This is the Fantasy Nerd's look at the best and worst matchups for Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season. Analysis is aggregated from multiple sources including FN. Rankings are based upon PPR (point per reception) scoring. Given the known conditions, these matchups are the ones to watch and/or avoid.
Please Note: This list does not generally include the elite players that you are going to start regardless of matchup. You don't need us to tell you to start Justin Jefferson, Patrick Mahomes, or Christian McCaffrey. Instead, we take a look at other players on your team that we believe either have great matchups or should be avoided for multiple reasons. Factors like opposing defense, performance trending, and peer comparisons may influence our decisions.
Start 'em Anthony Richardson (IND, QB)It's not a great matchup, but Anthony Richardson is startable this week. The rookie surprised many in his first start putting up 20 fantasy points last week. Not only did he rush for 40 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw for 223 yards and a score. Although he got a bit banged up, he should still suit up for Week 2 and could be a fringe QB1.
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5th Fewest Pts to QB
Start 'em Daniel Jones (NYG, QB)It was tough for fantasy owners to watch the Sunday night game. Daniel Jones was essentially running for his life that entire game. Fortunately the Cardinals defense is going to be much more favorable than the Cowboys. Sam Howell put up 15 points against them last week. With Jones' rushing upside, he should be able to do similar or better.
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13th Most Pts to QB
Start 'em David Montgomery (DET, RB)While Jahmyr Gibbs certainly looked far more dynamic, it was David Montgomery who had the lion's share of the carries toting the rock 21 times for 74 yards and a score. Don't be surprised if Gibbs eats into that workload as the season progresses, but there's enough here, especially in this matchup, to keep Montgomery locked in as a solid RB2.
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7th Most Pts to RB
Start 'em Miles Sanders (CAR, RB)Another guy on a new team this year is Miles Sanders who saw high usage last week in his Carolina debut. The Saints are not a great matchup (they held Derrick Henry to 13 fantasy points), but the potential volume makes Sanders a RB2/Flex option. He should have a fairly safe floor even if his ceiling won't be particularly high in this one.
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15th Fewest Pts to RB
Start 'em Tee Higgins (CIN, WR)You won't normally see Tee Higgins on the start list because it's assumed that you will always start him. After last week's doughnut, fantasy owners may be a bit rattled. Don't be. The conditions in that game were awful and Burrow had one of his worst games. Things should turn around nicely against the Ravens who gave up double-digit points to both Nico Collins and Robert Woods last week.
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10th Most Pts to WR
Start 'em Michael Pittman (IND, WR)Not knowing how Anthony Richardson's first game was going to go made it very difficult to project how Pittman's day would go. Fortunately, it appears that Richardson favored his star WR to the tune of 8-97-1. If he keeps targeting him like that (11 targets last game), Pittman's fantasy value should easily keep him in the high-end WR2 discussion.
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15th Fewest Pts to WR
Start 'em Evan Engram (JAC, TE)Let's face it. The TE position was in shambles last week with the top two tight ends inactive. Hopefully you started him, because this is a good week to leave him in the lineup. We're expecting a high scoring game when the Jaguars face the Chiefs, and Kansas City may struggle to contain Engram.
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8th Most Pts to TE
Start 'em Sam LaPorta (DET, TE)If you're willing to take a chance, Sam LaPorta could be a sneaky option this week. He caught all five of his targets in Week 1 and will face a Seahawks defense that was one of the most favorable defenses to tight ends last season. Don't be surprised if she sneaks into the Top 12 this week.
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12th Most Pts to TE
Start 'em New Orleans Saints (NO, DEF)The New Orleans Saints are a MUST START this week. They had pressure on Ryan Tannehill the entire game picking him off three times. What do you think is going to happen to Bryce Young who looked every bit the rookie in his season debut? This doesn't even seem fair...unless you have the Saints defense of course.
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7th Most Pts to DEF
Start 'em Riley Patterson (DET, K)Riley Patterson started his Lions career with a perfect game. This week he'll have a great opportunity to repeat against a Seattle defense that was mediocre against kickers last season and favorable to them in Week 1.
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4th Most Pts to K
Sit 'em Dak Prescott (DAL, QB)The 6.3 points that Dak Prescott delivered last week was...underwhelming. He didn't really need to throw much as Tony Pollard and the Dallas defense did most of the damage. He may struggle to put up points this week against a Jets defense that forced four turnovers and kept Josh Allen to a very pedestrian 9 fantasy points.
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10th Fewest Pts to QB
Sit 'em Russell Wilson (DEN, QB)We all had higher hopes for Russell Wilson under HC Sean Payton. While he only had 177 yards through the air, he was able to throw a pair of scores. He'll face a Washington defense that is going to present a bigger challenge for him. If you have a better option than Wilson, this would be a good week to play it.
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Feweset Pts to QB
Sit 'em Khalil Herbert (CHI, RB)Khalil Herbert is atop the Bears RB chart, but you may have missed that fact watching the game. The Bears have more options at RB and they did a nice job sharing the workload - good for the team, not so good for fantasy. Limited opportunities and a middle-of-the-pack Bucs defense leaves Herbert as a flex option at best.
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16th Fewest Pts to RB
Sit 'em Dalvin Cook (NYJ, RB)Anyone watching the Monday night game could see that Breece Hall was both in excellent form and the more explosive runner. Dalvin Cook was a nice change of pace option, but he lacked the speed and shiftiness that Hall brings. We would not expect Cook to suddenly get five years younger and more explosive leaving him relegated to flex status.
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8th Fewest Pts to RB
Sit 'em Jakobi Meyers (LV, WR)While the defense focused on Davante Adams last week, Jakobi Meyers had a big game hauling in 9 passes for 81 yards and two scores. Assuming he clears the concussion protocol (he looked a bit out of it after a tough hit in the 4th quarter), be cautious about starting him. A repeat performance is not likely and the defensive matchup is going to be tough.
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8th Fewest Pts to WR
Sit 'em JuJu Smith-Schuster (NE, WR)Targeted 7 times last week, JuJu Smith-Schuster managed to haul in just four for a disappointing 33 yards. He looked lost on some plays and there was definitely some miscommunication on others. He may struggle quite a bit against the Dolphins in this one. JuJu should probably sit on the bench until we can see some consistency.
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11th Fewest Pts to WR
Sit 'em Hayden Hurst (CAR, TE)In his first game with the Panthers, Hayden Hurst hauled in five of his seven targets and found the endzone. He actually finished the week as the second best TE in fantasy, but this is a new week and we cannot count on a repeat. The Saints gave up the fewest points to tight ends last season and it looks like they'll be a contender to repeat that feat in 2023.
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2nd Fewest Pts to TE
Sit 'em Zach Ertz (ARI, TE)It's tough to put much positive spin on what we saw last week from the Cardinals. Zach Ertz led the team with six catches on ten targets, but ultimately netted just 8 points. If your draft strategy had streaming TE's as a component, Ertz will have some value for you this season, but a matchup with the Giants might not be favorable. He's a sit for us this week.
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6th Fewest Pts to TE
Sit 'em New England Patriots (NE, DEF)The Patriots fared better than most thought they would when they faced the Eagles last week. It wasn't great, but it was ok. Unfortunately for the Pats, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle present a far greater test - one that we're going to side with the Dolphins on.
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5th Fewest Pts to DEF
Sit 'em Greg Joseph (MIN, K)It's not a question of whether or not the Vikings can move the ball. They can, but Greg Joseph missed 21% of this field goal tries last year. Facing a Philly defense that gave up the 7th-fewest fantasy points to kickers last year means that you should stream a different kicker this week.
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3rd Fewest Pts to K
