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Should I start A.J. Brown, Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson for Week 2? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Depending on the leagues that you're in, it can often be tough to know which of your receivers to start. This is especially true for leagues with 10 or fewer teams, where even "elite" NFL wide receivers can often have dud games that sink your chances of winning that week.
Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown had one such game in Week 1. He was only targeted one time, late in the fourth quarter, and caught that pass for eight yards, leading to a 1.8 PPR fantasy point outing for one of the NFL's best wideouts.
It's a bitter pill to swallow, with Brown having required a second-round pick to take in fantasy drafts in most leagues, but it's likely an aberration. Still, it's worth questioning whether to start even good wide receivers, so let's dive into start 'em, sit 'em analysis for three NFL wideouts!
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Should I Start A.J. Brown for Fantasy Football?
If you drafted Brown, you might have lost your Week 1 matchup purely because of him. He was a complete non-factor in the game against the Dallas Cowboys. Watching the game was an infuriating experience for fantasy managers who had Brown in their starting lineups, expecting a big game.
#Eagles WR AJ Brown tells me he has seen all the crazy tweets and overreactions about his 1-catch game in Week 1:
“None of those things are true. I got zoned the entire game. ... Just know I’m excited for Week 2.” pic.twitter.com/2kDvl11CRT
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 11, 2025
There were two important factors at play. The first was that he dealt with a hamstring injury in the offseason, and though he was cleared from the injury report before the Thursday night game, he didn't appear to be 100 percent, at least according to my analysis.
A.J. Brown seemingly struggled to separate against Zone in Week 1. But to his credit, he didn't face a single man rep.
Since 2023, A.J. Brown leads all WRs in fantasy points per route run against man coverage (0.86). That's an insane against+89% boost compared to his average… https://t.co/42f2r0MmBs pic.twitter.com/9kIdUVEKyH
— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) September 11, 2025
The second is that Brown faced a lot of zone coverage. His efficiency is much more impressive against man, and the divisional rival Cowboys likely knew this. Even so, moving forward, it's not like all teams will be able to run zone coverages constantly against the star wideout.
Brown has had terrible games in the past, too. But he was the No. 1 WR in 2024 in ESPN's open score and third in yards per route run in the league. He's still a great wideout. We just have to hope he's healthy this time around. It doesn't make sense to bench him. Keep him in your starting lineups for now.
Should I Start Marvin Harrison Jr. for Fantasy Football?
Harrison impressed in Week 1. He caught five of his six targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. The biggest question in the offseason was whether the Cardinals would start utilizing him properly. He was inefficient on vertically-breaking routes, but one of the better NFL WRs on horizontally-breaking routes in 2024.
ah, we missed Marvin Harrison Jr. touchdowns
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/8LEppSJxjn
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 7, 2025
His usage did improve. He still struggles with creating vertical separation, due to his speed, but the above catch at least shows that Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is willing to throw it to him when he's clearly open. He'll never be a type of WR to run away from defensive backs and create big separation.
But the higher usage on slants and other in-breaking routes is solid. He was out-targeted by tight end Trey McBride yet again, and that will probably remain the case, but it doesn't make sense to bench Harrison. He's a good red-zone threat and could see 10 or more touchdown catches this season.
Should I Start Garrett Wilson for Fantasy Football?
It wouldn't make any sense to bench Wilson. He had a very nice Week 1, easily being the No. 1 target in the Jets' passing game. He caught seven of his nine targets for 95 yards and a touchdown. New Jets QB Justin Fields is locking in on Wilson, as promised.
He played 100 percent of the offensive snaps. Wilson is constantly on the field and basically always running a route on passing plays. The Jets don't have another WR on their roster near his caliber, and it shows in the box score and in the highlights.
Jets WR Garrett Wilson in Wk 1
7 Receptions (T-7th)
95 Yards (10th)
1 TD (T-3rd)
86.1 PFF Grade (2nd)
155.7 Passer Rtg when targeted (3rd)The #Jets young star is ready to take it to the next level in 2025 pic.twitter.com/81vFS5MCHa
— Stefan Stelling (@li_jets) September 11, 2025
The Jets finally seem to have a good offense, and Wilson should continue capitalizing. It's reasonable to expect a very favorable target share moving forward. His Week 1 contest was a shootout, though, so there may be games with lower passing volume on the horizon.
The Jets have emphasized that they want to have a run-heavy offense this season. Still, Wilson is his team's clear WR1, and that means he should be in starting lineups moving forward.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 2 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like A.J. Brown, Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson. 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 - A.J. Brown, Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson. 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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 circles), 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 A.J. Brown, Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson compared to others:
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