Fantasy football start or bench for Week 2

Fantasy football start and bench advice for week 2 of the NFL season.

Fantasy football Week 2 is upon us and there are still some tough decisions to be made in lineups. Injuries are already making player decisions more difficult while matchups need to be taken into account as well. This week, the list for start and bench will go back to some familiar players once again. These are the start and bench players for week 2 of the NFL fantasy football season.

Starters for fantasy football week 2

Surely what the world saw from the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 was just a mirage. Going on the road, in terrible weather, against a team that treated this like their Super Bowl caused an odd loss for the Niners. An injury to starting running back Elijah Mitchell also did not help. This week, welcome back Jeff Wilson to fantasy relevance. Wilson has been here before and now gets to face a divisional opponent who gave up over five yards per carry last week. Wilson is a plug-and-play starter this week.

Cara Owsley-USA TODAY Sports

There are two receivers on this week’s start list. One of them is simple. Tee Higgins for the Cincinnati Bengals is still in concussion protocol. On this offense, Tyler Boyd will step right in as the second receiver for a pass-heavy team. Boyd scored last week and has a great shot to do it again this week. Start Tyler Boyd. Secondly, we are going back to a player from last week. Juju Smith-Schuster boasted a huge 20% target share for the Kansas City Chiefs last week. This was second on the team behind only Travis Kelce. That is really enough reason to start Smith-Schuster this week.

Do not believe the negativity at tight end this week. Yes, Tyler Higbee and the Rams offense looked awful when we last saw them. Yes, Higbee also dropped several passes. The issue is that the Rams have to rely on Higbee right now. Van Jefferson is still banged up. Allen Robinson is just not involved in the offense and is likely to be shadowed by A.J. Terrell this week. Cooper Kupp cannot catch 30 balls a game, even though it might seem as if that will happen one week. Higbee will carry significant volume into the Rams week 2 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons who are coming off another heartbreaking loss. Start Tyler Higbee at home against the Falcons.

Matchups and injuries dictate the bench

Cam Akers was on last week’s bench list and here he is again. Akers showed zero burst last week on his limited touches and that is not going to fix itself in 10 days. The injury that Akers is trying to come back from, Achilles tear, can oftentimes end a running back’s career. This is unfortunate as Akers was a budding superstar in the league before the injury. For fantasy players though who drafted him, it is impossible to trust Akers until he shows anything on the field. It is possible that head coach Sean McVay feeds Akers the ball late in the game this week to get him going, but that is only if the game is out of reach for the Falcons. Bench Cam Akers.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Two highly touted receivers are on this week’s bench list but for different reasons. First is CeeDee Lamb from the Dallas Cowboys. Lamb is now without his starting quarterback after Dak Prescott’s injury. Even with Prescott though, Lamb only managed two catches in his first game as the Cowboys number one receiver. Cooper Rush’s second career start is not likely to help these numbers either. Secondly, Mike Evans has to face his nemesis this week in the New Orleans Saints Marshon Lattimore. Lattimore has been a thorn in the side for Evans every time these two teams play. In the past three years, Evans averaged 2 catches for 25 yards a game against the Saints. Bench Lamb and Evans this week.

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