All your leaguemates have been cobbling away at their fantasy rosters since the draft, and during Week 1. Hoping you followed a lot of my Five Lists of Five: Week 1 edition calls; we had a gangbusters week here. But you’re likely headed into an opponent whose done a little more upkeep and maintenance and bulwarking and renovations on their team on the waiver wire, or even the trade beat this week. It’s time for us to demolish their puny shacks of fantasy mediocrity, both in season-long and in DFS. Having said that, Brock Bowers’ knee is a big question mark, the 49ers might be down three star players (Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Jauan Jennings), and Austin Ekeler’s Achilles has given out. Structural integrity is falling out beneath us all. Fear not! Once more, I’m here with the full gamut of my Five Lists of Five: Week 2 edition (2025) to get you set with sleepers, stash players, matchups to exploit, and must-starts. This way you can both win and bulwark your bench for the carnage to come.
You know how it goes. We’re in the business of domination, here. We trade in wins, and wins only. We, like Billy Beane, loathe losing more than we wish for winning. And so, below, I’ve got a mix of analysis that should help you maximize your Week 2 fantasy football lineups, but also shore up your bench with potential cosmic storms waiting to happen.
Find links to all below, and enjoy laying waste to the most beloved of your leaguemates.
Follow my handle @dansby_edits for all of my fantasy football content—as well as plenty of NFL and College Football betting goodies—all season long.
Dan Johnson’s Fantasy Football Five Lists of Five: Week 2 edition (2025)
I’ve gone ahead and added the names of the players included on each list, so as to make this document more useful going forward.
Having said that, if you want any of the analysis as to why I consider these players worthy of a particular list, head to the article itself.
Top five must-start players for Week 2 of fantasy football 2025 (link)
- Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
- Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions
- James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
- Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Top five breakout running backs for Week 2 of fantasy football 2025 (link)
- David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
- Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
- Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
- Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
- TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
Top five breakout wide receivers for Week 2 of fantasy football 2025 (link)
- DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
- Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
- Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots
- Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
- Adonai Mitchell, Indianapolis Colts (why not, right?)
Top five WR/CB matchups to target in Week 2 fantasy football 2025 (link)
- George Pickens vs Deonte Banks (NYG at DAL)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown vs Kyler Gordon (slot, CHI at DET)
- Jakobi Meyers vs Deane Leonard (LAC at LV)
- Jaylen Waddle vs Jonathan Jones (MIA at NE)
- Davante Adams vs Roger McCreary (slot, LAR at TEN)