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Who Should I Start for Week 2? Fantasy Football outlooks for Chuba Hubbard, James Conner, DeVonta Smith, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Michael Penix Jr., Emeka Egbuka, J.J. McCarthy, Travis Kelce, Trey Benson, Daniel Jones.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 2 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Chuba Hubbard, James Conner, DeVonta Smith, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Michael Penix Jr., Emeka Egbuka, J.J. McCarthy, Travis Kelce, Trey Benson, Daniel Jones. However, there's no need 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.
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Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 2:
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries and caught a 27-yard touchdown on three receptions against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. The good news for fantasy managers is that the offseason addition of Rico Dowdle did not cut into Hubbard's workload, as Dowdle had just five touches.
The bad news is that Hubbard averaged a pedestrian 3.6 yards per carry. In Week 2, Hubbard will look to get the ground game going against the Arizona Cardinals, who surrendered 107 rushing yards to the New Orleans Saints in Week 1. While the Cardinals' run defense is far from elite, the Panthers' offensive struggles could limit Hubbard's upside.
Hubbard should continue to be treated as an RB2/Flex play in Week 2, with more value in PPR leagues. If the Panthers can figure out their passing game, Hubbard should be able to find more room to run. However, don't expect a top-tier performance unless the offense takes a significant step forward.
James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner salvaged his fantasy week against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 with a four-yard receiving touchdown in the second quarter. Outside of that, he saw 12 carries for only 39 yards while Trey Benson took eight carries for 69 yards.
We may have finally hit the timeline where Benson takes more and more touches away from Conner. The good news, for both backs, is that they're going up against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2. They just gave up 143 yards to Travis Etienne and 200 rushing yards overall.
So, even though Benson will likely get some more opportunities, Conner remains an RB2 given that he sticks as the number-one guy in the backfield.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith fell victim to a strange week for the Philadelphia passing game against the Cowboys, being targeted just three times for three catches and 16 yards. Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert led the team in targets in Week 1, and Jahan Dotson had the most receiving yards in what was a bit of an anomaly.
Philly will likely get back to their normal ways eventually, which favors Smith in this upcoming contest against the Chiefs as the Eagles' typical second option in the passing game. In their Super Bowl LIX clash, Smith led his team in receiving yards (69) and caught a touchdown against Kansas City.
He's a player that's known to be up-and-down in fantasy, so managers have to bank on this being an up week for Smith in a favorable matchup-especially with Goedert (knee) being unavailable. The Chiefs let the Chargers pass all over them last Friday, so Smith is a solid WR2 for Week 2 in hopes that his offense can do something similar.
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. performed well in Week 1, completing 27 of 42 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception, while also adding six rushes for 21 yards and a score.
In Week 2, he'll have a road matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, who were tough against the run last season, allowing the second-fewest rush yards per game (93.2), and who only allowed 61 rush yards to non-quarterbacks in Week 1. It likely means the Falcons will lean on the pass again in this matchup, and the 25-year-old will have a full complement of receivers as Drake London (shoulder) and Darnell Mooney (shoulder) were both full participants in practice on Friday.
The Vikings defense will be without a couple of pieces on Sunday, namely Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion), who nearly led the team in sacks in 2024 with 11.5, so the former first-round draft pick shapes up as a mid-range QB2 this week whose arrow is pointing up.
J.J. McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is a high-end Superflex option as his team plays host to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. Following a brutal first half in the season-opener at Chicago, the Michigan product came alive in the second half, accounting for three fourth-quarter touchdowns and his first NFL win.
Now playing behind a home crowd and facing a friendlier matchup from a fantasy perspective, McCarthy has a reasonable opportunity to improve on a lackluster Week 1 from a completions and yards perspective.
Attached to a strong supporting Minnesota Vikings cast, J.J. McCarthy should give fantasy football managers some decent value at the Superflex spot.
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 - Chuba Hubbard, James Conner, DeVonta Smith, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Michael Penix Jr., Emeka Egbuka, J.J. McCarthy, Travis Kelce, Trey Benson, Daniel Jones. 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 (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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 2 for Chuba Hubbard, James Conner, DeVonta Smith, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Michael Penix Jr., Emeka Egbuka, J.J. McCarthy, Travis Kelce, Trey Benson, Daniel Jones:
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