Top Week 2 fantasy football sleepers at every position
Week 2 of the NFL kicked off Thursday night with the Commanders and Packers squaring off. Green Bay controlled the game and came away with a 27-18 win.
Some of you may have wondered whether you should stream “Bill” Crosky-Merritt. Hopefully, you didn’t, as he finished with just four carries for 17 yards.
Streaming decisions early in the season are never easy. It’s tough to bench someone you drafted in the sixth round in favor of a player taken in the 10th or picked up off waivers. For the most part, that’s still fine. You drafted those players expecting them to carry you throughout the season. One or even two weeks shouldn’t change that mindset.
However, if you waited on quarterback or tight end, or if your flex is a weak spot, looking for streaming options is a smart move. With that in mind, here are 10 solid streamers for Week 2.
*Streamers are players who are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues.
Fantasy Football Streamers for Week 2
Quarterbacks
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Bengals limited Cleveland to 14.2 fantasy points in Week 1, but that was against the Browns’ offense. The Jaguars should produce more, especially with a stronger performance expected from both Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter.
Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
Smith faces the Chargers, who just allowed 26 fantasy points to Patrick Mahomes, and that was without Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy.
If there’s one thing we know about Smith, it’s he likes to sling the ball. He has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in two of the last three seasons and was on pace to do it again in 2023 before missing two games. He opened 2025 strong, throwing for 362 yards in Week 1.
The Raiders are likely to be playing from behind against Los Angeles, which should force Smith into another high-volume passing day.
Running Backs
Just under the 50% rostered mark, Benson is in a prime spot this week. Even though he had four fewer carries than James Conner in Week 1, he outgained him 69-39 on the ground.
The matchup is even better. Carolina just gave up 143 rushing yards to Travis Etienne Jr. The Panthers’ run defense looks no better than last year, so both Conner and Benson could have strong outings.
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs continue to use Hunt in a 50-50 split with Isiah Pacheco, even though the results have been mixed. That keeps Hunt in play as a sneaky value some weeks.
This could be one of them. Kansas City will still be without Rice and possibly Worthy. Even if Worthy suits up, he may not see his normal workload. That could shift the offensive focus toward the run game and give Hunt added usage as both a runner and receiver.
Wide Receivers
Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots
Boutte’s Week 1 usage was encouraging. He ran the most routes for New England, tied for the team lead in targets, and posted a 17.4-yard average depth of target.
This week he faces Miami, which struggled badly against Daniel Jones and the Colts. If there’s a matchup for Boutte to repeat his Week 1 production, this is it.
Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland gets Baltimore, which just allowed 53.8 fantasy points to Buffalo’s wideouts. The Browns won’t put up those kinds of numbers, but the Ravens secondary is showing the same problems it had in 2024, when it allowed the second-most points to receivers.
Tillman’s usage in Week 1 was strong, and there’s no reason to expect a step back. Yes, Harold Fannin Jr. led the team in targets, but don’t count on that being the norm.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kansas City Chiefs
This is more of a deep-league option, but if Worthy is out, JuJu gets a significant boost.
He saw five targets in Week 1 and caught all of them, even while Marquise Brown commanded 14 targets. If Worthy misses the game, expect a more balanced target share with JuJu more involved.
Tight Ends
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
How can you not like what you saw from Fannin in Week 1? The overall touches may go down, now that defenses will know to look for him on the field, but it feels like the Browns want to find ways to get Fannin the ball.
You should want a tight end who is on the field and not relegated to just being a blocker as much as Fannin was in Week 1.
It’s hard not to like what we saw from Fannin in Week 1. His touches may dip now that defenses know what is coming, but the Browns clearly want to get him involved.
At tight end, you want someone on the field and running routes, not stuck blocking. Fannin checks that box.
Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Smith emerged as Pittsburgh’s top pass-catching tight end, but many still doubted it on draft day. One week in, he out-snapped Pat Freiermuth and doubled his target total.
When streaming tight ends, target volume is king. Smith should continue to be the safer play.
Defense
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals draw Carolina, which turned the ball over three times and managed just 10 points against Jacksonville in Week 1.
Arizona fell short last week in what looked like a good spot against New Orleans, but that was a tough cross-country road trip. Back at home against a shaky Panthers offense, the Cardinals are a strong Week 2 streamer.
