The Lineup Show - Top 24 Quarterback Rankings For Week 2 | Fantasy Football 2026
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
18 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 17, 2026
Published
Thu, September 17, 2026
22
Player insights
22
Players mentioned
Topics
Baker MayfieldBo NixBrock PurdyBryce YoungC.J. StroudCaleb WilliamsCarson WentzDak PrescottDaniel JonesDrake MayeJalen HurtsJared GoffJayden DanielsJoe Burrow
Player analysis
Player insights
Baker Mayfield
PositiveProjection18:58
Baker Mayfield is a bounce-back candidate for Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns. Despite a poor Week 1, the matchup is viewed as a perfect opportunity to get the Tampa Bay offense back on track.
Insight pageBo Nix
NegativeProjection23:14
Bo Nix is a player to avoid for the next few weeks due to a difficult schedule. While he has a better midseason outlook, he is currently a low-priority fantasy start.
Insight pageBrock Purdy
PositiveProjection5:44
Brock Purdy is in an explosion spot for Week 2 against a weak Miami defense. After a strong Week 1 performance, he is a recommended start for fantasy managers.
Insight pageBryce Young
NegativeProjection26:47
Bryce Young is expected to regress in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons. He is a player to avoid if possible, with a projected stat line closer to his historical averages against Atlanta.
Insight pageC.J. Stroud
NegativeProjection24:27
C.J. Stroud is a decent QB2 option for Week 2 against the Bengals. His performance will depend on whether the Cincinnati defense plays closer to their 2025 form or their Week 1 struggles.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
PositiveBreakout3:15
Caleb Williams is a high-upside play for Week 2 despite a tough matchup against Minnesota. After a 37-point Week 1 performance, he is expected to drive production for his pass catchers, including Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet.
Insight pageCarson Wentz
PositiveValue25:33
Carson Wentz is a surprisingly viable start for Week 2 in superflex leagues. Following a three-touchdown performance and a favorable matchup against a struggling Chicago defense, he is a deep-league consideration.
Insight pageDak Prescott
PositiveProjection7:10
Dak Prescott is expected to bounce back in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders, who allowed three passing touchdowns in Week 1. Dallas has one of the highest team totals of the week at 27.5 points.
Insight pageDaniel Jones
NegativeProjection27:40
Daniel Jones is a last-resort option for superflex leagues in Week 2 against the Chiefs. His outlook is poor following a disappointing Week 1 performance.
Insight pageDrake Maye
NegativeProjection13:15
Drake Maye is a viable start for Week 2 despite a poor opening performance. The Week 1 struggles are attributed to facing the league's top defense, and he is expected to perform better against a softer schedule.
Insight pageJalen Hurts
PositiveProjection4:59
Jalen Hurts is a strong QB1 play for Week 2 against Tennessee, with expectations for a bounce-back game for A.J. Brown and a productive day for Saquon Barkley. A rushing touchdown is anticipated.
Insight pageJared Goff
PositiveProjection17:43
Jared Goff is in a great spot for Week 2 on Thursday night football. A high-tempo game against the Bills is expected to force him to throw frequently, leading to a likely improvement over his QB17 finish.
Insight pageJayden Daniels
PositiveUsage8:22
Jaden Daniels is a recommended start for Week 2 due to his rushing floor. After a QB14 finish in Week 1, he faces a Dallas defense that recently allowed a strong performance to Jackson Dart.
Insight pageJoe Burrow
NegativeMatchup11:12
Joe Burrow is ranked lower for Week 2 due to a tough matchup against Houston. Despite the potential for the Texans' defense to regress, there is caution regarding his immediate fantasy ceiling.
Insight pageJordan Love
PositiveProjection22:21
Jordan Love is in a favorable spot for Week 2 against the Jets. With a close spread, he may be forced to throw more than anticipated, building on his QB11 finish from Week 1.
Insight pageJosh Allen
PositiveProjection1:48
Josh Allen is considered matchup-proof and remains the overall QB1 until further notice, following a 35-point performance in Week 1 that included 300 passing yards and four total touchdowns.
Insight pageJustin Herbert
PositiveProjection9:41
Justin Herbert is projected for a significant bounce-back performance in Week 2. His fantasy value is tied to the health of Ladd McConkey, but he remains a viable QB1 option.
Insight pageLamar Jackson
PositiveProjection2:06
Lamar Jackson is the QB2 for Week 2 against New Orleans, showing shades of his 2024 form with 300 passing yards and 40 rushing yards in Week 1. His outlook remains strong even if Zay Flowers misses time.
Insight pageMalik Willis
NegativeUsage25:01
Malik Willis is a viable start in deeper formats due to his rushing floor. While the offense is anemic, his ability to accumulate fantasy points through rushing makes him a serviceable option.
