The Perfect Week 2 NFL DFS FanDuel Lineup: Puka Nacua, Travis Etienne are Must-Starts

Daily Fantasy Football is always a cheap, fun way to enjoy the NFL games on a Sunday afternoon. Each week, you may watch the RedZone Touchdown recap and see many breakout perfomers. In a storybook, it is fun to see what they weekly storyline became. Who score multiple times? Who broke out a big run? Who blew a team out? These are questions that get answered every Sunday, and should you find those players in your DFS lineup, you may just hit a sunday lottery ticket.

WEEK 2 NFL PREVIEW

To run through some game previews, we first look at the Baltimore Ravens. As they host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, M&T Bank Stadium is going to be booming. There is virtually no chance that the Ravens lose, in my opinion, as I have them as my biggest favorite and highest scoring team of Week 1.

The Buffalo Bills travel to the Meadowlands as they face the New York Jets. The Jets looked great in Week 1, but mainly on offense. The Bills may just let loose on the suspect secondary. What I really see is a big Josh Allen-James Cook game. Upside for Buffalo is 40+ points.

The Rams may be traveling cross-country to Tennessee, but early in the year, they may be fine. Even if the Rams start slow, they will find their stride and expose a weak Titans defense. Puka Nacua breakout game? Yes.

The Jaguars vs Bengals may be an under-the-radar game of the week. I love the Jaguars in 2025 and the Bengals offense always shines. This could be a shootout late on Sunday afternoon.

The 49ers-Saints and Seahawks-Steelers games are two unpredictable ones, in my opinion. Between travel, injuries, coach adjustments, and much more, I think these games are safer to avoid. Defenses allow for less upside. Coaches allow for less upside. They are my high-variance Week 2 matchups.

The Lions look for a bounce back in Week 2 as they make their home-debut in Detroit. I really think that they will spoil the return of Ben Johnson. Regardless, but teams have fantasy viable options.

The Giants looked awful in Week 1, while the Cowboys looked good in defeat. This is another game of higher variance, but I like some internal matchups like Malik Nabers vs Trevon Diggs and CeeDee Lamb/George Pickens.

Good luck to the Miami Dolphins. I do not know what to expect for the most part. What I can expect is the Patriots to move the ball a lot more easily than in Week 1.

The Broncos should quickly end the Colts hype in a comfortable road win. I see the same for the Eagles in America's Game of the Week.

Our Week 2 FanDuel DFS Lineup (Main Day Slate)

Quarterback - Lamar Jackson

Quarterbacks appear to be top heavy this week, in contrast to our play of Daniel Jones for under $7,000 last week. My top options are Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Generally, we would not play their salary, but this week both players foresee high upside. Josh Allen matches up well against this new Jets defense. He should be able to find cracks in the secondary and scramble for runs when they are not there.

As for Lamar Jackson, I will use him as he is slightly cheaper. Cleveland does not have the ability to stop Baltimore, and I think that many deep balls and big plays can happen rather fast for Lamar Jackson. To get to 3x salary, we need three total touchdowns, ideally one rushing, and that matches up to happen.

Running Back #1 - James Cook

Especially since we are not playing Josh Allen, I am comfortable playing James Cook. He will be moderately owned and despite injury reports this week, he is a full-go for Sunday. The Jets run defense looked okay in Week 1, but the Steelers offensive line is way more suspect than Buffalo's. I anticipate the Jets to struggle defending again in Week 2, and James Cook to break out some explosive runs with a touchdown, if not two.

Running Back #2 - Travis Etienne Jr

The team traded Tank Bigsby the other day, which in turn makes Travis Etienne the clear RB1. Bhayshel Tuten will get work, but nothing harmful. Definitely not yet, at least. His Week 1 performance clearly showed that he is finally back healthy. We saw what Liam Coen did with Bucky Irving last year. He may just do it again with Etienne.

As the Bengals defense is weak, Etienne may play a big part in a game of shootout potential. I project the Bengals to win this game 31-27.

Does Travis Etienne have a RB1 season in him? #Duuuval pic.twitter.com/ui76lC3uFX
— FantasyPros (@FantasyPros) September 11, 2025

Wide Receiver #1 - Puka Nacua

I loved Puka Nacua last week against the Houston Texans, and we exposed Derek Stingley just as I desired. He now faces what may be the worst secondary in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans. They are outmatched on the field and on the sidelines. The Rams are a great Week 2 survivor pick as they may hit hard and fast.

Wide Receiver #2 - Courtland Sutton

The cornerback duo of Charvarius Ward and Xavien Howard are quite volatile. They have both been elite, and poor as different times. I will tell you why I am not nervous about this play.

Courtland Sutton is maybe the best 1v1 receiver in the entire league. He has also been dominantly schemed out since the beginning of the Sean Payton era. He plays 47% on the left, 24% in the slot, and 27% on the right. In 2024, he got around premier defenders such as Jaycee Horn, Trent McDuffie, AJ Terrell, and Denzel Ward. In fact, against all four of those defenders, Courtland Sutton had over 75 yards. AJ Terrell was the only one to keep him under 90 yards.

My case is made, and I will start Courtland Sutton for a price of just $7,000.

Wide Receiver #3 - Cedric Tillman

I am starting to think that Zach Orr is not capable of coaching an elite secondary. In the first half of 2024, the Ravens had of the worst secondaries in the NFL. They reeled it back in the second half, but that did not show in 2025. Against the Buffalo Bills, they got shredded for 394 yards in the air. I think that the Ravens get out to a lead and Cedric Tillman is fed extra targets in a passing game script. He played near as many snaps of Jerry Jeudy in Week 1, proving to be a solidified starter.

Tight End - Trey McBride

Despite some key names on my tight end start list this week, I am not truly in love with any deeper tight ends. My favorite tight end of the week is far and away, Trey McBride. Between Trevin Wallace, Christian Roseboom, Nick Scott, and Tre'Von Moehrig, neither has proven at any point to be great in coverage. For $7,000, Trey McBride could be the highest targeted player among all Week 2 pass-catchers.

FLEX - RJ Harvey

It may be bold to start a Broncos wide receiver with a running back, but I am fine with it. RJ Harvey is just $5,400 in salary. He does not need a career-defining game for us to succeed. Give me one explosive player, and/or a touchdown, and I will take 10-15 points and go off into the sunset. For a cheap price, his upside is big considering his ability that was on display for a 50-yard rush in Week 1. Added — the Colts front is poor, and if a blowout occurs, the Broncos will increase the run-rate.

DEF/ST - LA Rams

I like myself the Rams this week. As I said earlier, the Titans are outmatches in nearly every category of this game. Jared Verse and Poona Ford are going to get to Cam Ward, that is for sure, and hopefully force many sacks and turnovers. Cam Ward has a brutal start to this season regarding defensive matchups. They had just 133 yards of total offense in Week 1.

WEEK 2 FANDUEL DFS LINEUP

PLAYER	POSITION	SALARY
Lamar Jackson	QB	$8,500
James Cook	RB	$6,900
Travis Etienne Jr	RB	$6,700
Puka Nacua	WR	$8,400
Courtland Sutton	WR	$7,000
Cedric Tillman	WR	$5,400
Trey McBride	TE	$7,000
RJ Harvey	FLEX	$5,500
LA Rams	D/ST	$4,500