StatLogic Sports Week 2 NFL Fantasy Football Gameday Guide

We're on to Week 2 of the 2025 National Football League season, which for fantasy football full-season managers and DFS players can be a confusing and confounding time.

It doesn't have to be.

Our mantra for Week 1 was "keep it simple," so do you think it Week 2 we're going to switch it up and tell you to bang your heads against the wall and make it complicated?

Nope. For Week 2, we also look to keep it simple. Stupid.

That's right, why make things difficult when we don't need to? While others are overreacting over star players who disappointed and playing the guys who came out of nowhere but either rotted on benches or went unclaimed in DFS, we are going to go back to the well. Again.

Here is our process for Week 2 to make it even simpler:

1) As always, check out the sportsbooks and figure out which games have the highest point totals. It's always advisable to look at these games first for obvious reasons:

• Jaguars/Bengals - 49

• Bills/Jets - 47

• Eagles/Chiefs - 47.0

• Bears/Lions -46.5

• Browns/Ravens - 45.5

The next level of games at 44.5 is Panthers-Cardinals, Falcons-Vikings and Giants-Cowboys.

2) Pick out all the studs who made our lives miserable last week and cross-reference those players with games mentioned above. Get them in lineups this week. Period.

Get These Guys in:

Brian Thomas Jr. - WR

Chase Bown - RB

Ja'Marr Chase - WR

Tee Higgins - WR

AJ Brown - WR

Amon-Ra St. Brown - WR

Cee Dee Lamb - WR

Malik Nabers - WR

Joe Burrow - QB

Always Pay-up Options:

Derrick Henry - RB

Jalen Hurts - QB

Josh Allen - QB

Consistent Volume Players to Anchor Lineups:

Chuba Hubbard - RB

Sam LaPorta - TE

James Conner - RB

Garrett Wilson - WR

DK Metcalf - WR

Trey McBride - TE

Jahmyr Gibbs - RB

TJ Hockenson - TE

Mark Andrews - TE

Upside Players with Good Matchups:

Tee Higgins - WR

DeVonta Smith - WR

Marvin Harrison - WR

Zay Flowers - WR

Quarterbacks with Top Matchups:

Kyler Murray

Dak Prescott

All of these players had rough weeks, so it's likely their teams will try hard to get them more involved, and they all have favorable matchups.

3) Look at the games with the lowest point totals of the week:

• 49ers/Saints - 40.5

• Seahawks/Steelers - 40.5

• Rams/Titans - 41.5

• Patriots/Dolphins - 43.5.

Because these point totals are low doesn't mean we just avoid them altogether, since sometimes lower point totals lead to more conservative game plans in which certain running backs are leaned on and receive a high number of touches. Dependable tight ends might be targeted more in tighter defensive battles, while possession wide receivers may excel. Players in these games may be ignored, so picking the right ones can provide the consistency we crave in full season and need in DFS cash games as well as the differentiation necessary to have a got in the larger, bigger-money GPP tournaments.

Players like Kyren Williams and Jaxon Smith-Njigba fit beautifully into this category out of these matchups, and we consider them core guys this week who should be in most - if not all - DFS lineups. Williams doesn't get a lot of love among the fantasy community for some reason, but he's a high-volume back who gets goal line carries and plays for a coach who knows how ot scheme the run and who rarely drifts away from the running game.

Christian McCaffrey is a no-brainer this week.

As usual, the only concern for him is will he see the ball so often that his risk for injury goes up. San Francisco starting quarterback Brock Purdy is out, and Mac Jones is in. McCaffrey saw an obscene number of touches last week, and if anything might see more passes thrown his way this week. And the Saints stink. We consider him a core play, but his price and the injury concerns mean that we won't use him in every lineup.

JSN has been THE MAN in Seattle since the middle of last season. He became the central component of the Seahawks' offense a year ago, and last week it was clear that he and Darnold have a strong connection. And he likely never will be priced as high as Tier 1 guys like Chase, Justin Jefferson, Lamb, etc. Also, Pittsburgh's secondary is pretty banged up.

Must-play Tier 1 Stud

Christian McCaffrey - RB

Core Players from Low Total Games:

Kyren Williams - RB

Jaxon Smith-Njigba - WR

Hunter Henry - TE

Volume Players to Include:

De'Von Achane - RB

Alvin Kamara - WR

Tony Pollard - RB

Puka Nacua - WR

Juwan Johnson - TE

DK Metcalf - WR

Mac Jones - Bargain QB

Ricky Pearsall - WR

Players to Avoid:

All the Dolphins except Achane. Yeah, Tyreek or Waddle may go off. So what. It's your money.

4) Search for the players who had strong Week 1 showings because of their usage and the volume of targets or touches they received. If any of them still are priced at a level that makes them low-risk and high-value options, sprinkle them throughout lineups.

For full-season managers, there's no need to just plug these guys in for top guys who underperformed. Always compare usage, volume of touches, the matchup, the projected game total and past history. Avoid lesser-known players who had big weeks as a result only of touchdowns or a couple of big plays - for now.

Players like Hollywood Brown, Keenan Allen, Juwan Johnson and maybe even Calvin Austin - who has a favorable matchup and apparently has earned the trust of hard-to-impress Aaron Rodgers - all are worth a shot as starters and in at least a few DFS lineups.

Week 1 Wonders to Find Spots for:

Justin Fields - QB

Hollywood Brown - WR Juwan Johnson - TE

Calvin Austin - WR

Kayshon Boutte - WR

Breece Hall - RB

Keon Coleman - WR

5) Once all that is done, fill in the blanks with players who have the best matchups and who have the highest value:

Week 2 Value Targets

Travis Etienne - RB

David Montgomery - RB

TreyVeon Henderson - RB

Tyrone Tracy - RB

Javonte Williams - RB

Zach Charbonnet - RB

Chris Olave - WR

Rome Odunze - WR

Michael Wilson - WR

Malik Washington - WR

Wan'Dale Robinson - WR

Cedric Tillman - WR

Josh Palmer - WR

Olamide Zaccheus - WR

Jonnu Smith - TE

JJ McCarthy - QB

Drake Maye - QB

Sam Darnold - QB