Insight pageMatthew Stafford
PositiveProjection20:13
Matthew Stafford is expected to bounce back in Week 2 against the Giants. His Week 1 performance is dismissed as a small sample size, and he remains a reliable fantasy option.
Insight pagePatrick Mahomes
PositiveProjection15:00
Patrick Mahomes looks fully healthy and is in line for a huge Week 2 performance against the Colts. Concerns about a slow start have been dismissed following his impressive Week 1 showing.
Insight pageTrevor Lawrence
PositiveProjection12:16
Trevor Lawrence is expected to provide QB1 production in Week 2 against Denver. Despite the tougher matchup on paper, his recent performance and the Broncos' defensive struggles against other QBs support his outlook.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:44Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist. Welcome into the lineup fantasy football show.
0:47I'm Mitch Anderson, and we are not wasting anybody's time here.
0:51If you missed it earlier, we did do our top 24 running backs of the week.
0:55We will put that up there in the card.
0:58But otherwise, let's break down our top 24 quarterbacks heading into week two.
1:01If you have any start set questions or trade questions, leave them down in the comments and I will answer every single one.
1:08I'm going to shock the world here. Let's start off at number one with Josh Allen.
1:12Hopefully last week served as a reminder to all of us as a fantasy community that outside of the anomaly games, like
1:19last year against Houston, Josh Allen is just matchup proof.
1:2135 points for Allen, two touchdowns in the air, two on the ground and 300 yards passing.
1:26Josh Allen is quarterback one until further notice. At quarterback two, a great first week out of him.
1:31Nothing game breaking, but like for me, it was exactly what I want to see to get Lamar Jackson back on track.
1:38I think we saw some real shades of 2024 Lamar last week against Indy 300 in the air, 40 on the ground with a touchdown.
1:45He had a few really nice runs in there.
1:47We'll be monitoring the Zay Flowers injury, but even if he isn't healthy, Lamar Jackson still holds our QB two spot in week two against New Orleans.
1:55I think he should absolutely go off. At number three though, the man that truly set the NFL on fire in week
2:01two, he's up in our S here, Caleb Williams.
2:04And I think I may owe him a little bit of an apology.
2:07I don't think I've been the most complimentary of Caleb Williams over the off season.
2:11And it was never a Caleb Williams dig. It was more so a draft price dig.
2:16I thought we were maybe overvaluing a little bit.
2:18We'll see what the rest of this year looks like.
2:21But Ben Johnson is on track for trying to beat the scoring record and an absolutely insane week one performance with two
2:28in the air, two on the ground and 37 fantasy points as the quarterback one on the week.
2:33The issue here with Caleb Williams is Minnesota is not a great matchup, but I'm obviously riding the hot hand here.
2:39I'm planting my flag that this week, Caleb Williams is going to cook.
2:42But more importantly, we're going to see some production out of those pass catchers that you spend an arm and a leg for in your draft.
2:50So get ready to fire up Burden, Rome, and more importantly, as we're going to talk about tomorrow, fire up Colson Loveland
2:56and see if you can trade for him before it's too late.
2:59At number four, let's go to Jalen Hurts. We're going to start the A tier here.
3:04I wanted to. I love me some Jalen Hurts.
3:06But in a game that felt so ugly for the Eagles, Jalen Hurts finishes with almost 25 points and he's the quarterback eight on the week.
3:14Now Jalen Hurts should be in line to have a field day against Tennessee.
3:18I talked about yesterday, but I also expect Avanta Smith to have a huge bounce back here.
3:22Talked about this being a great spot for Saquon.
3:25This should be a huge fantasy day for the Philadelphia Eagles.
3:28I would feel a ton of confidence putting them in your lineup.
3:31I'd expect we get our first Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown of the year, whether it be Tush pushed in or not.
3:37But I'd really feel good about slotting in Hurts as your quarterback one.
3:41And that's why we got him at number four.
3:44At number five, my guy Brock Purdy, who I named as my guy in our episode with Austin Eckler.
3:49And I got to be honest, I was trying to be conservative last week.
3:53I didn't want to seem biased. So I kept him in that kind of high end quarterback two range.
3:58He ends up having a shaky early pick in that game.
4:01And then afterwards just explodes for three touchdowns, 205 in the air, a couple yards on the ground to a nice little
4:08dance at the end on a first down. I think I was just expecting a really weird game overseas against the Rams in week one.
4:15Turns out all the weirdness went on the Rams side and Brock Purdy looked absolutely fantastic, smashing all expectations.
4:20Now he goes from an impressive Rams defense over to a Miami.
