be risky—but Wentz walks into the ideal situation for a quarterback with Kevin O’Connell as the play-caller and by getting to throw passes to Justin Jefferson. In general, the former No. 2 overall pick will probably be aggressive with an opportunity to play (thinking he has a chance to seize the starting job), and Cincinnati is allowing the fifth-most passing yards per game (269.5) on the young season. If you’re in a pinch, Wentz can be a strong QB2 option this weekend.
Sit of the Week: Jordan Love (@ CLE)
Love has been extremely efficient running the Green Bay offense through two weeks, but I’d like to see how they fare on the road—especially on Sunday against a Cleveland defense that’s allowing the third-fewest passing yards per game (146.0) in the league. Last season, Love had just nine scores through the air in seven road games, and Packers-Browns has the makings of a possible slugfest. We still have Love as a borderline top-15 option, but if a deep connection with Matthew Golden (who will likely see a lot of Denzel Ward) doesn’t finally hit, he could have a quieter outing on Sunday.
Sit: Trevor Lawrence (v HOU)
The Texans now sit at 0-2 after a couple of close losses, but the defense has mostly done their part—allowing just 17.0 points per game. I believe Lawrence will get rolling eventually as he gains comfort in Liam Coen’s offense, but he’s only thrown for multiple touchdown passes once in the past seven meetings versus Houston, and he has a career touchdown-interception ratio of 7:9 against the AFC South rival for his career. Particularly with the chemistry with Brian Thomas Jr. being off right now, Lawrence should be downgraded to the low-end QB2 ranks.
Sit: Drake Maye (v PIT)
Maye had perhaps his best career outing last week with three total touchdowns in a win over the Dolphins, but he was expected to have a big day based on the matchup—and will now face a Pittsburgh defense that has too much talent to not flip a switch soon. The biggest concern about Maye is the offensive line not holding up versus T.J. Watt (who has been far too quiet with zero sacks through two weeks), and I highly doubt the passing attack for the Patriots will keep up the efficient from a week ago when Maye averaged 10.0 yards per attempt.
Sit: Daniel Jones (@ TEN)
Jones is flying up towards borderline QB1 range in our rest-of-season rankings, but Tennessee’s defense held Bo Nix in check two weeks ago and then gave the Rams fits early on last week—so Sunday could be a spot where Indy cools off a bit offensively. Last year, the Colts only averaged 160.0 passing yards per game against the Titans, and for as hot as Jones has been, he’s not thrown for multiple touchdowns in a game thus far in 2025. Also, playing away from home for the first time this year is notable, so consider him a solid QB2 with the hopes he’ll do damage as a runner.
Running Back
Start of the Week: Jordan Mason (v CIN)
I don’t think much of an explanation is needed to get Mason in lineups with Aaron Jones Sr. (hamstring) out, but the bruising runner has looked really good to begin his Minnesota career—and now he’s in line to be featured versus a Cincinnati defense that remains vulnerable against opposing runners with Travis Etienne Jr. and Bhayshul Tuten combining for 163 total yards and two touchdowns last week. If the offense is elevated with Carson Wentz at quarterback, Mason will have increased touchdown potential and needs to be in lineups as a high-end RB2.
Start: Javonte Williams (@ CHI)
Williams has been one of the early fantasy football standouts of the season, and there is no reason to expect he will slow down this week with the Bears allowing 148.5 rushing yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry through two weeks. The former North Carolina standout might be more of a power back at this stage of his career, but Jordan Mason (15 carries for 68 yards) and David Montgomery (11 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown) have each shined versus Chicago, and Williams has shown a nose for the end zone to begin his time with Dallas. Start him as a top-20 option.
Start: Isiah Pacheco (@ NYG)
Pacheco has not lived up to expectations through two games, but the Giants present a major bounce-back opportunity—as their bottom-tier run defense from last season has continued in 2025 with the most rushing yards per game (177.5) and second-most yards per carry (5.9) allowed. Xavier Worthy (shoulder) being back on Sunday night would lighten the box for Pacheco to thrive, and it was encouraging to see his playing time increase to 58.3% in Week 2. Wanting to look elsewhere would be understandable based on the struggles, but if you used Pacheco against the Chargers and Eagles, it’d be wise to stick with him in a cupcake matchup.
Start: Bhayshul Tuten (v HOU)
Jacksonville’s first game without Tank Bigsby led to a more defined backfield, as Tuten stepped up as the clear No. 2 option behind Travis Etienne Jr.—turning 10 touches into 74 yards and a touchdown. The score for the rookie came on a screen pass, and the Jags clearly want to get their backs involved in the passing game and with designed touches in space. With the Texans just allowing Bucky Irving to catch all six of his targets for 50 yards on Monday night, Tuten is worth FLEX consideration in Week 3.
