Week 2 Quarterback Preview: Caleb Williams Faces His First Real Test
Top Fantasy QBs for Week 2
Let's review the key usage notes and matchups that are driving our Week 2 QB Rankings.
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1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Played Thursday night
2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Jackson excelled in Week 1 under new OC Declan Doyle. He finished as QB6 on the week despite Derrick Henry rumbling for 3 TDs on the ground. Jackson had his highest snap percentage under center in his career (58%). That is when he is at his best. The one potential issue this week is the potential for Zay Flowers to miss time while rookie WR Ja’Kobi Lane was placed on IR. That could mean more rushing for Jackson, giving him a high ceiling as a must-start against the Saints this week.
3. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Purdy found success in the opener, throwing for 3 TDs while completing nearly 74% of his passes. Now he gets a talent-deficient Miami defense facing a slate-high 29.25-point implied total. Purdy is an easy QB1.
4. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Williams struggled against DC Brian Flores' unit last year, posting passing lines of 210-1 and 193-0. But it's tough to keep him out of fantasy lineups after he erupted for 37.3 fantasy points at Carolina in Week 1. The Bears are also implied for 26.25 points, sixth-most on the week.
5. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts went just 14-of-25 passing against Washington in Week 1 but still managed a QB8 finish. He ran well -- as usual -- posting the fourth-most rushing yards among QBs for the week. And a strong 8.1 yards per pass attempt in spite of his mere 56% completions shows the offense's big-play upside. Matching up with Tennessee in Week 2 leaves room for more.
6. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Prescott wasn't horrible in Week 1 but couldn't get much going downfield against the Giants. Washington looks much friendlier and allowed him 571 yards and 5 TDs across two meetings last year.
7. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Daniels goes from a difficult Week 1 spot against Philly to a Dallas defense that helped QB scoring more than any other last season. That carried over into this year, as the Cowboys opened by allowing a 79.3% completion rate and 3 TD passes to Jaxson Dart.
8. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Maye disappointed last week after traveling across the country to play a tough Seahawks defense. He went 23/33 for 178 yards and a TD (but 3 INTs). He has been prone to mistakes throwing 7 INTs and being sacked 24 times in the past five games. Without A.J. Brown, this looks like a tough spot against a Steelers defense that played well against the Falcons in Week 1. Maye’s rushing upside (he ran 7 times for 47 yards last week) still makes him a top-10 QB start.
9. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Herbert is coming off an underwhelming 13.3 fantasy point performance against a Cardinals defense that gave up the ninth most passing yards last season. Fortunately, his chance to rebound comes immediately against an opponent that he's averaged 20.7 points per game against across nine career matchups. That track record helps project Herbert as a QB1 against the Raiders in Week 2.
10. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Lawrence picked up where he left off last season and has been the QB1 in fantasy over his last five games. One of those games came against this same Broncos defense, when Lawrence scored 31.2 fantasy points. Lawrence went 18/23 for 245 yards and 4 TDs last week against the Browns. The Broncos did slow Patrick Mahomes a bit through the air last week, but Lawrence and the Jaguars should keep passing. Lawrence is a strong QB1 this week.
11. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow produced 14.2 fantasy points in a Week 1 matchup against the Buccaneers, marking his highest scoring season opener in four years. The Bengals QB will face a Texans defense that allowed the fifth fewest points to QBs last season, but after giving up 35.7 points to Josh Allen last week, Burrow still holds a QB1 projection.
12. Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
Dart is coming off a 32.6 fantasy-point performance that only trailed three other QBs in Week 1. With such a high rushing floor, only trailing Josh Allen in rushing points per game last season, Dart holds a high projection essentially regardless of the defense he's facing. Dart enters Week 2 against the Rams with a QB1 outlook.
13. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Stafford's 4.1 fantasy points in Week 1 marked his lowest output since Week 7 of 2024. After accounting for at least one TD in every game last season, he opened Year 18 with just 155 passing yards and no scores. Cross-country travel and a lack of preseason reps offer some explanation for the slow start. Stafford still projects as a fringe QB1 bounce-back candidate in Week 2, though Puka Nacua's status bears watching after he missed Friday's practice with a hip injury.
14. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Monday night was a disaster for Nix and the Broncos. He faced the third most pressure of any QB in Week 1 (51.5% of dropbacks) and took 4 sacks with another INT while under pressure. Nix should have a better performance this week against a Jaguars defense that did give up some late passes to Deshaun Watson last week. Nix threw for 352 yards and a TD against the Jaguars in Week 16 last year. Their pass defense should be susceptible again and Nix could be a high-end QB2 this week.
15. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes finished as the QB9 in Week 1 after a 21.7 fantasy-point performance against a Broncos defense that gave up the eighth-fewest points to QBs last season. The Chiefs QB gets a Monday night matchup against a Colts team that just allowed 41 points to the Ravens.
16. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Love faced a massive 78.3% blitz rate last week, which likely contributed to his lackluster 50% completion rate. He still managed 2 TDs and 9.2 yards per attempt. He'll face a much less blitz-heavy Jets defense in Week 2, one that could also be without S Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin) and Edge Joseph Ossai (foot). Love settles in as a QB2 on the road.
17. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mayfield went quiet fantasy-wise in the opener thanks to a lack of TD passes. But he played pretty well, completing 82.1% of his throws at 7.7 yards per attempt and posting a 5-30-1 rushing line. This week finds him back home against Cleveland, which presented a tough matchup last season. This year's version brings no Myles Garrett, however, and just finished yielding 360 yards and 34 points to the Jaguars. Mayfield still lands in the middle of QB2 territory but presents upside if you're looking in that range.
18. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Played Thursday night
19. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
Shough had an extremely poor first half against the Lions, but pulled it together to go 25/34 for 325 yards and 3 TDs in the second half and overtime last week. He finished as QB8 as the Saints tried to match points with the Lions. There could be a similar situation against a strong Ravens offense. But the Saints are implied for less than 3 TDs against a stout Ravens defense. Shough’s rushing and potential volume keep him in the mid-QB2 range this week.
20. Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
Willis was serviceable in the opener, thanks largely to 39 rushing yards and a score. The passing was less impressive, as he completed just 55.6% of his attempts against a shaky-looking Vegas defense. Now he gets a 49ers unit that limited Matthew Stafford to 155 scoreless yards and an INT in Week 1. Willis' rushing keeps him in the QB2 mix, but he'll be tough to project near QB1 range until the passing production improves.
21. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
We’ll see how much of Young’s big Week 1 was due to his improvement or simply the matchup against a helpless-looking Bears defense. The matchup is more neutral this week against the Falcons, who ranked 17th against QBs last year and limited Aaron Rodgers to 5.5 yards per attempt in this year’s opener. Young threw for 121 scoreless yards in his first meeting with Atlanta last year and then exploded for a 448-3-0 line in the second.
22. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Stroud is coming off a QB16 finish where he produced 274 passing yards and two passing TDs without an INT against a defense that allowed the third-fewest points to QBs last season. Facing a defense that just led the league in takeaways last week, Stroud projects as a fringe QB2 in Week 2.
23. Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings
Wentz will be on the superflex radar if Kyler Murray (concussion) can't suit up. He draws a shaky-looking Bears pass defense that just surrendered 361 passing yards and 4 total TDs to Bryce Young.
24. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
Jones opened the season with a quiet showing against Baltimore, completing 19 of 31 passes for 166 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. It was his first game with Indianapolis in which he failed to reach either 200 passing yards or 2 TDs. He should improve on those numbers in Week 2, but Jones remains a fringe QB2.
25. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rodgers had a perfectly average game in Week 1. He went 24/40 for 221 yards and a TD. The team did allow Rodgers to throw a bit more than last year, but the success just wasn’t there. That doesn’t figure to get any better on the road against the Patriots. Treat him as a low-end QB2.
