Don’t Believe EVERYTHING from Week 1 | Starts & Sits for Week 2 in Fantasy Football

by Matty Kiwoom · Featured
Starts & Sits for Week 2

One week down, seventeen to go. Week 1 gave us some real signs and some total noise. The trick now is figuring out which one is which before you set your Week 2 lineups. A few big names disappointed, and a few unheralded guys popped off. Here are my Starts & Sits at every position for Week 2.

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Week 2 Starts & Sits

Quarterback

START Brock Purdy

Brock Purdy tossed three touchdowns Down Under in his season opener, and honestly, that might be the floor here. He’s at home against Miami this week, and the Dolphins are shaping up to be one of the softest matchups a quarterback can ask for. This game also carries the highest implied Vegas total on the entire Sunday slate at 45.5 points, which tells you exactly how much scoring both sides expect (29.5 for the 49ers, 16 for the ‘Fins).

Purdy sits at QB2 in PlayerProfiler’s Week 2 rankings, and with Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey all healthy around him, this offense has the weapons it needs for Purdy to put up a big number this Sunday. When a quarterback this talented gets a plus matchup and a big total, you play him. Done and dusted.

SIT Tyler Shough

Tyler Shough put up big dog fantasy points in Week 1 — over 400 passing yards — but anyone who watched that game knows it was ugly for long stretches before garbage time inflated the box score. Now he heads to Baltimore, and the Ravens just finished stonewalling Daniel Jones and a Colts offense that came in with real expectations. That’s not a defense you want to test in Week 2.

Vegas isn’t expecting much scoring in this one, which caps Shough’s upside from the jump. He’s PlayerProfiler’s QB15 this week, and between the tough road environment and the low-scoring outlook, he’s a bench piece unless your quarterback situation forces your hand.

Running Back

START Saquon Barkley

Saquon Barkley had a dud against Washington in Week 1. That should not scare you off of him in Week 2. The workload was never the problem. Barkley played close to 70% of Philadelphia’s snaps, which is exactly the kind of usage that survives a bad week and sets up a bounce-back.

The matchup lines up well. Tennessee just gave up a huge day to Breece Hall and let tight end Kenyon Sadiq waltz into the end zone on an end-around. If that defense can’t slow down the Jets backfield, Barkley should eat. Ignore the box score from Week 1 and trust the role and the stud talent.

SIT Bhayshul Tuten

Denver got torched by Kenneth Walker in Week 1, and I get why that box score might tempt you into starting whoever the Broncos are facing next. Bhayshul Tuten is not Kenneth Walker, and this defense is a tough out for backs regardless of who lit them up last week. Different back, different profile, and way different outcome.

Tuten played under 50% of Jacksonville’s snaps in the opener, and the Vegas implied total in Denver isn’t doing him any favors either. Between the less-than-solidified role and a genuinely difficult matchup, Tuten checks in at RB34 in my Week 2 rankings, and that’s about where he belongs… on your bench.

Wide Receiver

START Emeka Egbuka

Emeka Egbuka‘s fantasy line didn’t do him any favors in Week 1, but the role sure did. He was the clear WR1 in Tampa Bay’s offense from snap one to the final whistle. That’s the part that matters heading into Week 2, and it’s why I’m not fading him. Egbuka finished with more than 10 fantasy points and a role that will have some big-time spike weeks going forward. 

This week he gets Cleveland at home, a matchup that ranks in the top seven against wide receivers. We already saw Parker Washington do damage against this secondary, and Egbuka has the skill set to do a lot more with it. He’s sitting at WR14 in the Week 2 rankings, but the role and the matchup both say he’s going to be on a lot of winning teams’ starting lineups.

SIT Rome Odunze

Rome Odunze‘s health is the whole story right now, and it’s murky enough that I can’t feel good starting him with any confidence. Chicago’s offense has proven it can move the ball without funneling touches his way, which only adds to the uncertainty about his role until he’s fully healthy.

To be fair, if you get a clean signal on his health before kickoff, the matchup and the underlying projections both look genuinely encouraging. But “encouraging if healthy” isn’t a start-with-confidence label. He’s WR23 in the Week 2 rankings, but until there’s more clarity, I’d rather watch from the sideline.

Tight End

START Jake Ferguson

Jake Ferguson only sits at TE14 in the Week 2 rankings, but don’t let that number fool you because this is one of the better streaming spots at the position all week. Washington just gave up a top-three tight end performance last week, and Vegas expects this divisional matchup to have plenty of points on the board. That combination is exactly what you want when you’re hunting for a tight end streamer.

The matchup grades out as the fifth-best spot for the position in Week 2, and a shootout script only helps a pass-catcher like Ferguson get more opportunities. If you’re streaming the position, this is one of my favorite plays on the board.

SIT Kyle Pitts

Kyle Pitts put up a flat zero in fantasy points in Week 1, and while one bad game doesn’t erase talent, the matchup ahead doesn’t scream “bounce-back,” either. Carolina projects as a mid-tier defense against tight ends, and they didn’t allow a single reception to Colston Loveland last week. That’s not exactly an inviting sign for Pitts when it comes to fantasy football.

He’s TE18 in the Week 2 rankings, and between the underwhelming target competition in Atlanta’s offense and a defense that just proved it can take tight ends away entirely, I’d rather look elsewhere this week.

Utilize the Matchups

Week 1 box scores lie more than any other week on the calendar. New coordinators getting comfortable, unfamiliar personnel groupings, and small sample sizes create noise that can drive uninformed managers crazy. The names above are built on role, matchup, and what the numbers actually support, not on overreacting to one game. Trust the process, fade the box-score panic, and set some winning lineups.

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