Week 2 of the NFL season is in the books, and we are creeping closer and closer to having clear pictures of teams, players, and usage. It’s important not to just look at the box score when evaluating players and stating whether their fantasy football stock is up or down. Many times, the numbers under the hood can paint a true picture of a player’s usage, value, or role. Throughout the season, we’ll monitor these underlying metrics and trends to identify fantasy football breakout candidates, waiver wire targets, trade targets, sleepers, and players who have seen their fantasy football stock go up or go down.

Also, be sure to check out a few players I identified as possible fantasy football buy-low and sell-high candidates! If you want to stay ahead of your league, these are the fantasy football trends and fantasy football values you need to know as Week 2 is in the rearview mirror, and we head into Week 3 of the NFL season.

 

 

 

Biggest Fantasy Football Risers Before Week 3

Denzel Boston, Cleveland Browns

Through two weeks, despite below-average to average at best quarterback play, Boston has been phenomenal. He leads the team in routes and has a strong 21.2% target share, 2.85 yards per route run, and 58% of the team’s air yards, per FantasyPoints Data. He’s the team’s deep threat, but also don’t discount the fact that he is tied for the team lead in red zone targets! Furthermore, his fantasy points per route run (0.64) is higher than Mike Evans (0.62), Chris Olave (0.60), and DeVonta Smith (0.52).

The rookie is a massive presence, but it’s not just his size that is helping him stand out. He’s been an elite separator! Per FantasyPoints Data, he has an 85th percentile separation score thus far in 2026! After just four targets in Week 1, he earned seven targets in Week 2, and the more consistent volume he sees on a weekly basis helps raise his fantasy floor, but his knack for big plays is what keeps his ceiling high.

Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

There are six running backs who have played at least 70% of their team’s snaps, while handling at least 50% of the team’s carries, and posting at least a 50% route participation rate. Here are those six: De’Von Achane, Ashton Jeanty, Irving, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jonathan Taylor, and James Cook.

So, five running backs drafted in the first two rounds, and then Irving. Despite the affinity for Kenneth Gainwell coming to town, Irving has been the guy, and it hasn’t been particularly close. On 1st and 2nd down, Irving has played 73.6% of the snaps, and on third down, he’s up at 61.5%, so fantasy managers who took a chance on Irving as their RB2 have to be ecstatic with the early-season usage.

Would love to see Tampa Bay to run more man/gap runs, as Irving has posted nearly seven yards per carry on these runs in 2026, per FantasyPoints Data.

Biggest Fantasy Football Fallers Before Week 3

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

This is far from the ideal start for Herbert and the Chargers. In two games with Mike McDaniel calling the offense, Herbert has a 2:3 TD/INT ratio, a sub-60% completion percentage, and his 71.6 passer rating is worse than Aaron Rodgers (72.1), Malik Willis (83.5), and Cam Ward (85.7), per FantasyPoints Data. He’s been pressured at one of the highest clips in the league, and his quick pressure rate (pressure within 2.5 seconds) is ABSURD!

After failing to score 15 fantasy points in either of his first two games, things aren’t going to get easier for Herbert. Here’s the Chargers’ schedule the next handful of weeks: at Buffalo, at Seattle, vs. Denver, at Kansas City, at/vs. Los Angeles Rams, vs. Houston, at Baltimore.

Week 3 might be good for some fantasy points as the Chargers will try to keep up with Josh Allen and the Bills, but after that, it’s elite defense after elite defense after elite defense.

Travis Etienne, New Orleans Saints

I was skeptical of how good Etienne could be in fantasy in a Kellen Moore offense, given that running backs aren’t prioritized in the passing game. However, even as big of a skeptic as I was, I did not expect what happened in Week 2. After Kendre Miller was more involved than likely anticipated in Week 1, despite playing in under one-third of the snaps, Alvin Kamara managed to record more carries than Etienne and have a target share that was three times higher than Etienne’s, per FantasyPoints Data. Etienne did handle the 3rd down work, and the RBs have seemingly been more involved this year for Moore and the Saints.

