Week 2 Advantages & Disadvantages For Fantasy Football: Jadarian Price, Justin Jefferson & More

With a week of utilization to work from, we have a better idea of which players will get the opportunities to take advantage of these Week 2 matchups.

I’m going to tease out items that we learned versus which priors we should hold on to and apply to this week’s matchups.

All of these will be included in my fantasy football rankings.

Week 2 Fantasy Football Matchups I Like

Jadarian Price vs. Cardinals Run Defense

Arizona linebackers Mack Wilson and Jack Gibbens both finished below the 20th percentile in my 2025 run-defense data. Seattle can stretch the front with its zone blocking and make those linebackers move laterally before Jadarian Price decides whether to follow his blockers or cut behind them.

The Cardinals held the Chargers’ backs to -1 yard before contact across 16 carries, but Los Angeles still averaged 3.38 yards after contact per attempt. To me, this was more about the Chargers interior offensive line issues than anything the Cardinals did up front. My model still has the Cardinals run defense ranked near the bottom of the league.

The inverse is what the Seahawks looked like and their offensive line expectations, which gave them an “A” run-blocking grade in Week 1. On top of that, they were 30th in situation-neutral PROE, which means they will run the ball with Drew Lock at QB. The Seahawks are also supposed to win the game with a -3.5 spread, which lends itself to even more running.

This is a classic situation where a team like the Cardinals stymied the offseason darling in the Chargers and makes everyone question if they’re still a bad team. While there are parts of the team that looked encouraging, like the secondary, you can run on the Cardinals. This is a mismatch in the run game I am looking to exploit.

Price didn’t command a dominant share of the overall backfield opportunities with just 52% of the overall opportunity share (rush attempts and targets), but he looked good doing it, ranking near the top of the league in success rate, EPA/rush, Yards after Contact per Attempt and much more. Given the blocking advantage, I like Price’s chances to get to the second level and create explosive runs against this poor tackling linebacker unit and reach RB2 value this week. See what our fantasy football projections say.

Vikings Offense vs. Bears Defense

I’m upgrading the Vikings’ offense across the board against Chicago this week. The Bears allowed Carolina to throw for 361 yards and complete 9 passes of at least 15 yards in Week 1. Jaylon Johnson was charged with 127 yards allowed, Tyrique Stevenson with 77 and rookie Malik Muhammad with 67, per PFF. You were already starting Justin Jefferson, but I’m upgrading everyone else in this offense this week.

Kevin O’Connell can use the attention Jefferson gets to open up throws for Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. We saw that on Hockenson’s touchdown against Green Bay, when two defenders followed Jefferson and Carson Wentz worked through his progression to find Hockenson. Moving Jefferson across the formation or sending him through the middle can force Chicago’s defenders to decide whether to stay with him or pass him off to someone else. The Bears shaded coverage toward Tetairoa McMillan in Week 1 and I expect the same in Week 2 against Jefferson, which leaves the door open for Addison and others.

Chicago will be making those coverage calls without Kyler Gordon and Coby Bryant. Hockenson ran 12 of his 23 routes from the slot, and linebacker T.J. Edwards allowed 4 catches for 45 yards on 4 targets in the opener. I like Hockenson working across the field against that inside coverage.

I’d expect O’Connell to give the tackle on Montez Sweat’s side some help when Minnesota wants to throw downfield. Sweat was in the 70th percentile among edge rushers in my 2025 pass-rush data, compared with the 19th percentile for Dayo Odeyingbo. Odeyingbo and the rest of the defensive line performed poorly in terms of pass-rush grades in Week 1, which should allow whichever QB that starts to have ample time to let plays develop and take advantage of a poor secondary. Addison is the deep threat who would benefit from additional time to throw.

Aaron Jones gets a big upgrade in the run game, especially with Jordan Mason just placed on IR. Carolina’s backs averaged 2.53 yards before contact on 19 carries against Chicago. Brian O’Neill was in the 95th percentile for run blocking in 2025 and Christian Darrisaw in the 75th, so Minnesota has the tackles to help Jones get into space as well. I expect Jones to consolidate a lot of the RB work for this week, while they work on supplementing him with players like DeeJay Dallas, Demond Claiborne and Jerome Ford.

Kyler Murray remained in concussion protocol, but did get a limited practice in on Wednesday. I still like these matchups if Wentz starts again after playing most of the opener, but keep an eye on Murray’s status before setting your lineup.

