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Who Should I Start for Week 2? Fantasy Football outlooks for Jalen Coker, Devaughn Vele, Christian Watson, Terry McLaurin, Jaylen Waddle, Chris Godwin Jr., Matthew Golden, Michael Wilson, DeVonta Smith.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 2 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Jalen Coker, Devaughn Vele, Christian Watson, Terry McLaurin, Jaylen Waddle, Chris Godwin Jr., Matthew Golden, Michael Wilson, and DeVonta Smith. 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:
Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker (ankle) rolled his left ankle in the first quarter of the Week 1 season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday but continued to play through it and had one of the best games of his career, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. Coker is wearing a walking boot on Monday but does not expect to miss time this week as the team prepares to play the division-rival Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 on Sunday.
The 24-year-old third-year receiver caught eight of his nine targets for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the 59-37 loss to the Bears on Sunday. Injuries are nothing new for Coker, who played in only 22 games in his first two years in the league due to injury. If Coker can manage to stay healthy for an entire season, though, he has true breakout potential, even as the team's WR2 across from former first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan.
If Coker can get through practice this week and suit up on Sunday against Atlanta, he should be locked into starting fantasy lineups for a potential encore after his two-touchdown season opener. Right now, Coker is rostered in 61% of Yahoo leagues, so despite his ankle injury, he is a priority waiver-wire addition going into Week 2 action.
He should be viewed as a must-start WR3/FLEX in all formats in Week 2.
Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers
All offseason, plenty of buzz suggested Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden was a prime candidate to make a big Year 2 leap. That started to come to fruition on Sunday, as Golden caught six of 12 targets for 95 yards in the Packers' Week 1 loss to the Vikings. In addition to the high volume and yardage total, he also saw the field quite often, taking on an 82% snap share.
Golden has officially solidified himself as the Packers' No. 2 receiver over Jayden Reed, who played just 57% of the snaps. Golden's emergence as a weekly fantasy threat is great news for managers who drafted him in the first round of dynasty league drafts last year, and also for redraft managers who got a potential steal in the back half of 2026 fantasy drafts. It also bodes well for the Packers' offense, which needed more receivers to step up after Josh Jacobs' placement on the commissioner's exempt list may have shifted the team's approach from run-heavy to pass-heavy.
Golden is still behind Christian Watson on the depth chart, but all that matters is that the Texas product is on the fantasy radar and he's here to stay. He ranks as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3 for Week 2 against the New York Jets.
Devaughn Vele, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Devaughn Vele caught seven of nine targets for 69 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-30 loss to the Detroit Lions. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough found Vele for a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter to cut the lead to 21-14. Vele lined up as the Saints WR2 behind Chris Olave and was second on the team in receptions, receiving yards, and targets.
His longest catch of the day was a 31-yard reception, which led to a Saints field goal. The 28-year-old will see an uptick in snaps and targets in the short term with rookie Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) on injured reserve. Vele logged 82 snaps, had 58 routes run, and had a good rapport with Shough in Sunday's loss. With Tyson injured, Vele carved himself out a role and could become a key part of the Saints' offense along with Olave, Juwan Johnson, and Travis Etienne Jr.
Vele is RotoBaller's No. 3-ranked waiver wire pickup and will look to build on Sunday's performance against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, where he projects to have FLEX upside.
Jaylen Waddle, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos prized offseason acquisition, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, fell flat in the team's season-opening loss to the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night in a 31-10 blowout, catching just one of three targets for two yards on the night. Denver's offense, managed by first-time play-caller Davis Webb, looked lost on Monday on the road, with quarterback Bo Nix going 17-for-28 passing for only 131 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. The 27-year-old dropped one of his three targets on a third down that would have been converted had he hung onto the ball.
The Broncos will surely be looking to get the 27-year-old former sixth overall pick in 2021 the ball early and often as they look to bounce back in another tough matchup in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite the tough showing in his Broncos debut, fantasy managers should be keeping Waddle in their starting lineups this week in what could turn into a shootout.
Savvy fantasy managers will want to consider buying low on Waddle after his Week 1 dud, as he can still produce as a high-end WR2 in all formats.
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 - Jalen Coker, Devaughn Vele, Christian Watson, Terry McLaurin, Jaylen Waddle, Chris Godwin, Matthew Golden, Michael Wilson, DeVonta Smith. 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 Jalen Coker, Devaughn Vele, Christian Watson, Terry McLaurin, Jaylen Waddle, Chris Godwin Jr., Matthew Golden, Michael Wilson, DeVonta Smith:
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