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Who Should I Start for Week 2? Fantasy Football outlooks for Isaiah Likely, Juwan Johnson, Mike Gesicki, Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, Jake Ferguson, T.J. Hockenson, Hunter Henry, Pat Freiermuth.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 2 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Isaiah Likely, Juwan Johnson, Mike Gesicki, Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, Jake Ferguson, T.J. Hockenson, Hunter Henry, and Pat Freiermuth. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 2. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 2 of the 2026 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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Week 2 Fantasy Football 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:
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson opened 2026 with four catches for 36 yards and a touchdown on five targets in Sunday's 39-22 win over Green Bay. The score came on a 16-yard pass from Carson Wentz, who took over after Kyler Murray left in the first quarter with a concussion. It was a better fantasy line than Hockenson gave managers most weeks last season, when he finished with 51 catches for 438 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games.
Five targets still do not suddenly make him an every-week starter, especially in an offense with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings. Murray also remains in the concussion protocol, leaving Minnesota's Week 2 quarterback situation unsettled for now.
Hockenson is back in the streaming conversation after finding the end zone, but this is still a deeper-league play rather than a priority claim. Managers looking for help at tight end can consider him for Sunday's trip to Chicago, particularly in 14-team formats.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was the leader of the team's passing attack in Monday night's win over the Denver Broncos. The veteran tight end finished with three catches for 71 yards, most of which came on a 59-yard reception. Kelce showed he still has the explosiveness to break off a big play in the open field when given the chance.
It should be noted that Patrick Mahomes only completed 15 passes, and none of the Chiefs' pass-catchers had more than three receptions in the game. Despite the low passing volume, the Kansas City offense still put up 31 points against the tough Broncos defense, which is a testament to the team's revamped run game led by Kenneth Walker.
If Kansas City can lean on their run game and defense, the team's overall passing volume could decrease. Less volume would mean fewer opportunities for Kelce to produce, but it may lead to increased efficiency.
Kelce will look to keep rolling heading into his Week 2 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts defense is not a unit to shy away from, so Kelce should have no issues producing with his opportunities against them. Fantasy managers could continue to view Kelce as a low-end TE1 option heading into Week 2.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki gave fantasy managers a reason to notice him again Sunday, catching five of seven targets for 78 yards and a touchdown against Tampa Bay. He led Cincinnati in targets, receptions and receiving yards. The catch is how little he actually played. Gesicki was on the field for only 21 offensive snaps while Drew Sample played 42, with Erick All Jr. also part of the rotation.
Still, 17 of Gesicki's snaps came on passing routes. When Cincinnati wanted him on the field, it was usually to catch the ball. That is enough to make his 1% Yahoo roster rate interesting after one week. RotoBaller has Gesicki 34th among its Week 2 waiver options and recommends him in 14-team leagues.
Houston is a tougher matchup, so managers do not need to force him into lineups yet. In deeper formats, though, Gesicki is worth adding to see if Week 1 was the start of something.
Isaiah Likely, New York Giants
New York Giants tight end Isaiah Likely hauled in all eight targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Likely was the team's leading receiver throughout training camp, and he lived up to the hype in Week 1.
Of his eight catches, four came on third down. Despite playing only 49% of the snaps in Week 1, he looks primed for a key role in the passing game this season. With quarterback Jaxson Dart and the Giants offense looking sharp in Week 1, Likely should continue to see valuable opportunities in the passing game. He faces the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2, where Likely should be considered a mid-TE1 despite the limited snap share.
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth got his 2026 season started on the right foot, recording five catches for 46 yards and a touchdown on five targets in his team's Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Freiermuth had the least productive season of his career on a per-game basis in 2025, hauling in 42 receptions for 486 yards and four touchdowns on 54 targets across 17 games (eight starts).
However, the team enters 2026 with a new play-caller in head coach Mike McCarthy and parted ways with tight ends Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward over the offseason. While Steelers tight end Darnell Washington remains a part of the team's offense, Freiermuth was on the field for 73% of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps in Week 1. If Freiermuth's usage ticks back up this season, he could re-emerge as a solid tight end streamer for fantasy managers.
He profiles as a solid TE2 for those in deeper leagues.
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 - Isaiah Likely, Juwan Johnson, Mike Gesicki, Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, Jake Ferguson, T.J. Hockenson, Hunter Henry, Pat Freiermuth. 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 Isaiah Likely, Juwan Johnson, Mike Gesicki, Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, Jake Ferguson, T.J. Hockenson, Hunter Henry, Pat Freiermuth:
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