Avoiding busts in Week 2 of fantasy football leagues remains important, especially if you’ve lost a game out of the gate in your league.
This list of players that The Sporting News fantasy experts predict to disappoint includes Week 1 overachievers, stars we still shouldn’t trust, and other pitfalls to avoid.
Keep scrolling to find our Week 2 fantasy football busts and why our analysts do not trust starting them.
FANTASY WEEK 2 RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | PK
Fantasy QB Busts Week 2
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houston Texans
Mayfield ripped into the Falcons after a slow start with big scores late. But the Texans’ defense on the road is a tougher draw, especially with no Tristan Wirfs to keep the pass rush at bay. The Texans also are good in coverage and just made things rough in the pocket for Matthew Stafford. – Vinnie Iyer
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
Jones had a fantastic debut in Indy — thanks in large part to Miami being inept — but he’s in for a rude awakening this weekend against the Broncos. Arguably the best defense in the NFL, this Denver unit is light-years ahead of the bumbling Dolphins. – Sloan Piva
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears
The Lions struggled tremendously against the Packers in Week 1. Now in Week 2, they face off against the mastermind behind the Lions offense himself. Yes, the Lions have a new OC and a new scheme, but Ben Johnson still has a huge advantage against his former QB. He knows how Goff plays the position inside and out, what he likes and what he doesn’t; regardless of the final score, Goff is not going to have a good fantasy performance. – Griffin Missant
FANTASY LINEUP TIPS: Week 2 Sleepers | Week 2 Busts
Fantasy RB Busts Week 2
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Las Vegas Chargers
Jeanty’s fantasy outcome was saved in Week 1 by a TD, but in Week 2, he plays a much tougher defense. In Week 1, the Chargers held the Chiefs’ RBs to 41 yards rushing. Patrick Mahomes had 16 more yards on the ground than Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco combined. Predicting TDs is near impossible, so barring that, Jeanty will have a quiet game. – Griffin Missant
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
Sampson racked up 93 scoreless yards on 20 touches in Week 1 vs. the Bengals’ defense, but he will have a harder time getting loose on the road vs. a Ravens’ defense looking for some redemption at home. Sampson may not have the same type of volume in a different type of game where pass protection will be the biggest key for Joe Flacco vs. checking down. – Vinnie Iyer
Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers
Walker had a bit of a failure to launch last weekend vs. the 49ers, racking up just 20 yards on 10 carries. Now he must face the Steelers in Pittsburgh, a tough place for a running back to mount a bounce-back effort. Consider fading KW3 if you have higher-upside options. – Sloan Piva
PROTECT YOUR BACKFIELD: RB handcuff rankings & depth charts
Fantasy WR Busts Week 2
Michael Pittman, Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
Consider this the opposite of a stack — Pittman, like Danny Dimes, cannot be trusted against the vaunted Broncos D. Most fantasy managers knew when they drafted the Pitt Boss that they would need to sideline him here and there. This week is one of those times. – Sloan Piva
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots
This needs to be prefaced: Tyreek Hill can have a good week with two catches. However, to say things are bad in Miami is an understatement. Hill finished as the WR49 in Week 1. There is no way anyone is comfortable starting him. – Griffin Missant
George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants
Pickens is back to his old Steelers mysterious ways in the Cowboys’ passing game, with limited work so far with Dak Prescott. The Cowboys can crush the Giants with plenty of CeeDee Lamb and the running backs. – Vinnie Iyer
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Fantasy TE Busts Week 2
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
J.J. McCarthy didn’t throw to Hockenson much in his debut, as Justin Jefferson and the running backs provided the greatest support. For whatever it’s worth, the Falcons’ defense blanked Cade Otton in Week 1. – Vinnie Iyer
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Anyone who has the means to bench Kelce this week should consider it. The Eagles ranked as one of the best TE defenses in fantasy last year, and in Week 1, they held Jake Ferguson to 23 yards. There could be a “Blank Space” next to Trav’s name this week (sorry, had to). – Sloan Piva
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns
I would legitimately drop Mark Andrews right now if I had him. The number of guys on the waiver wire who are better than him is astonishing. At this point, the only thing that is carrying Andrews harder in fantasy football than his name is TDs. Last season, Andrews would have been irrelevant in fantasy without his 11 TDs. He was targeted one, singular time in Week 1 and caught it for 5 yards. This was the first drive of the game, and then Lamar Jackson did not look his way again. This is not just a Week 2 bust; this is a 2025 bust. – Griffin Missant
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Fantasy Defense Busts Week 2
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers’ offense looked amazing in their Week 1 game vs the Chiefs. While the Raiders D/ST had a good fantasy outing in Week 1, you should want no part of them in Week 2 against Justin Herbert. There are many better options and matchups available. – Griffin Missant
Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs
The Eagles’ defense will have more issues in Week 2 with some new secondary leaks and limited pass rush pop for Patrick Mahomes as Vic Fangio needed to already resort to the blitz in Week 1 against the Cowboys, which will play into Mahomes’ hands at home. – Vinnie Iyer
Houston Texans vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Texans are 70% rostered, but I have them well outside my top 12 this week. They were good but far from great against the Rams, and it seemed like they were relying too much on the blitz. Speaking of blitzes, Baker Mayfield got pressured plenty last week in Atlanta, but he finished with 206 total yards and three passing touchdowns. The Bucs will be ready for whatever Houston throws at them on Monday Night Football. – Sloan Piva