4:23I don't know if you can even call it a defense.
4:27And so for me, Brock Purdy is in another explosion spot.
4:30If you got him, start him. At number six, though, let's talk about someone that I expect a huge bounce back from here in week two.
4:37That's Dak Prescott. Definitely a little bit of a letdown in week one.
4:41It's 175 yards, two touchdowns, but he gets a great opportunity to put together a much stronger performance here against the Washington
4:47Commanders, who just allowed Hurts 200 passing yards and three touchdowns in week one.
4:51I expect Dallas to light up the scoreboard here as they're currently tied for the second highest team total in the NFL
4:57in week two at 27 and a half points.
5:00Feel very confident putting Dak in your starting lineup.
5:02At number seven, though, we're going to go to the other side of the ball.
5:06Let's talk about Jaden Daniels leading into the fourth quarter.
5:09I think I had him on one of my teams.
5:12It was looking like a very disappointing day for Jaden.
5:15He ends up salvaging it a little bit at the end, goes for a QB 14 finish.
5:20Could have been a much worse outing. Now he gets Dallas, who just allowed Jackson Dart a quarterback four overall finish on the week.
5:26I'm firing up Jaden Daniels again this week. I almost want to put him higher, but I'm waiting and seeing and hopefully
5:33we see that big explosive game out of him with the rushing floor that we love seeing.
5:37And Jaden Daniels managers can breathe a sigh of relief that he's back.
5:41At number eight, this guy ruined a lot of people's weeks.
5:44Justin Herbert. I toyed a lot with whether or not to put him here or the guy that we have next, but
5:50I really just am projecting such a huge bounce back for the Chargers.
5:54I said this in the past few episodes. I view last week so much of the preseason game.
5:59Harbaugh even said it himself that he feels like he should have given the starters a little bit more time out there
6:05in the preseason just to shake off the rust.
6:08But you can't keep Herbert down and I'm not going to throw away all that we've talked about all summer with the
6:14boost Mike McDaniel should give this offense just because of a poor showing in week one.
6:19One thing to monitor, obviously, with Herbert is see if Ladd McConkie is going to be out there.
6:24He's going to be a huge, huge boost to this offense.
6:27If not, I still feel confident with Herbert as a quarterback one, but just not as high as this.
6:32At number 10, let's talk about Joe Burrow, who I wish I could put higher here, but this is just such a
6:39tough matchup with Houston and Bengals in week one winning a shootout.
6:42And somehow the hero of the day was the defense.
6:45Joe Burrow, not the greatest fantasy day, finishes with 14 points and obviously not the greatest day.
6:50If you stacked him with Jamar Chase, who finished with two receptions for 12 yards, really tough matchup here.
6:55I've touched on this a little bit, but I think some people are probably going to overreact to how Houston's defense looked in week one.
7:02Shake it off. Weird game. You're going up against Josh Allen.
7:05I think they are going to look much closer to last year's Houston Texans defense than the week one version.
7:11So I'm keeping Joe Burrow down here. I'm just a little bit worried to rank him much higher.
7:16But up next is Trevor Lawrence. What more can you say about Parker Washington's quarterback?
7:20Trevor Lawrence goes out, passes for four touchdowns. I can only imagine what his stat line would have looked like if Cleveland
7:26had kept it even remotely competitive, had they not just been a JV football team that got trotted out there to get
7:32destroyed by Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. Obviously going up against the Denver Broncos this week is a much tougher matchup on paper.
7:39We just saw Mahomes absolutely crush against them, though.
7:42We just saw Ken Walker absolutely destroy them and embarrass them on Monday Night Football.
7:46I think Trevor Lawrence is going to be good enough to give you a quarterback one performance.
7:51I just don't think it's going to look as good as it may have against Cleveland.
7:55On to our next guy, though. I know everyone is clowning on him.
7:59I know everyone's mad at him. But I do think you got to start him, and that's Drake May.
8:04It was not the greatest week one. I can admit it as a Patriots fan.
8:08Not the most enjoyable Drake May game. Three interceptions in the fourth quarter.
8:12Only 178 yards and a touchdown in the air.
8:15And that touchdown came from the one-yard line because A.J.
8:17Brown drew a P.I. in the end zone. I do want to remind people, though, how bad New England looked last year in week one against the Raiders.
8:25And the fact that this was the defending Super Bowl champions with the number one defense in DVOA in 2025.
8:31I'm not saying May is going to come out here and absolutely light it up in week two.
8:36But I think people are just expecting that week one performance to be the norm and all the conversations about the schedule.
8:42And May is going to regress so much. I think it's very possible he does regress.
8:47But he's not going to regress anywhere close to what we saw in week one on opening night.
