Fantasy football managers know that every lineup decision can make or break a week, and choosing the right players to start or sit is where championships are won. With the 2026 NFL season underway, matchups, stats, and trends are more important than ever. From favorable matchups and scoring trends to players you should avoid in tough spots, my weekly positional start and sit guide is built to give you an edge.
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Quarterbacks to Start
Bryce Young CAR
Bryce Young has been one of the biggest surprises of the first two weeks, and I’m willing to keep riding it against Cleveland. Young followed his 361-yard, three-touchdown opener with 287 yards and three more scores in Carolina’s 34-3 win over Atlanta, giving him 648 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, and only one interception through two games. The underlying numbers support the breakout. According to PFF, Young has an 80.9 passing grade with four big-time throws and only one turnover-worthy play, while his 10.5-yard average depth of target shows Carolina isn’t building this production entirely on easy throws underneath. He’s also added a rushing touchdown, giving us another path toward fantasy production when Carolina gets near the goal line.
The matchup gives me another reason to trust him for at least one more week. Cleveland has played single-high coverage at one of the highest rates in football through two games, and Young has been particularly effective against those looks, grading seventh among quarterbacks against single-high coverage according to PFF. That’s important because Young’s willingness to push the ball downfield has been one of the biggest differences in Carolina’s offense so far. Regression will eventually come from six passing touchdowns in two games, but I’m not trying to predict exactly when it happens. Carolina has scored 71 points through two weeks, Young is playing some of the best football of his career, and this matchup gives him another legitimate opportunity to produce as a QB1.
Tyler Shough NO
Tyler Shough has gone from an interesting late-round quarterback to someone I’m willing to start after what he’s shown through two weeks. He threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns against Detroit in Week 1 before completing 27-of-34 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown against Baltimore, adding nine carries for 23 yards and another score. That gives him 662 passing yards through two games, but the rushing usage is what makes the fantasy profile even more interesting. Shough already has 13 rushing attempts, and Week 2 showed that he can salvage a fantasy day with his legs even when the passing volume comes down. We’re no longer relying entirely on 300-plus passing yards for him to reach his ceiling.
Las Vegas can create pressure, and losing left tackle Kelvin Banks makes Maxx Crosby an obvious concern for New Orleans, so I’m not treating this as a completely safe matchup. What keeps me willing to start Shough is how comfortable he’s looked operating in less-than-perfect conditions through the first two weeks. The Saints are giving him legitimate passing volume, Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson provide reliable targets, and Shough’s willingness to run gives him another way to generate fantasy points if the pocket breaks down. There will be some volatility with a quarterback this aggressive, but the combination of volume and rushing upside gives Shough enough paths to another QB1 performance for me to keep him in the lineup.
Jared Goff DET
Jared Goff is coming off exactly the type of performance that reminds us how high his fantasy ceiling becomes when Detroit is forced to throw. Goff completed 26-of-38 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns against Buffalo, giving him 533 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions through two games. The Lions still want to build their offense around Jahmyr Gibbs, but Week 2 showed us Goff doesn’t need a perfect matchup to produce a massive fantasy score when Detroit’s opponent forces the offense to remain aggressive. With Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, and Gibbs all involved in the passing game, there simply aren’t many quarterbacks with a better collection of weapons.
The Jets have actually played well against the pass through two games, so this isn’t a matchup I’m trying to sell as easy. What I like is how their defensive approach fits Goff. New York has been willing to blitz, while Goff has consistently been one of the better quarterbacks in football when defenses send extra pressure and allow him to diagnose where the ball needs to go before the snap. Detroit also gets this game at Ford Field, where this passing offense has repeatedly produced some of its best performances. The Jets can create pressure, but Goff has too many answers underneath and over the middle for me to move away from him after what we saw against Buffalo. He’s back in my QB1 range for Week 3.
Quarterbacks to Sit
Justin Herbert LAC
Justin Herbert is the most uncomfortable sit because Buffalo has been extremely friendly to fantasy quarterbacks through two games. C.J. Stroud and Jared Goff combined for 601 passing yards and six touchdowns without throwing an interception against the Bills, so I’m not going to manufacture a difficult matchup argument that isn’t there. My concern is what we’ve actually seen from Herbert and the Chargers. He followed a disappointing opener with only 192 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against Las Vegas, leaving him with 401 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions through two games. The Chargers have been willing to let Herbert attack downfield, but those opportunities haven’t translated into nearly enough explosive plays or touchdowns.
That’s why this is a player and offense fade rather than a Buffalo fade. Herbert could absolutely make this recommendation look terrible if Josh Allen forces Los Angeles into a high-volume passing script, and that’s the obvious path to a bounce-back performance. The problem is that I’m not willing to start Herbert solely because two other quarterbacks shredded Buffalo. His rushing production hasn’t been substantial enough to protect his fantasy floor when the passing game struggles, either. Until Mike McDaniel’s offense shows it can turn those downfield opportunities into explosive plays and touchdowns, I’m willing to look elsewhere in a normal one-QB league.
Drake Maye NE
Drake Maye’s rushing ability keeps his fantasy ceiling alive, but his passing performance through two weeks has been concerning enough that I’m sitting him against Jacksonville. Maye threw for 178 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions against Seattle before following it with 208 yards, zero touchdowns, and another interception against Pittsburgh. That leaves him at 386 passing yards, one touchdown and four interceptions through two games. The bigger concern is how much New England has needed Maye’s legs to keep his fantasy production alive. Defenses have begun playing more two-high coverage against him to limit the downfield passing game, and Maye has yet to consistently punish that adjustment through the air.
Jacksonville has allowed some passing production through two weeks, so this isn’t simply about chasing the opponent. I’m more concerned with Maye’s current passing floor and an offensive line that has already struggled to keep the pocket clean. Starting guard Mike Onwenu also left Week 2 with an ankle injury, adding another potential concern up front. Maye is talented enough to erase some of these problems with 40 or 50 rushing yards, and that’s why I wouldn’t consider him an automatic bench in superflex formats. But one passing touchdown against four interceptions through two games is difficult to overlook. Until the passing efficiency stabilizes and New England shows it has answers for the coverage adjustments Maye is seeing, I’m willing to sit him in Week 3.
Trevor Lawrence JAX
Trevor Lawrence showed us both sides of his fantasy profile over the first two weeks. He destroyed Cleveland for 245 yards and four touchdowns on only 23 attempts in the opener, then came crashing back against Denver with 189 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. That leaves him with 434 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception through two games, but the underlying decision-making has been more volatile than the box score suggests. According to PFF, Lawrence has only one big-time throw compared with four turnover-worthy plays through 56 dropbacks. He was also pressured 11 times against Denver after facing only six pressures in Week 1, and Jacksonville’s offense struggled considerably more once Lawrence stopped consistently operating from a clean pocket.
New England is exactly the type of defense I don’t want to attack while Lawrence is showing that volatility. The Patriots have opened the season playing excellent pass defense and just held Aaron Rodgers to 187 passing yards with no touchdowns while recording four sacks in a 20-3 win over Pittsburgh. Their first two quarterback matchups were Drew Lock and Rodgers, so I’m not pretending two games make this an elite defense we avoid all season. The concern is how the matchup intersects with what Lawrence struggled with last week: pressure, difficult coverage windows, and avoiding negative plays. Lawrence also has only two scramble yards through two games, according to PFF, so there hasn’t been much of a rushing floor when the passing touchdowns disappear. If I have another legitimate QB1 available, I’m willing to sit Lawrence this week.
