NFL Fantasy 2026 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Wide receivers for Week 2
As always, Start 'Em, Sit 'Em is geared toward helping fantasy managers make difficult roster decisions. You won’t see “start Jahmyr Gibbs” here. Instead, I'm exploring the players closer to the perceived fringe and aiming to optimize your lineups for another weekly win! Importantly, the new “Start of the Week” and “Sit of the Week” are the calls I have deemed the most notable in each category, not necessarily the most necessary players to start or sit.
Also, you’ll see quite a few references in this year’s column to NFL Pro, and the insights it provides through Next Gen Stats data dashboards, matchup evaluations, All-22 film, and the uniquely trained Fantasy AI Assistant. You can get access to all those tools yourself with an NFL+ Premium subscription!
P.S. Feel free to follow me on X -- @MattOkada -- or Instagram -- @mattokadaNFL -- and hit me with your questions, congratulations or complaints throughout the year.
Start 'Em
Start of the Week
The fourth-year pro looked great in the opener, snagging five catches for 83 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown grab. Even in a tough matchup with Denver, Trevor Lawrence's top target will run most of his routes from the slot, where he'll avoid Patrick Surtain II. With another great outing, expect Washington to be a weekly top-20 WR moving forward.
Notable starts
I was wrong about Evans, who was effective and a go-to target in high-leverage situations in Week 1. All six of his catches against the Rams went for first downs. With rookie wideout De’Zhaun Stribling injured, Evans is a borderline must-play against Miami (and possibly beyond).
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans scores a 2-yard touchdown.
Coker was my top waiver wire priority this week after a two-TD outing against the Bears and should make his way into plenty of lineups against Atlanta. Since Week 11 of last season, he's averaged 13.8 fantasy PPG and quietly outscored Tetairoa McMillan in five of their last six games.
While Egbuka finished with an underwhelming 11.3 fantasy points (five catches, 63 yards) against the Bengals, he's the clear No. 1 wide receiver in Tampa. He'll get fed plenty against a Browns defense that gave up four scores through the air last week.
Diggs was more effective than teammate Terry McLaurin last week, with a 31 percent target share and 33 percent air yards share. I like both players against the Cowboys' defense, which didn't look the part in Week 1 despite the offseason investments, but I prefer Diggs.
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Sit 'Em
Sit of the Week
Metcalf saw 10 targets in the Week 1 win over Atlanta, yet he caught just four of those passes for 40 yards, finishing with eight fantasy points (fewer than Michael Pittman Jr.’s 8.8 on seven fewer targets). More importantly, I fear Metcalf will be shadowed by Christian Gonzalez on Sunday, as the Patriots corner aligned with Metcalf on 36 of 44 routes in their last matchup (Week 2 of 2024, when Metcalf was with Seattle) and limited him to three catches for 24 yards on those plays.
Notable sits
Harrison was once again far less effective than Trey McBride and Michael Wilson in Week 1. Harrison, who had one reception on three targets, was also heavily outproduced by Kendrick Bourne. Entering a matchup against the Seahawks' secondary, MHJ should be nowhere near your starting lineup.
The rebuilding Titans totaled just 195 yards and 10 points against the Jets last week, and Cam Ward, Tate and Co. have a tougher matchup this week against the Eagles.
Even with Ladd McConkey (ribs) exiting Sunday’s game in the third quarter, Johnston finished with just 3.7 fantasy points on six targets. After a strong start to 2025, Johnston has scored double-digit fantasy points just thrice in his last 11 outings.