Week 1 gave me a few calls I want back. D’Andre Swift blew up after I put him on the sit list, Patrick Mahomes beat the Denver fade and Jake Ferguson never got the volume I expected. Parker Washington was one of the better hits. More important, we finally have real NFL snaps to work with.
I’m tightening the filter for Week 2. A ranking gap by itself is not enough. I want the player’s current role, strong independent expert data and a matchup I can exploit before I make the call. That leaves four starts and three sits I’m comfortable defending.
Scoring: These calls use my current Week 2 Half-PPR rankings. Rest-of-season rank is included so you can see when I’m making a one-week call instead of changing how I value the player for the year. See the full Week 2 fantasy football rankings.
My 7 Week 2 Fantasy Football Start/Sit Calls
| Player | Week 2 RankWeek 2 | ROS RankROS | My Call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parker Washington WR · JAX | WR18 | WR36 | START |
| Dalton Kincaid TE · BUF | TE6 | TE11 | START |
| Luther Burden III WR · CHI | WR25 | WR25 | START |
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt RB · WAS | RB29 | RB40 | START |
| Bo Nix QB · DEN | QB18 | QB13 | SIT |
| Tony Pollard RB · TEN | RB34 | RB27 | SIT |
| Brian Thomas Jr. WR · JAX | WR46 | WR31 | SIT* |
*Thomas is the injury-sensitive call on this list. His shoulder and practice participation will need monitoring before Sunday. If his role or status changes enough to move the live Week 2 rankings, I’ll adjust with it.
Have a Different Week 2 Decision?
Use the PFM Start/Sit tool when your lineup comes down to two players. Pick the lineup spot and compare both names against the same Week 2 Half-PPR rankings behind this article. Then use the role and matchup as the tiebreaker when the ranks sit close together.
Parker Washington: Start the Role, Even in Denver
This is not an easy-matchup call. Denver is exactly the kind of defense that should make me question a fringe receiver. The problem is that Washington did not look like a fringe part of Jacksonville’s passing game in Week 1.
He led the Jaguars with six targets, a 26.1% target share and 43.3% of the team’s air yards while running a route on 70.8% of Trevor Lawrence’s dropbacks. FantasyPros’ most accurate Week 2 experts have him WR19. I have him WR18.
Dalton Kincaid: Chase the Full-Time Role, Not the 130 Yards
I do not need Kincaid to repeat his 130-yard opener. What I want to keep is the role. He played 80.8% of Buffalo’s snaps, ran a route on 68.8% of the passing plays and drew a 20.7% target share. That is much closer to the full-time tight end usage fantasy managers have been waiting for.
The matchup gives me another reason to stay aggressive. Detroit allowed the second-most receiving fantasy points to tight ends in Week 1 and this should be one of the higher scoring games of week 2.
Luther Burden III: Minnesota Is the Matchup to Attack
Burden is one of the easier Week 2 calls because the rank, efficiency and matchup all point the same direction. He cleared 2.4 yards per route run in Chicago’s opener, and he was able to shake off the early fumble in last week’s win at Carolina. I have him WR25 this week.
Now he gets a Minnesota secondary that allowed 387 passing yards in Week 1. Christian Watson and Matthew Golden combined for 42.2 Half-PPR points against the Vikings, who gave up the most fantasy points to wide receivers in the opening week. I am not assuming one bad defensive game becomes a season-long trend, but this is exactly where I want to lean into Burden’s upside.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt: The Volume Is Real Enough to Chase
I’m not starting Croskey-Merritt because I expect another RB17 finish. I’m starting him because Washington gave him 16 carries to Rachaad White’s seven, and the receiving work was close enough that he did not disappear when the offense went to the air.
Dallas allowed the fifth-most rushing yards in Week 1 after giving up the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs last season. That is enough volume and matchup support for me to use him as a back-end RB2 or flex.
Bo Nix: Do Not Pay for the Rest-of-Season Rank Yet
This is the kind of sit I should have made more often last week. Nix is still QB13 for me rest of season, but I do not need to force that season-long belief into the Week 2 lineup after Denver produced only 176 total yards in Kansas City.
The matchup issue is all about pressure. Nix was pressured on 45.5% of his Week 1 dropbacks and went 2-of-10 for five yards with an interception and two strip-sacks on those plays. Jacksonville’s pass rush was disruptive throughout its opener against Cleveland.
Tony Pollard: A 51/51 Snap Split Is the Warning
Pollard’s seven carries for 35 yards are not the main problem. The split with Tyjae Spears is. Both backs played 51% of Tennessee’s offensive snaps, and Pollard held only a modest early-down edge. On an offense that struggled to sustain drives, that is not enough control of the backfield for me to ignore the matchup.
Philadelphia held all three Washington running backs below 4.0 yards per carry in Week 1 and did not allow an explosive run. FantasyPros also put Pollard on its Week 2 risky-start list. I have him RB34, which is a bench range in most 10- and 12-team leagues unless your roster is already thin.
Brian Thomas Jr.: The Name Is Bigger Than the Week 2 Role
The Jacksonville receiver room gives us a good example of why I’m using role before name value this week. Washington led the team in targets and air yards. Thomas drew only three targets, ran a route on 54.2% of the passing plays and left the game with a shoulder injury.
Now Thomas gets Denver while managing that shoulder. Liam Coen said he is expected to be limited in practice this week, and my board has him WR46 compared with WR31 rest of season. That is a big enough one-week downgrade that I am not treating him like a lineup lock just because I still believe in the talent.
What I’m Doing Differently in Week 2
Week 1 was a good reminder that a matchup should not carry the entire argument. Swift had a better role than I gave him credit for, and the Mahomes call asked one defensive matchup to outweigh too much quarterback talent. I am not repeating that process here.
Washington, Kincaid, Burden and Croskey-Merritt all have role evidence plus outside support. Nix, Pollard and Thomas all have a weekly ranking downgrade with a football reason behind it. That does not guarantee seven wins, but it gives every call more than one way to be right.
Ranks reviewed: September 16th, 2026. Week 2 Half-PPR rankings can move before kickoff as injury and availability news changes. Brian Thomas Jr. is the call on this list I would recheck most closely before Sunday.
Sources & Ranking Review
- PFM: Week 2 and Rest-of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings and Start/Sit Tool. Current PFM ranks and opponents used throughout this article.
- FantasyPros: Week 2 rankings from the most accurate experts. Used as the independent ranking check for Washington, Kincaid, Burden, Croskey-Merritt and Nix.
- FantasyPros: Week 2 fantasy points allowed and matchup analysis. Used for the Dallas run-defense context and Minnesota wide-receiver matchup.
- FantasyPros: Dalton Kincaid Week 2 start/sit analysis and Week 1 role and usage review. Used for Kincaid’s usage, Jacksonville receiver roles and Denver pressure context.
- FantasyPros and Jacksonville Jaguars: Week 2 safe and risky starts for Pollard’s backfield split, plus Jacksonville’s Week 1 review for the Jaguars pass-rush context.
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