- Joe Burrow primed to bounce back in a big way: After a slightly disappointing Week 1 performance, Burrow should take advantage of a weak Jacksonville Jaguars defense. Burrow averaged 23.4 fantasy points per game at home last season, while the Jaguars allowed 22.3 fantasy points per game on the road to quarterbacks.
- Stay away from Daniel Jones in Week 2: Only four quarterbacks have scored more than 17 fantasy points against the Denver Broncos since the start of the 2024 season.
- Unlock your edge with PFF+: Access Premium Stats, dominate fantasy with in-season tools and projections and make smarter bets with the new PFF Player Prop Tool.
Estimated Reading Time: 6minutes
Are you struggling to set your Week 2 fantasy lineups? Maybe I can help… Below you can find my top fire (boom) and ice (bust) players at each position for Week 2. I also include my sleeper of the week at each position in case you are in a deeper league or in need of a replacement for an ice player.
Don’t miss my fire and ice chart at the bottom of this page. There, I have listed out all of my fire, good, sleeper and ice plays for Week 2 of the 2025 fantasy football season.
Quarterbacks
Fire QB Start of the Week: Joe Burrow (vs. JAX)
It was not a pretty performance from Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense in their season-opener at the Cleveland Browns. However, don’t stress over one game – it was a tough road divisional opponent, and Burrow typically struggles in Cleveland. This week, he gets to play at home against a weak Jacksonville Jaguars defense. Burrow averaged 23.4 fantasy points per game at home last season, while the Jaguars allowed 22.3 fantasy points per game on the road to quarterbacks. Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are all primed for a huge bounce-back game in Week 2.
Sleeper QB of the Week: Caleb Williams (at DET)
Despite not looking all that improved in his first game under Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams still had a great fantasy performance, putting up 24.2 points against the Minnesota Vikings. Williams’ willingness to utilize his rushing ability more often will lead to more consistent fantasy scores throughout the season. Plus, he gets a favorable matchup this Sunday against the Detroit Lions, who have allowed the 12th most fantasy points to quarterbacks over the last two seasons.
Ice QB Start of the Week: Daniel Jones (vs. DEN)
In a shocking turn of events, Daniel Jones balled out in his Indianapolis Colts’ debut with a massive 29.5 fantasy point performance. However, that was at home against a depleted Miami Dolphins defense. Things will be much more difficult for Jones this weekend, as he faces the Denver Broncos‘ shutdown unit. Only four quarterbacks have scored more than 17 fantasy points against the Broncos since the start of the 2024 season — Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Jameis Winston.
Running Backs
Fire RB Start of the Week: James Conner (vs. CAR)
After one week, it seems that the Carolina Panthers‘ run defense is still going to be atrocious. No team allowed more rushing yards and fantasy points to the running back position in 2024, and then the Panthers allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to rush for 200 yards. Travis Etienne went off for 143 yards against them in their 2025 season-opener. Any running back playing the Panthers is going to be an instant highly ranked guy for the week. James Conner should see a ton of work in this matchup, both on the ground and through the air, and I expect a top-10 fantasy finish from him in Week 2.
Sleeper RB of the Week: Zach Charbonnet (at PIT)
Charbonnet is a very good running back, and his team may have finally figured that out. Despite Kenneth Walker being healthy and active, Charbonnet led the Seattle Seahawks‘ backfield in offensive snaps and rushing attempts in Week 1. He played on 17% more of the offensive snaps in the season opener while playing on the vast majority of third-down snaps and getting all the goal-line work. The Seahawks should feel confident continuing with the same backfield usage this week, as Charbonnet was a much more efficient rusher than Walker last Sunday. Their matchup in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers should be favorable, as they just let New York Jets running back Breece Hall put up 107 yards on 19 rushing attempts against.
