Hollywood Brown/Juju Smith-Schuster - Wide Receiver - Kansas City Chiefs; Rostered in only 50% of ESPN leagues: Entering Week Two, down their top pair of receivers, the Chiefs will have to look elsewhere for a productive wide-out. When Xavier Worthy left the team’s season opener with a dislocated shoulder, Patrick Mahomes targeted the other two veterans in the room, Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster. While Smith-Schuster caught all five of his targets for 55 yards, Mahomes had his eyes set on Brown, who finished the game with 16 total targets and caught 10 of them for 99 yards, finishing with 19.9 FPTS. Returning home to seek revenge against the Eagles, Brown is expected to be the guy again over Smith-Schuster, but it doesn’t hurt to submit a claim for either or both receivers.
Quentin Johnston - Wide Receiver - Los Angeles Chargers; Rostered in only 4% of ESPN leagues: Johnston showed a handful of times last season how efficient he can be for fantasy managers. Appearing in 16 games last season, Johnston put up double digit outings in half of his games, the highest being his where he put up 31.6 point performance in Week 18. And he kicked off the 2025 season with another impressive outing, going 5-79-2 against the Chiefs. He aims to put up another impressive outing against the Raiders in Las Vegas.
Calvin Austin - Wide Receiver - Pittsburgh Steelers; Rostered in only 2% of ESPN leagues: Austin’s first three years in the league have been quite the rollercoaster. Entering year four, he missed the entire preseason but before his injury people were raving how fantastic he looked. Austin had a solid Week One coming away as the second leading receiver for the Steelers. Austin was targeted six times, catching four of them and finishing with 70 yards and a TD. This is sharpest he has looked, and with Rodgers as his QB, this presents his clearest path to fantasy relevance. I would pick him up and stash him on your bench.
Dylan Sampson - Running Back - Cleveland Browns; Rostered in only 32.8% of ESPN leagues: Last Sunday, fantasy managers were surprised to see starting running back Jerome Ford get less carries than the rookie Sampson. Sampson finished with 12 carries with 29 yards and had the most receptions (8) and had the second most receiving yards coming out of the backfield (64) just behind Jerry Jeudy. Sampson could see a dip in work with second rookie rookie Quinshon Judkins potential debut on the horizon. However Week One proved that Sampson is a capable running back that can handle a heavy work load.
Trey Benson - Running Back - Arizona Cardinals; Rostered in 51.4% of ESPN leagues: As the No.2 running back for the Cardinals behind James Conner, Benson has a standout performance in Week One. He finished with eight carries for 69 yards rushing, including a 52 yard carry against the Saints. Benson did finish with the most rushing yards on the team, but was overshadowed by Conner because of his receiving touchdown. However, Benson is expected to have a fair workload in the Cardinals offense, splitting carries with the starter. It is good to pick him up as a handcuff for Conner if he were to miss any games. Benson could have an intriguing matchup this week against the Carolina Panthers, who gave up a league-most 173 yards on 25 carries to RBs in Week One versus Jacksonville.
Michael Penix - Quarterback - Atlanta Falcons; Rostered in only 20% of ESPN leagues: Penix had a solid Week One against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completing 27 of 42 passes for 298 yards and scored a passing and rushing touchdown. Ultimately falling short in their loss, Penix showed the command he had in the offense, highlighting the potential success the Falcons’ offense can have this season. He will look to build on his momentum as he will go on the road against the Vikings. However, going into a tough environment, Penix could be without receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney, who are both dealing with shoulder injuries. If you don't feel comfortable starting him this week, he’s worth the stash on your bench.
Aaron Rodgers - Quarterback - Pittsburgh Steelers; Rostered in 8.9% of ESPN leagues: Rodgers looked like his vintage self during his Week One meeting against the New York Jets. Whether his performance was fueled by facing his former team, Rodgers showed that he still has some gas left in the tank, passing for four touchdowns against a stingy Jets defense. Being doubted and set with low expectations, he surprised most managers averaging 8.1 per attempt and completed four passes of at least 20 yards. Pittsburgh might not want to heavily rely on the 41-year-old with the depth at running back they have but if they can’t get the run game going again, he will have to carry the load for a second straight week. He does have a fair matchup at home against the Seattle Seahawks, who gave up 277 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Brock Purdy that completed 74.3% of his passes.
Juwan Johnson - Tight End - New Orleans Saints; Rostered in only 1.3% of ESPN leagues: Even with all the doubt the Saints offense faced entering into Week One with QB Spencer Rattler under center, Johnson showed that he could be one of the top targets for the young quarterback. Johnson was the leading receiver with eight catches for 76 yards behind new coach Kellen Moore’s pass driven offense. Given it only being a week, Johnson is ranked as the No.1 tight end in fantasy with 15.6 points. He will take on the San Francisco 49ers this week, where they only gave up just two receptions for seven yards against tight ends in Week One.
Harold Fannin Jr. - Tight End - Cleveland Browns; Rostered in only 0.9% of ESPN leagues: Fannin was the beneficiary of the Browns utilizing two tight end sets. While on the field 72% of the time, Fannin was targeted nine times and caught seven of them for 63 yards. Even when drawing a lot of praise during the offseason, it came to a surprise that he finished with a better statline than David Njoku. However, Fannin is a must-add option as the Browns take on another AFC North opponent versus Baltimore. It is wise though to keep him on your bench to make sure his Week One performance isn’t a fluke.
Brenton Strange - Tight End - Jacksonville Jaguars: Rostered in 20.1% of ESPN leagues: This could be a sneaky streamer to pick up for Week Two. Strange takes on a Cincinnati defense that allowed Cleveland's TE to combine for 10 catches and 100 yards last week. While he didn't find the end zone against the Panthers, he did manage to lead his team in receiving with catching all four of his targets for 59 yards. Strange could be on TE1 radar this week.
Rams Defense - Rostered in only 7% of ESPN leagues: The Rams go on the road to take on first overall pick Cam Ward and the Titans in what should be a favorable matchup. The Rams finished with 12 FPTS last week against Houston. They recorded an interception, a fumble and three sacks. It is wise to think that they could have a repeat performance this week.
49ers Defense - Rostered in only 19% of ESPN leagues: If this unit is not rostered already, this should be one of the top unit to acquire if you are in need of a stream this week. Scoring double digit FPTS against the Seahawks last week, the Niners defense will have another favorable matchup this week against the Saints. While the Saints had no giveaways and allowed Rattler to be sacked one time last week against Arizona, they will have a taller task to deal with against the Niners front seven, which forced a pair of fumbles with a sack.