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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 2 of 2026. His TE lineups advice for Week 2 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
The tight end position is once again giving fantasy managers plenty to think about. Week 1 gave us some big performances, some frustrating duds, and a few surprises that could force us to rethink what we thought we knew heading into the season. But one week isn’t enough to completely rewrite the fantasy landscape.
Volume, route participation, target share, matchup and touchdown opportunities can all make the difference between a difference-making fantasy performance and another forgettable afternoon.
So, before we overreact to Week 1, let’s look ahead. Which tight ends have the opportunity to bounce back and deliver a Week 2 boom, and which ones could struggle against tougher matchups? Here are the tight ends worth starting—and the ones fantasy managers should consider sitting. Let’s dive into the way-too-early Week 2 starts and sits.
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Week 2 - Potential Fantasy Football Booms
Harold Fannin Jr. - TE, Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cleveland's passing game did very little last week against one of the league's best fantasy defenses. Deshaun Watson completed 16 of 22 passing attempts, but that resulted in 205 passing yards and only 21 of those yards coming courtesy of Harold Fannin Jr. on his two receptions.
If you fade Fannin because of Watson, that’s actually understandable. However, the matchup against the Buccaneers is pretty good. Last season, Tampa Bay surrendered 12.9 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends; even Watson can’t screw that up.
What is promising, despite the empty-box score, is that we saw Fannin’s route rate at 77%, which was among the top-10 among his tight end peers. Fannin was also among the tight end snap leaders, logging an 87% snap rate.
SHEDEUR. FANNIN JR. TOUCHDOWN.
PITvsCLE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/8GgifjPjEc
— NFL (@NFL) December 28, 2025
Fannin also has a built-in rapport with Shedeur Sanders, so a quarterback change would be welcome. With Sanders, Fannin averaged 14.6 fantasy points per game, with any other signal caller dropping to 9.9. Fannin had a 14% target share in Week 1. That's the first time he's dipped below a 20% target share in a completed game since Week 6 of last season.
Isaiah Likely - TE, New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams
While the matchup against the Rams isn’t the greatest, it’s also not terrible either. Los Angeles allowed 10.4 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends last season.
Isaiah Likely was 8.8 yards away from the nearest defender when the ball arrived on this touchdown 🫣
DALvsNYG on NBC/Peacock
Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/rIenIu8EGo— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) September 14, 2026
Isaiah Likely gave us what we've all been wanting for several years in Week 1. Now out of Mark Andrews' shadow, the Giants tight end dropped 27.8 fantasy points in the opening week, hauling in all eight of his targets, resulting in 78 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. That probably won’t be an every-week occurrence as Malik Nabers gets healthier each week, but Likely is clearly the second option in the Giants' passing game, and that type of opportunity is hard to come by.
Likely also finished 15th in route share and second in target share among all tight ends, not to mention a 4.8% target-per-route run rate, 3.39 yards per route run and an 8.6 average depth of target. Don't think of Likely as a tight end; think of him as a slot receiver you can plug into your tight end/slot.
Hunter Henry - TE, New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Looking for a sneaky tight end option this week, look no further than New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry. Henry wasn’t a player to catch fantasy managers' eye in the Wednesday Night contest, scoring only 5.6 fantasy points. Still, Eli Raridon scored a touchdown, showing the Patriots' reliance on their tight ends to produce. More so now that A.J. Brown is on the Injured Reserve.
This week, Henry faces a Steelers team that surrendered 13.5 fantasy points per game last season. Only the Bengals and Cardinals allowed more every week. Now, I know the whole Kyle Pitts Sr. start against the Steelers didn’t work out, but Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out late in the process, leaving us with Cooper Rush under center. I’ll eat the loss there, but I am putting an asterisk next to that one.
For tight ends, it’s about opportunity. Henry still commanded a 62% route share compared to Raridon's 19%. Eventually the student will become the master, but not yet.
Week 2 - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Tyler Warren - TE, Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
Several big-time tight ends failed to produce last week. Colston Loveland and Pitts gave you nothing, and if not for a touchdown reception, Tyler Warren’s three receptions for 13 yards would have been underwhelming as well.
It’s hard to sit Warren; he’s an elite option, but you should proceed with caution. Kansas City was among the stingiest defensive units a season ago when it came to defending opposing tight ends, yielding 8.6 fantasy points per game, the eighth-fewest.
We have a matchup to draw from last season. Back in November of last season, Warren caught five of seven targets for 45 yards, 9.5 fantasy points. With the additions of Josh Downs and Keenan Allen, that's 10 fewer targets for Warren in the intermediate areas of the field, in comparison to last season. Allen alone accounted for 6 targets, so you have to figure out that the Colts will be looking to get Downs even more involved in this one.
Juwan Johnson - TE, New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens
Juwan Johnson’s role may be less secure than his “No. 2 target” label suggests. The latest Saints usage note had Noah Fant as the likely in-line tight end, with Johnson working from the slot, which could mean more route volatility and fewer easy red-zone opportunities.
NOAH FANT SAINTS TOUCHDOWN
NOvsDET on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/EQczLDTSjM— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
Last season, the Ravens surrendered the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends at 8.5, so it’s not one of those matchups you feel comfortable slotting him in to begin with.
Bottom line: Johnson is a touchdown- and volume-dependent TE2 for Week 2. Sit him for a reliable top-12 TE; otherwise, the thin Saints receiving corps makes him defensible as a low-end starter, but I’m not willing to go there.
Michael Mayer- TE, Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers
There appears to be a realistic chance Brock Bowers will miss only one game and return for Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. The team will likely take a wait-and-see approach, but fantasy managers should look at other options. Typically, we would be looking at Week 3, but everything is on the table.
Despite what Trey McBride would have you believe, the Chargers were a difficult matchup for tight ends last season, allowing 8.4 fantasy points per game, the fifth-fewest. After McBride embarrassed the Chargers' secondary to the tune of 9 catches on 13 targets for 95 receiving yards and a touchdown, look for the Chargers to put a little extra effort on the defensive side of the ball in this one.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 2 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin Jr., Hunter Henry, Michael Mayer, Juwan Johnson. 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 that 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 (2026)? 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 2 for Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin Jr., Hunter Henry, Michael Mayer, Juwan Johnson:
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