Unexpected Week 1 performances often lead to overreactions in regard to who many slot into Week 2 Fantasy football lineups. Tyler Shough had a 410-yard, 3-TD game, while Kyle Monangai, Christian Watson and Dalton Kincaid all had at least 124 scrimmage yards in their season openers. While some may offer the Fantasy football advice of waiting for these players to display consistency, at the very least they should be on your radar as potential Week 2 Fantasy football picks.
The same philosophy could be applied to those who underperformed last week such as Tony Pollard, Terry McLaurin and Jerry Jeudy. Their play warrants them to be a part of the Week 2 Fantasy football start-sit debate as they didn't exactly make huge impacts last season either. Before setting your Week 2 Fantasy football lineups, be sure to check out the Week 2 Fantasy football rankings from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
When it comes to ranking players, SportsLine's model beat human experts in Fantasy football for the past several seasons, especially when there were big differences in ranking. Over the course of a season, that could literally be the difference between winning your league or going home empty-handed.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, including being ahead of the curve on players like A.J. Brown, Jonathan Taylor, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara and Jahmyr Gibbs. Anybody who banked on players like those could have made a run at their league title.
Now, the model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, has revealed its Fantasy football rankings for Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top Week 2 Fantasy football picks
One surprise in Week 2: The model is fading Saints tight end Juwan Johnson, who was the TE8 a year ago and posted a 3-54-1 stat line in the opener. Johnson should have many more productive outings like that going forward but in Week 2 versus the Ravens isn't projected to be one of them. No team allowed fewer touchdowns to tight ends in 2025 than Baltimore, and no one at the position gained more than 60 yards against the team last year. The Ravens held Indy's Tyler Warren, who was the TE4 last year, to a career low of 13 yards in Week 1. The model doesn't even have Johnson in the top 15 in the Week 2 Fantasy football rankings as he's a player to fade this week.
Another curveball: The model is high on Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, despite him coming off just the second game of his career with zero passing touchdowns and three turnovers. Tampa's Week 2 opponent in the Browns should help Mayfield get back on track as they allowed Trevor Lawrence to toss four TDs in Week 1, which was the most of any player. Cleveland's defense registered just one sack and two QB hits in the opener, as Mayfield should have all day to pick apart that unit. A bonus is that this is a revenge game for Mayfield, who was traded from the Browns, as he's a top 10 Fantasy quarterback this week. For more start/sit Fantasy football advice, be sure to check out the rest of the Week 2 Fantasy football rankings.
How to set Week 2 Fantasy football rankings
The model is also calling for a surprising wide receiver you aren't even thinking about to finish in the top 20 of its Week 2 Fantasy football rankings, ahead of the likes of Davante Adams and Tee Higgins. This pick could be the difference between winning big and going home with nothing. See the model's entire Week 2 Fantasy football rankings for PPR and standard leagues here.
So who should you start and sit this week, and which surprising wideout could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 2 Fantasy football rankings for every position, plus see which receiver is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 20 all from the model that has outperformed experts big-time.
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