Ice RB Start of the Week: Javonte Williams (vs. NYG)
Yes, Javonte Williams was a top-five fantasy running back in Week 1 … No, I do not think he is a good starter moving forward. Twelve of his 20 fantasy points came on two one-yard rushing touchdowns. Besides falling into the end zone twice, the rest of his overall play was uninspiring. Williams recorded just 54 yards on 15 rushing attempts (3.6 yards per carry) and 10 yards on two receptions. The New York Giants are a favorable matchup for fantasy running backs, so Williams is still a startable fantasy asset, but he is very touchdown reliant and will highly disappoint if he does not find the end zone.
Wide Receivers
Fire WR Start of the Week: Tee Higgins (vs. JAX)
The entire Cincinnati Bengals passing offense was a disaster in Week 1, but I am expecting a huge offensive bounce-back performance at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season, Tee Higgins averaged 22.8 fantasy points per game, while scoring seven touchdowns, in five homes played. The Jaguars allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the wide receiver position in 2024. Plug in all your Bengals with confidence this weekend.
Sleeper WR Start of the Week: Olamide Zaccheaus (at DET)
It makes very little sense, but Olamide Zaccheaus seems like he is going to have a huge role in the Chicago Bears‘ crowded offense. After catching a long touchdown from Caleb Williams in the preseason, Zaccheaus saw seven targets in Week 1, which was second most on the Bears behind Rome Odunze. Olamide has actually had recent fantasy success, scoring 24.0 points and 23.3 points in his last two regular-season games in 2024 with the Washington Commanders. This is a favorable matchup for all the Bears wide receivers, as the Detroit Lions have allowed the fourth most fantasy points to WRs since the start of the 2024 season.
Ice WR Starts of the Week: Michael Pittman Jr. (vs. DEN)
Week 1 showed a lot of promise for Michael Pittman Jr’s connection with Daniel Jones … but I do not expect the duo to find much success against Patrick Surtain and the Denver Broncos‘ stellar secondary this weekend. Last week, the Broncos held the Tennessee Titans‘ wide receivers to just 48 yards combined, as Calvin Ridley recorded just four receptions for 27 yards on eight targets. Pittman should remain on fantasy benches in Week 2.
Tight Ends
Fire TE Start of the Week: Hunter Henry (at MIA)
Hunter Henry led the New England Patriots with eight targets and had a solid day with four receptions for 66 yards in the season-opener. In the eight career games that Henry has seen five or more targets from Drake Maye, he has averaged 13 fantasy points per game. The Miami Dolphins defense got steamrolled by the Indianapolis Colts last weekend, as rookie TE Tyler Warren put up seven receptions for 76 yards against them in his NFL debut. Henry is one of the safer bets at the TE position to hit at least double-digit points in Week 2.
Sleeper TE of the Week: Juwan Johnson (vs. SF)
Our fantasy TE1 in Week 1 was no other than Juwan Johnson with 15.6 points… a man that went undrafted in the majority of leagues. Johnson saw an absurd 11 targets in the New Orleans Saints‘ season-opener — he was the only tight end to see double-digit targets in Week 1. Unfortunately for the Saints, Johnson’s high target share is a necessity. He and Chris Olave are the only reliable weapons in the Saints offense, and Spencer Rattler seems content to pepper the two with targets.
Ice TE Start of the Week: T.J. Hockenson (vs. ATL)
Since making his return in the middle of the 2024 season from an ACL tear, T.J. Hockenson has averaged just 8.3 fantasy points per game and has yet to score a touchdown. In fact, Hockenson has not scored a touchdown since Week 12, 2023. J.J. McCarthy rarely looked Hockenson’s way in Week 1, feeding him just four targets for three receptions and 15 yards. At this time, until he shows more of a connection with McCarthy, Hockenson should not be considered a weekly instant starter.
Fire and ice fantasy football plays
Here, I categorize every relevant fantasy player into five different buckets: (1) fire starts (best starts of the week); (2) thumbs up (good starts); (3) risky players with upside (sleepers); (4) ice starts (predicting bad performance from good player); (5) Stop (must sits).
Note: If a player/defense is not listed, I am not considering starting them in Week 2. I did not include Commanders/Packers players as they will have already played by the time this article is published.