49ers Pass Offense vs. Dolphins Defense

I like the matchup Brock Purdy has against this Miami defense. The Dolphins were 29th in pressure rate in Week 1 against what is supposed to be a weak Raiders offensive line. That should give Purdy ample time to find his options in the passing game.

Zach Sieler was in the 33rd percentile among interior defenders and Chop Robinson in the 26th among edge rushers in my 2025 pass-rush data. Jake Brendel and Colton McKivitz finished in the 78th and 60th percentiles, respectively, for pass blocking in 2025. Nothing in Week 1 changed my model’s perspective on this OL vs. DL matchup.

Mike Evans is the WR I’d prioritize from San Francisco this week. He led the group with 26 routes on 36 dropbacks, including 21 outside, so he should spend much of this game against Chris Johnson and Jason Marshall. Johnson was charged with 84 yards allowed against the Raiders and Marshall with 24, although Miami held Kirk Cousins to 160 passing yards and intercepted him twice. The Dolphins also ran a ton of single-high (71%), which is more susceptible to being beat deep, where Evans has historically done a lot of damage. Evans is a WR1 for me this week.

With De'Zhaun Stribling on IR, Demarcus Robinson ran nearly all the team routes after his exit. Robinson will also get those outside WR looks and has a similar deep-threat profile that could make for an interesting flex option in deeper leagues against these single-high looks. He’s also someone I like for DFS tournaments.

Deebo Samuel is someone I don’t trust in this matchup because of the route share, which signals he’s more of a part-time player. It’s possible we see an uptick with Stribling out, but we didn’t get a meaningful one in Week 1. I would not feel comfortable taking a chance on him in shallow leagues.

George Kittle is still working back from his Achilles injury, and I’m more cautious with him. He ran 17 routes on 36 dropbacks, so I want to see more playing time before moving him up. I still have him as a TE1 given the matchup and the season-ending injury to Jake Tonges that could force Kyle Shanahan to play Kittle more.

Buccaneers Pass Offense vs. Browns Defense

Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin are both starts for me against Cleveland. I would also consider Baker Mayfield in this matchup as well if you are streaming a QB. Trevor Lawrence threw for 245 yards and 4 touchdowns on 23 attempts against the Browns in the opener. Myles Harden allowed 4 catches for 54 yards, Tyson Campbell allowed 3 for 43 and Carson Schwesinger allowed 2 for 36, with all 9 coverage targets completed, per PFF.

Godwin ran 17 of his 32 routes from the slot, and his 4 targets traveled an average of 0.2 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. I don’t think Godwin will have as low of an aDOT again—the Buccaneers offensive line should hold up better this week.

I LOVED the way Zac Robinson utilized Egbuka in Week 1. He was in motion on his routes at a higher percentage than any player in the NFL, which is very good for fantasy football. Based on his rookie season, Egbuka crushed zone coverage (2.40 YPRR), which the Browns ran 88% of the time in Week 1. He’s a back-end WR2 this week.

Godwin has also historically been a zone beater as well—he had a 2.10 YPRR against zone in Week 1, which is strong. He’s a back-end WR3/flex.

Commanders Pass Offense vs. Cowboys Defense

I like Washington’s passing game against Dallas—all the pieces get an upgrade for me in the ranks this week. The Cowboys allowed Jaxson Dart to complete 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns in the opener. They are expected to be without Malik Hooker and DeMarvion Overshown. Overshown was the green dot (defensive playcaller) on the field, so a defense that struggled with communication in Week 1 should continue to struggle as they adjust to others taking on more responsibility.

If you watched the Sunday Night Football game against the Giants, you should not be surprised that the Cowboys received an “F” grade in coverage for their defensive performance in Week 1. It’s a new year, but not much has changed if this continues for the Cowboys.

The other nice part in this situation is that the Commanders also scored poorly on defense in Week 1, ranking in the bottom 10. When we get these situations, there is significant shootout potential—something we love to see in fantasy football.

The Commanders offense should be highly consolidated to Stefon Diggs and Terry McLaurin, since Chig Okonkwo seems likely to miss this week. We just saw the Giants’ slot receiver, Isaiah Likely (yeah he’s a TE, but he was effectively used as a WR), torch this Cowboys secondary—Diggs should operate similarly.

