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Should I start Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz, and Matt Gay for Week 2? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
The Washington Commanders defeated the New York Giants in dominating fashion in Week 1, outscoring their divisional rival 21-6. The result wasn't what many fantasy managers wanted for their teams, though -- Commanders WR1 Terry McLaurin failed to impress.
He caught just two of his four targets for 27 yards and failed to reach the end zone. It wasn't all his fault, of course, but extended contract holdouts tend to lead to slow starts for WRs anyway, so it wasn't a total surprise. Tight end Zach Ertz fared better.
Things weren't as great in the kicking department. Kicker Matt Gay didn't get to attempt a single field goal -- he nailed all of his extra-point attempts, but that wasn't great for fantasy football. So, should you start McLaurin, Ertz, and Gay for fantasy football in Week 2? Let's dive in.
Should I Start Terry McLaurin for Fantasy Football?
McLaurin's 4.7 PPR point outing in Week 1 was an aberration. He only scored fewer fantasy points in three of his 17 games last season, and finished as the overall WR7, with 82 catches for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns. Scary Terry and his quarterback, Jayden Daniels, have missed a lot of practice time, though.
Missing practice time matters, apparently. There will be plenty of time for the two to get back on the same page, but it might take at least a few weeks for things to settle in, and that's not great for fantasy managers. We don't have the details of how "on the same page" they are, of course.
You'll have to wait it out, for the most part. Taking him out of your lineup doesn't make sense. He's a threat for a long touchdown score on many plays, due to his speed and route-running prowess. He scored 13 times last season. All it takes is one of those plays for him to have a solid fantasy day.
You can't really bench him.
SCARY TERRY TD WITH 3 SECONDS TO GO! pic.twitter.com/10Z6DZWBUQ
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
Should I Start Zach Ertz for Fantasy Football?
Ertz was targeted five times in Week 1, catching three passes for 26 yards and a touchdown. The desolate wasteland that is the tight-end position is a brutal one to navigate in fantasy football, though, so any TE who is a threat to score is generally a pretty solid option.
Even at age 34, he hasn't shown signs of slowing down yet, and wins with his reliable route-running prowess and separation abilities. Ertz is the clear TE1 in Washington, with backup TE John Bates mostly used as a blocker and second-year pro Ben Sinnott having logged just 11 percent of offensive snaps without being targeted.
Zach Ertz is an ageless wonder
I wanna see Ben Sinnott take over the TE1 spot but Ertz is still fairly reliable pic.twitter.com/Z94PNR3xvH
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 7, 2025
Ertz is no longer the de facto WR2 for the team, though. Now, Washington has two clear dominant WRs, McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr., who should dominate the targets in the passing game moving forward. Ertz will likely be forced to eat a smaller slice of the target pie moving forward.
If you were able to pick up someone like Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. or New Orleans Saints TE Juwan Johnson on waivers, you should probably start one of them over Ertz. But Ertz is still probably better, for now, than the free-agent options at TE.
Should I Start Matt Gay for Fantasy Football?
Gay didn't have much opportunity to shine in Week 1. But against the Green Bay Packers, the Commanders might be forced to produce more offense, which could give him more opportunity to shine. Green Bay has one of the league's better offenses, especially when its starters are healthy.
It looks like they're in good shape, but the Packers pass rush might be able to exploit weaknesses in the Commanders offensive line. The Giants sacked Daniels three times in Week 1. There are better options available than Gay right now on waivers, like Will Reichard and Chad Ryland.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 2 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz, Matt Gay. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 2. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 2 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz, Matt Gay. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 2.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 2 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 2 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 2 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 2 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz, Matt Gay compared to others:
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