James Cook, Lamar Jackson Lead Early Fantasy Football MVP Race After Week 2

The fantasy football MVP race is heating up after Week 2, with James Cook, Lamar Jackson, and Puka Nacua leading the early charge.

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

With Week 2 in the books, our fantasy MVP race has changed drastically, which is expected with such a small sample size. However, not everything has changed, as you'll start to see more of the expected faces on this list as we get more weeks under our belt. 

1.  RB James Cook, Buffalo Bills

Cook has given you two strong weeks, with Week 2 being outstanding. In Week 1, he scored 21.2 fantasy points, and in Week 2, 26.5 fantasy points. That gives him an average of 23.9 fantasy points per game this season, which is 0.9 points ahead of the second-place running back Christian McCaffrey. So far, he has proved the naysayers wrong who claimed that last year was a fluke when it came to scoring touchdowns. He already has three TDs in two games.   

Cook is the RB4 in our Week 3 PPR Rankings.

2. QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) warms up before the game against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Jackson is your QB1 on the season so far. He's already accounted for seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. Both weeks have been outstanding, with him scoring 29.4 fantasy points in Week 1 and 26.3 fantasy points in Week 2. He has scored 3.4 more fantasy points per game than the next closest quarterback, who we will get to in a little bit. You can make a strong case that he should be at the top of this list, and we wouldn't be surprised to see him up there as soon as next week.   

3. WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

Nacua is currently the WR1 overall despite not having a TD catch yet this season. However, he does have a touchdown run. Nevertheless, he has made his mark, catching 18 passes for 221 yards. He's been a force in PPR leagues, scoring 0.5 more fantasy points per game than the WR2 Malik Nabers. If he could start scoring some touchdowns, he'd have a real shot of climbing up this list in the coming weeks.   

4. QB Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts 

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) spins the ball on his fingers Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, ahead of the game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What Jones has done in the first two weeks is nothing short of incredible. Nobody saw this coming. We have no idea if it's sustainable or not, but we can't take anything away from him at this point. He's currently the QB2 overall and has averaged 0.9 more points per game than the QB3, Josh Allen. If he continues playing like this moving forward, the fact that you likely were able to pick him up off the waiver wire only increases his value. Unfortunately, he's not in the three-spot because not many people have started him yet this season.  

5. TE Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers

Kraft exploded in Week 2 with 24.4 fantasy points. The big game skyrocketed him into the TE1 overall spot. His 17.2 fantasy points per game are 1.4 more points per game than the TE2 overall, Juwan Johnson. If he can keep this up, he will no doubt be a league-winner, even if it is tough for a tight end to become the fantasy football MVP.