Sit of the Week: Rhamondre Stevenson (v PIT)
For as disappointing as Pittsburgh has been defensively this season—they’ve held down power backs Braelon Allen (six carries for nine yards and a touchdown) and Zach Charbonnet (15 carries for 10 yards) thus far, and Stevenson’s running style is at least similar to those two. Basically, the Steelers might be able to stop Stevenson before he gets going, and the backfield committee for New England could lead to them giving more carries to TreVeyon Henderson if needed. Despite coming off a big game against Miami, Stevenson is our RB35 this week.
Sit: Quinshon Judkins (v GB)
Judkins was great in his NFL debut with 10 carries for 61 yards, and he will carry RB2 value the rest of the season for a Cleveland offense that wants to run the ball. For this week, though, I’d put Judkins more in the FLEX ranks with the Green Bay defense being second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (48.5) and yards per carry (2.4) allowed. Ideally, the rookie will be a full-blown feature back when byes begin in Week 5, and he notably gets another tough draw next week in Detroit.
Sit: RJ Harvey (@ LAC)
Even in a high-scoring game last week against the Colts, Harvey saw limited involvement with six touches for 24 yards—while J.K. Dobbins remained the clear lead runner with 15 touches for 85 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos have had enough trouble getting Evan Engram and others involved in the passing attack, so Harvey’s time may need to wait with Dobbins healthy and shining as a runner (4.6 YPC and a touchdown in each game). We have him outside the top 36 at running back.
Sit: Giants RBs (v KC)
Tyrone Tracy Jr. voiced displeasure about the Giants not running the ball at the goal-line in the Week 1 loss, and it’s fair to wonder if his usage last week—not starting and playing fewer snaps than rookie Cam Skattebo—had to do with the team being unhappy with the comments. Either way, New York appears set to have more of a timeshare with Brian Daboll saying it “could be a week-to-week deal” between Tracy and Skattebo, so I wouldn’t be eager about starting either guy versus a determined Kansas City team that remains stout versus the run.
Wide Receiver
Start of the Week: Zay Flowers (v DET)
Flowers followed up a 7/143/1 line in the opener with seven receptions for 75 yards last week, and we’ve boosted him up to the WR1/WR2 ranks for a possible shootout against the Lions on Monday night. Last week, Detroit struggled to defend Rome Odunze (7/128/2) with their heavy man-coverage looks, and Flowers is obviously a dynamic weapon who could take advantage of one-on-one opportunities if the Lions focus on stopping the run. When the Ravens hosted Detroit when Flowers was a rookie (and not as involved), he caught four passes for 75 yards.
Start: Terry McLaurin (v LV)
A slow start combined with the Commanders likely turning to Marcus Mariota under center might lead to some benching McLaurin—but we have him ranked as a top-15 option after putting him as the WR24 in each of the first two weeks. The thinking is that Las Vegas is a great matchup for McLaurin with question marks at cornerback, and he put up great numbers in two games where Mariota saw extended action in 2024 with lines of 6/98 and 8/62/1. The bar is low with a combined seven receptions for 75 yards, but I’d feel confident in McLaurin having his best outing of the year this week.
Start: Rome Odunze (v DAL)
Caleb Williams clearly has the best chemistry with Odunze among all his pass-catchers, and based on how the Chicago has performed, the offense will again need to point up points facing a high-powered Dallas attack. The absence of DaRon Bland is a crucial missing piece that ties the Cowboys together on defense, and Odunze has three touchdowns in two games this year as a priority for Williams and Ben Johnson in scoring territory. Start him as a WR2.
Start: A.J. Brown (v LAR)
The Eagles didn’t get going through the air in the Super Bowl LIX rematch, but they did get Brown involved early with five receptions (on seven targets) in the first half before essentially pulling back on the aggressiveness in a low-scoring game. Los Angeles is a better offense than the Chiefs right now, so look for Brown to be featured more—especially with the Rams turning to Emmanuel Forbes Jr. as one of their top cornerbacks with Akhello Witherspoon (clavicle) out. It will be time to hit the panic button if he’s quiet again, but Brown is arguably a top-five option this week.
Others: Jauan Jennings (v ARI), Rashod Bateman (v DET)
Sit of the Week: Mike Evans (v NYJ)
Evans has at least been steady to begin the season with five receptions for 51 yards in the opener and five receptions for 56 yards on Monday night—but Sunday brings another difficult draw versus Sauce Gardner. As mentioned last week, Evans started slow in 2024, too, (47.9 yards per game across his first seven outings), and recently hinting at this being his final season could be sign that the future Hall of Famer feels he’s lost a step. We have him outside the top 24 for Week 3.