The Cowboys mixed coverages, but predominantly played Cover-3 and Cover-4—both of which are zone coverages. Diggs torches zone with 2.65 YPRR in Week 1 and 2.55 YPRR in 2025 - those are elite numbers. If you’re worried about his route share—this is not a game where I’d worry—I am starting him in a lot of places and have him comfortably as a WR3.

McLaurin has even stronger numbers against zone defense (2.76 YPRR in his last 10 games) and absolutely torches Cover-3 (3.43 YPRR). McLaurin ran most of the routes in Week 1 and this sets up to be a great matchup for him—he’s a WR2 this week.

Week 2 Fantasy Football Matchups to Downgrade

DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. vs. Patriots Secondary

I’m downgrading DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman against New England’s outside corners. Christian Gonzalez allowed 1 catch for 5 yards on 5 targets against Seattle, and Carlton Davis allowed 1 for 13 on 3. Metcalf ran 34 of his 42 routes outside, and Pittman ran 28 of his 39 there, so Gonzalez and Davis should be their main matchups.

New England mixes and matches their coverage shells a lot, so there isn’t a lean there, but they play a lot of two-high looks with their safeties. Two-high looks typically bottle up any deep balls and force the defense to go underneath more often, which is why Metcalf struggles against those looks. In his last 10 games, he averages 1.05 YPRR against two-high looks, so this is a really bad matchup for him. If you have alternative options like Diggs, I’d rather play those players instead.

Nothing stands out in terms of splits for Pittman, but his role in the offense based on the new scheme did not grade well in Receiver Score. Coupled with coverage from Gonzalez and Davis— he’s not someone I want to start this week.

Colts Pass Offense vs. Chiefs Defense

I’m downgrading Daniel Jones and the Colts’ passing game against Kansas City. Jones threw for 166 yards on 31 attempts against Baltimore, with 61% of his throws falling short of the first-down marker. Kansas City held Bo Nix to 131 yards on 28 attempts and allowed only 1 completion of at least 15 yards. I’m moving Jones down in close QB decisions and lowering expectations for the downfield passing game.

Chris Jones and George Karlaftis each generated 4 pressures in Week 1, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah added 3 on 14 pass-rush snaps. The Broncos offensive line was unanimously top-3 in pass-blocking consensus rankings coming into the season, so that has me worried for the Colts offensive line.

The Chiefs defense graded out as an “A” in coverage grade in Week 1 (and “A+” in pass rush) and were pretty diverse in how they achieved it—good at outside corner, slot, linebackers in coverage and safeties. The safeties were the least productive but their coverage scores were not bad.

There are not any coverage splits that give a lean—Steve Spagnoulo is a disguise master who mixes it up a lot probably to torture fantasy football analysts and opposing offensive coordinators, but mainly fantasy football analysts.

Eventually we will get a strong matchup for Josh Downs and crew, but this is not the one. I’d look for other options outside of Downs, Alec Pierce and Keenan Allen.

At TE, you’re probably starting Tyler Warren as you should. I have him ranked highly purely off of opportunity with his 88% route share, which is hard to come by at the position.

Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson vs. Steelers Run Defense

I would lower expectations for New England’s backs against this Pittsburgh front seven. Rhamondre Stevenson gained 51 yards on 18 carries against Seattle (50 out of 51 yards were after contact). The Steelers held Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson to 115 yards on 30 combined carries, allowing only 0.73 yards before contact per attempt, per PFF. Even with 5 missed tackles forced, Bijan finished with 83 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton will work against a line still-establishing Jared Wilson at center and Alijah Vera-Tucker at left guard. Wilson finished below the 15th percentile in my 2025 run-blocking data, so I’m concerned about New England getting movement against Pittsburgh’s interior. Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses are better options on the right side, but they get T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, who are dangerous in the run game. The Steelers earned an “A+” run defense grade in Week 1, with the Patriots offensive line looking like a middling unit.

I would still use Stevenson in half or full PPR formats if Henderson misses another game. He ran 29 routes and played 85% of the snaps with Henderson inactive, so he can contribute as a receiver if New England struggles to run the ball again. Henderson seems to be trending toward playing based on his practice participation, but we can never be too sure. If he returns, I’d lean toward sitting both rather than relying on a split backfield against this front. Other names listed in this article, like Aaron Jones and Jadarian Price are players I’d start above Stevenson if Henderson is active.