If this type of deployment continues between Kamara and Etienne, unless Etienne can constantly get work in the passing game, it’s going to be tough sledding for him to be a consistent fantasy RB2, let alone a ceiling that would far exceed his fantasy draft capital. His work in the passing game has driven his fantasy production thus far, but Kamara in the mix won’t make things any easier. Also, what happens if the Saints aren’t playing from behind and having to play catch-up in the fourth quarter? The Saints are going to be pass-happy, and while it hasn’t been the case thus far, Kellen Moore offenses don’t particularly boast elite RB target rates.

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Buy-Low Candidates

Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

Good news. Drake London season is upon us, and it starts in Week 3. Michael Penix is starting for the Falcons in Week 3, and that’s all I needed to hear to be fired up about London moving forward. Atlanta needs to determine whether he’s the guy or not moving forward for Atlanta, so they are going to give him plenty of run. Penix under center is great for London, and by great, I mean freakin’ elite!

Take a look at the numbers below for London by starting quarterback, courtesy of FantasyPoints’ Data:

 

FP/G

Yards per Route Run

Rec. Yards per Game

w/ Desmond Ridder (17 G)

12.21

2.33

65.1

w/ Kirk Cousins (17 G)

13.91

2.13

60.5

w/ Marcus Mariota (13 G)

9.64

1.84

41.0

w/ Michael Penix (12 G)

20.60

3.12

96.8


 

It’s been a quiet start for London, but things are going to change, and now is the time to pounce on making an offer for the star receiver.

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

Alec Pierce is dealing with a heel injury, and any absence from him opens the door for Downs to handle an elite role. Laquon Treadwell will take some snaps on the perimeter, sure, but Downs will surely see the bump we were all hoping for coming into the season when there were reports of him being out there more in two-receiver sets. Overall, over two weeks, Downs has a 21% target share, 1.91 yards per route run, and a 29.5% first-read rate, per FantasyPoints Data.

Pierce went down in the first quarter, but after his injury, we saw Downs on the perimeter more. Take a look at the breakdown below, courtesy of FantasyPoints Data:

Quarter

Wide Route Rate

Slot Route Rate

1

12.5%

87.5%

2

12.5%

87.5%

3

50%

50%

4

37.5%

62.5%

OT

50%

50%


 

Downs is an elite separator, and aside from Tyler Warren, he should be the most trusted pass catcher for this team. He’s been fantastic against man coverage this season, to the tune of 3.95 yards per route run and 0.47 targets per route run, per FantasyPoints Data, and it was encouraging to see him go for nearly 15 fantasy points (PPR) against a stout Kansas City defense. There’s a lot to be encouraged about for Downs moving forward, and he gets the Texans, Commanders, Steelers, and Titans the next four weeks.

 

Fantasy Football Sell-High Candidates

Darren Waller, Carolina Panthers

Waller has a 46.3% route participation rate this year, per FantasyPoints Data, plus a 6.8% target share. However, two touchdowns on five receptions have him up within the top 12 fantasy tight ends. WHAT? In the red zone, Waller has a 55.9% snap rate and 64% route participation rate in the red zone, but those numbers fall to 31.8% and 38.6% outside of the red zone, per FantasyPoints Data. 

In PPR scoring, 51.9% of his fantasy points have come from touchdowns, which is absurd, and I’d expect him to have one of the higher rates in the league. On top of being touchdown-dependent, injuries have limited his availability throughout the course of his career, so why not take advantage of trading away after he scored twice? If he doesn’t score, he’s not going to help fantasy teams, so when he scores, you look to ship him out to improve your tight end depth with someone who gets more than 2.5 targets per game.

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans

Another tight end? Another tight end, indeed! Schultz is coming off a career game, and I’m not exaggerating that. His 14 targets, 12 receptions, and 140 yards were all career highs, and he’s now averaging 11 targets per game through the first two weeks. There was no Nico Collins in Week 2, and Schultz took on a more prominent role, but Schultz absolutely ATE in garbage time.

Overall in Week 2, he caught 8-of-9 targets for 72 yards in the fourth quarter. On Houston’s final two drives, he caught seven passes for 63 yards! He’s going to run a ton of routes, but he’s not a huge threat downfield, and in Week 1, when Collins was out there, Schultz had a 3.13 average depth of target (aDOT). Collins might miss Week 3 as well, so Schultz could be good for another week, but when Collins is back, Schultz is a high-floor option with a low ceiling. When it comes to maximizing a player’s value in trades, it’s better to be a week early than a week late…