Sit: Tyreek Hill (@ BUF)
Hill going off twice against the Bills in the playoffs (when he was with the Chiefs) led to me thinking he’s been better against Sean McDermott’s defense than what it actually the case—as he’s been held to 52.2 receiving yards per game and just two touchdowns in nine career meetings in the regular season. Miami is not in a good spot as a team or offense on a short week, so Hill again ranks outside the top 30 at wide receiver with trade rumors perhaps picking up by Friday morning for a volatile situation.
Sit: Chris Olave (@ SEA)
Only Malik Nabers (25) and CeeDee Lamb (24) have more targets than Olave (23) through two weeks, but the production hasn’t been there with exactly 54 yards in both games—and the former first-rounder is averaging just 4.7 yards per target. Seattle isn’t the opponent for him to suddenly break out against, as they’ve allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers (14.4) while ceding just 11 receptions to the position in 2025. Olave is our overall WR40 based on the matchup.
Sit: Stefon Diggs (v PIT)
The hope for Diggs owners is that he is rounding back into form coming off a torn ACL—but it’s not encouraging that the snap percentage went backwards from the opener (56.3% to 51.7%); and it’s been a very small sample size, but he’s averaging 8.9 yards per reception after just 10.6 yards per reception last year in Houston. I wouldn’t want to rely on past success against the Steelers with the previous three lines of 10/130/1, 9/69, and 8/102/1 being from when he was catching passes from Josh Allen, and Diggs should probably be left on the bench until we see the playing time and/or efficiency increase.
Others: Jerry Jeudy (v GB), Quentin Johnston (v DEN)
Tight End
Start: of the Week: T.J. Hockenson (v CIN)
Hockenson has been extremely quiet with four receptions for 27 yards through two games, but Carson Wentz has been known to pepper his tight ends with targets—so there is reason to be optimistic about his outlook versus a Cincinnati defense that allowed 10 receptions for 100 yards to Cleveland tight ends in Week 1. The Vikings being without Aaron Jones Sr. as a receiving threat out of the backfield will only lead to more targets for Hockenson, and we have him as the overall TE7 this week.
Start: Kyle Pitts Sr. (v CAR)
Pitts had a quieter game on Sunday night after seven receptions for 59 yards in the opener—but he caught four passes and tied for the team lead in targets (five) with Atlanta really leaning on the running game. Maybe Carolina won’t put up much of a fight and lead to Michael Penix needing to barely crack a dozen completions again (13 last week), but Pitts remains a TE1 play with the Panthers allowing 15.0+ fantasy points to the position in both games to begin the season.
Start: Evan Engram (v LAC)
As stated, the Broncos haven’t yet gotten Engram going with four receptions for 33 yards through two weeks—but that will almost certainly change as Denver hits their stride as an offense. Derwin James Jr. might simply be a bad matchup for Engram (two receptions for 17 scoreless yards in three career games versus the Chargers), but I could see Sean Payton wanting to get him involved against the franchise he beat out in the bidding for the tight end in the offseason. I’d consider Engram a low-end TE1.
Sit of the Week: Mark Andrews (v DET)
We won’t get a good indication about whether Isaiah Likely (foot) could make his debut until at least tomorrow (and possibly not until Monday night)—but as feared heading into the season, Andrews has been an afterthought anyway with two receptions for seven yards to begin 2025. Even if Likely is out again, Andrews won’t be a recommended play versus a Detroit defense that typically limits opposing tight ends, and we have him as the overall TE21 if Likely does suit up.
Sit: Colston Loveland (v DAL)
Being a rookie at a position that often carries a learning curve might help explain it, but Loveland is another option that has been extremely quiet through two weeks. Frankly, we viewed Loveland as a potential top-15 option this year based on how much Ben Johnson seemed to like him—but we gave him a second-round grade, and the Bears taking him over Tyler Warren doesn’t appear to have been a wise move thus far. Wait until Loveland sees increased involvement before getting him in lineups.
Sit: Dalton Schultz (@ JAX)
Schultz had a 5/61/1 line against the Jaguars last December, but he was quiet in the four other career matchups (combined seven receptions for 60 scoreless yards)—and Jacksonville wasn’t healthy on defense in the most recent meeting. Based on how Houston has struggled on offense to begin the season, you might be better off going for an option in a passing attack that’s operating at a higher level.