NFL Fantasy Football 2025: Start ‘em, Sit ‘em – Week 2
Welcome back to Fantasy Football Start ‘em, Sit ‘em – where each week we explore some of my best picks for who should be starting in fantasy managers’ lineups, and who should be sitting the week out.
After the first week back, we are already looking at a grueling number of injuries. Falcons WR1 Drake London suffered a shoulder sprain and will undergo further testing, Broncos TE Evan Engram injured his calf and is questionable, Raiders star TE Brock Bowers left with a knee injury, Rams WR Puka Nacua was evaluated for a concussion – he returned, but something to keep an eye on, 49ers QB Brock Purdue might miss several weeks, and 49ers pass catchers George Kittle (hamstring) and Jauan Jennings (shoulder) both left early and will receive MRIs for their injuries.
On the bright side, there were plenty of surprising performances from waiver wire players should you need a short-term replacement (Quentin Johnston, Juwan Johnson, etc.)
Ian’s Record: 3-5
Not a great start, but we’ll bounce back.
Start ’em
Dak Prescott (QB, Cowboys) vs. Giants
It was a slow start to the season for Prescott, but that was against the defending Super Bowl champs paired with some crucial drops from his star WR. I don’t see that happening again now that they’re home against one of their most favorable opponents.
Dak is 13-2 against the G-Men, throwing for 3,915 yards, 29 touchdowns, and only 8 interceptions. I’m expecting both Dak and CeeDee to bounce back in dominant fashion in this get right game.
Travis Etienne Jr. (RB, Jaguars) at Bengals
After all but being written off, Etienne started his season off with a bang by accumulating 143 rushing yards on only 16 carries. Although Carolina’s run defense is absurdly bad, Etienne’s three-down skill set should provide heavy volume now that Tank Bigsby is gone.
While Cincy’s improving defensive front only held Cleveland’s running backs to 40 yards, Dylan Sampson had eight catches behind an old, bad offensive line. Jacksonville’s isn’t much better, but the situation for Etienne just cleared up too much to ignore.
Stefon Diggs (WR, Patriots) at Dolphins
Diggs may not have exactly turned heads in his New England debut, but he was solid with six catches after not playing the entire preseason. He’s going to continue to build chemistry with Drake Maye, and I like this matchup for him in Miami.
In his four years with Buffalo, Diggs had 670 yards and six touchdowns against the Dolphins. Miami just allowed Daniel Jones to look like a prime MVP candidate against them, and their secondary a) is as terrible as we all thought, and b) just lost their CB1 for several weeks. Cha-ching.
Kyle Pitts (TE, Falcons) at Vikings
With Drake London nursing a shoulder sprain, let’s have some fun and take another shot with Pitts after he had a solid first outing.
Sit ’em
Daniel Jones (QB, Colts) vs. Broncos
As I mentioned before, Jones had his way against a terrible Dolphins defense in week 1. Do not go chasing his standout performance this week against a defense that is significantly better on all three levels.
Denver’s excellent pass rushing unit sacked Cam Ward six times in week 1 – as in six sacks from six different players. This is a front seven that poses threat across the line, especially with the addition of Dre Greenlaw. Greenlaw didn’t suit up last week, but it’s possible he could come back for week 2. I’m expecting the DJ flame to burn out quick in this much tougher matchup.
Kenneth Walker III (RB, Seahawks) at Steelers
It may not be time to panic yet with Walker, but week 1 definitely was not encouraging. He was held a meager 20 yards on only 10 carries – which was only two reps less than Zach Charbonnet – but still could be a nasty indicator of minimal RB usage.
If Seattle can come out and score more points, it’s certainly possible Walker can be a contributor to that. But this is a tough matchup against a (usually) very good Steelers front seven that rarely allows points off the ground. Pass.
Jerry Jeudy (WR, Browns) vs. Ravens
Jeudy was the leading receiver for the Browns last week, but he was barely able to get going against Cincy’s subpar secondary (5 catches, 66 yards). This week poses a much tougher matchup as he’ll be facing either Jaire Alexander or Marlon Humphrey….or Kyle Hamilton……or Nate Wiggins.
You see the difference right?
And while Baltimore gave up a lot of points last week, that was in Orchard Park against Josh Allen and partly because of Derrick Henry’s costly late-game fumble. I don’t see that happening a second week in a row, especially with Joe Flaaco throwing the ball behind that awful offensive line.
Jake Ferguson (TE, Cowboys) vs. Giants
It’s a shame how under-utilized Jake Ferguson is, with a great TE build (6’5”, 245 pounds), good pass catching ability, and a healthy new contract, but the addition of George Pickens only takes targets away from him and CeeDee Lamb is Dak’s clear favorite.
The Giants also acquired Jevon Holland from Miami; who’s seen a dip in performance but is still well capable of covering tight ends man-to-man – I just don’t see it in the cards for Jake.
BYES: NONE
