Welcome to Week 2 of the fantasy football fades and busts of the week! I am your host, Matt Okada, and will be bringing you half a dozen players to avoid each and every Thursday, from now until the fantasy playoffs. If you tuned in last week … things could have been smoother. But we trust the process, learn and improve. Onward!
As a note, just because a player earns a “fade” or “bust” designation doesn’t automatically mean they should be benched — it depends on the rest of your roster or the options on your waiver wire. But you can expect them to fall short of expectations (when I get them right).
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Without further ado, here is my list for Week 2 of the 2025 season.
QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
If you tuned in for the end of Monday Night Football, or just looked at J.J. McCarthy’s fantasy statline, you might think the kid had an incredible debut. And he kind of did … once the fourth quarter started. Up until that point, McCarthy was sitting at a cool 1.14 fantasy points, and he actually scored -1.68 in the third quarter alone. Then he led a stellar comeback, with two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, to finish with an excellent 22.22 fantasy points. But I’m not ready to wipe out the stain of his first three quarters with the OxiClean of his fourth. On the week, the only QB with a lower EPA/dropback was Tua Tagovailoa. McCarthy completed just 13 passes — fewer than everyone but Cam Ward (12) and Zach Wilson (five in backup duties). These are not recipes for reliable success.
What to do ❓ If you picked McCarthy up off the waiver wire, and are tempted to start him over Week 1 duds like Dak Prescott or Bo Nix … I wouldn’t recommend it (although I don’t hate streaming him over Jared Goff). We need to see a full week of consistent play from the youngster before moving him into the starter tier.
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RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
If I were smart, I might pick lesser players in lesser situations, with lesser potential for dominant days. But you don’t need to know Najee Harris is a bad play. You need to know first-round pick Ashton Jeanty is a risky one. Thanks to a three-yard touchdown run, the rookie managed 11.0 fantasy points in his NFL debut, which feels acceptable. Unfortunately, outside of that touchdown, Jeanty scored just 4.7 fantasy points on his other 20 touches. He was the first rookie since Trent Richardson (*shudder*) to total fewer than 50 scrimmage yards on 20+ touches in a Week 1 debut. And in Week 2, he draws a Chargers defense that just held the Chiefs running back duo to 41 rushing yards combined. Jeanty could absolutely go off on Monday night, but he could also log another 40-yard day … and this time not find the end zone to save it.
What to do ❓ It’s very unlikely you’re benching Jeanty, unless you have something like a Christian McCaffrey-James Conner combo. But don’t set the expectation bar at “you were my first pick in the draft” — set it at “moderate RB2” and stay away in DFS.
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RB David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
It was evident early and often last Sunday that the Detroit Lions miss Ben Johnson. They averaged just 3.8 yards per play (after averaging 6.2 all of last year) and scored just 13 points (after averaging 33.2 per game last year). As a result, David Montgomery saw just 11 carries and totaled just 25 rushing yards. And while he caught four passes for 18 yards, we can’t rely on that kind of PPR upside from the thumper. Most concerningly, the Lions ran a grand total of zero snaps from inside the 10-yard line — a major red flag for Montgomery’s usefulness as the goal-line back. The “Knuckles” half of Minnesota’s RBBC — Jordan Mason — put up a solid 4.5 yards per carry against Chicago in Week 1, but he still scored just 8.0 fantasy points. I wouldn’t expect much more than that out of Montgomery in a suddenly sputtering Lions offense.
What to do ❓ You can bench Montgomery in most leagues, as he is on the fringe or just outside of RB2 territory this week. Travis Etienne Jr. leapfrogs him in Week 2, D’Andre Swift is a better start in the same game and I’d even prefer Javonte Williams in a better matchup on a currently better offense.
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WR Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
Terry McLaurin was a bit of a dichotomy in Week 1. On the one hand, he led the Commanders in routes run with 29, so no pass-catcher was on the field more on passing plays. On the other hand, he was targeted on just 13.8% of those routes, 22% less than Deebo Samuel (35.7%), and less than Jaylin Lane (20.0%), Zach Ertz (18.5%) and Noah Brown (15.8%). Despite running those 29 routes, McLaurin finished the game with just 3.7 fantasy points. He was always a danger to regress from last season, specifically in the touchdown department, but this lack of targets was quietly as concerning as A.J. Brown’s in Week 1. With Samuel stepping up and all the ancillary options Jayden Daniels has to work with, McLaurin may not be the 120-130 target alpha he’s been in years past. And now he draws a matchup with a Packers defense, which did not allow a single Lions wideout to top 45 yards last Sunday.
What to do ❓ McLaurin is similar to Montgomery: on the fringe of the top 24, but definitely benchable in certain situations. In leagues with any form of PPR scoring, he’s still probably a better FLEX than most other options, but I would gladly roll rookies Emeka Egbuka and Tetairoa McMillan out ahead of McLaurin, as well as Zay Flowers and Davante Adams.
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WR Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
Daniel Jones almost made the QB spot in this week’s column, but he is simply too low on any given rankings list to matter as a potential bust, even after his revelatory Week 1 performance. Instead, we can hit two birds with one stone here by pinning his top wideout, Michael Pittman Jr., with the “fade” label. MPJ was excellent during Jones’ impressive Colts debut, hauling in six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, so you might be excited to play the mid-round pick in Week 2. The problem is, he’s going from the Dolphins defense — who have zero notable cornerbacks and a front seven that generates very little pressure — to the Broncos defense. That Broncos defense generated the second-highest pressure rate in Week 1 (50.0%), allowed the fourth-lowest completion percentage over expected (-10.5%) per Next Gen Stats and features Patrick Surtain II, arguably the league’s best corner. It’s going to be much tougher sledding for “Indiana Jones” and his top receiver this Sunday.
What to do ❓ Pittman is a full-blown sit candidate anywhere you can manage it. He belongs somewhere in the low-WR4 range and would hit my bench for alternates like Quentin Johnston, Khalil Shakir, Stefon Diggs and even Cedric Tillman.
TE Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Tucker Kraft was a popular hype candidate at tight end this offseason and scored a touchdown in Week 1, so … all wheels up in Week 2, right? Not really. Kraft’s TD saved his fantasy day, but outside of that play, he totaled just 15 routes, three targets, one catch and one receiving yard. He is one of about seven equally questionable cogs in Green Bay, as Jordan Love insists on distributing the ball evenly and does not throw nearly enough in total to support that many mouths. Kraft will have good weeks throughout the year — as will Matthew Golden, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and others — but it’s far too difficult trying to predict who will pop up when. Kraft has the same ceiling as guys like Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goedert and Juwan Johnson, but arguably possesses a much lower floor. Plus, the Commanders pass defense looked very good on opening weekend — admittedly easy to do against Russell Wilson — allowing the third-lowest CPOE (-12.7%) and sixth-lowest EPA/dropback (-0.32).
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What to do ❓ If you landed one of the popular waiver-wire tight ends this week — Johnson, Brenton Strange, Hunter Henry, Harold Fannin Jr., etc. — consider starting them over Kraft. All of them ran more routes, saw as many or more targets and averaged more yards per route run. Johnson and Fannin even scored more fantasy points, while Strange and Henry were within a couple decimals without the touchdown boost.
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