8:52So I'm absolutely willing to start him here. If he puts up another goose egg, another dud, I'll be ready to have the conversation and start benching him.
9:00On to our next guy, though. Let's talk Patrick Mahomes.
9:03Who... Patrick Mahomes is just not human. They have to have given him the super soldier serum that they gave Captain America.
9:09Because how on earth, one, did he look as good as he did?
9:13And how was he running like that? I literally saw him take off and run for that touchdown on Monday night.
9:18And I felt like we were watching like a miracle in modern medicine.
9:22Now Mahomes gets the same Colts defense that Lamar just had his way with on Sunday.
9:27And so I think he's in line for a huge week.
9:30I think there was so much expectation, myself included, that we were going to have Mahomes start slow.
9:35I think you can throw that out of the window and he looks entirely healthy to me.
9:40On to our next guy. Let's talk about Jackson Dart.
9:42I almost wish we could just beef up this B tier a little bit.
9:46But I do think we need to drop off here and talk about the guy taking on the Los Angeles Rams.
9:52I absolutely hate moving him down this low because we just saw such a great showing on Sunday night.
9:58Finishes the QB4 on the week. But now he goes from that really inviting matchup against Dallas down to a really tough matchup against the Rams.
10:05This is going to be a fantastic litmus test, though, of how real that opening weekend performance was.
10:10If he pops off again, one of the fantasy community's favorite later round quarterbacks might end up being one of the biggest steals of the year.
10:18And this adage we keep saying might be true that maybe Jackson Dart really is this year's Drake May.
10:23On to our next quarterback, though, Jared Goff playing in Thursday night football.
10:27We just saw Stroud and the Texans put up 31 on this Bills defense.
10:31I expect this to be a high tempo game that's going to require Goff to be slinging it.
10:36I think it's a fantastic spot for him and his pass catchers.
10:39We just talked about in our top 24 receivers episode yesterday.
10:42We've got Amon-Ra St. Brown in there, obviously, but we've even got JMO.
10:46I think Goff's going to be slinging it around the yard.
10:49This is a great spot. Expect a step up from his quarterback 17 finish last week.
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11:17Terms and more at AppleCard.com. Low energy? Unfocused? Foggy?
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11:35Symptoms noted are signs of mild to moderate dehydration.
11:38Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist. Next up, someone who really disappointed last week, and that is Baker Mayfield.
11:43He gets the opportunity to bounce back here against the Cleveland Browns defense, though, that just got absolutely shredded by Trevor Lawrence.
11:49Obviously a brutal showing in week one. 216 in the air with no touchdowns.
11:53He does get one in on the ground, but that's just negated in fantasy by the three lost fumbles in the process.
12:00I think this matchup is a perfect chance for Baker to get back on track, and we've been so high on this Tampa Bay offense.
12:07I just I'm not ready to give up on it because of some poor showing we saw against Cincinnati in week one.
12:13Our next guy here. Talk about a poor showing in week one.
12:16Matthew Stafford. Not a great debut. 155 yards and a pick.
12:19Talked about this a little bit when we talked about our receivers, when we talked about Kyron Williams in the running backs episode.
12:26I'm burning the tape. Last year's MVP is going to be just fine, and an international week one game is not enough
12:32of a sample size for me to get off of him.
12:35I love the spot here against the Giants. I think he should get back on track.
12:40I wouldn't worry just yet about Matthew Stafford if he drafted him.
12:43Next up, we have got Tyler Shuck taking on the Baltimore Ravens.
12:46It was a roller coaster day for us Shuckheads, but I have to say we might have to start calling him Tyler Chuck.
12:53Shuck absolutely slinging it in the second half and overtime, 410 yards, three touchdowns.
12:57He's going to have to keep slinging it to keep up with this Baltimore offense.
13:01I think he may not attempt 56 passes again, but I think 40 plus is absolutely in the cards.
13:07And he's kind of profiling to be what we expected, which is a guy who was just going to drop back and
13:13throw that ball a lot in an offense with a really high pass rate.
13:17Be really excited about Tyler Shuck and his pass catcher, Chris Alave, Devon Vele next week.
13:21Next up, Jordan Love slotting in here up against the New York Jets.
13:25I think if you watch us a lot, you know that I'm not the biggest Jordan Love guy, but this is a great spot.
13:32Following up a quarterback 11 finish last week, now he gets the Jets.
13:35We saw Christian Watson explode in week one, and hopefully he'll be able to string together another fantastic performance.
13:41Vegas also has this spread closer than you might think at three and a half, so the game script may not get out of hand.
13:48And we might see Love throwing a little bit more than we would have thought looking at the schedule before the season.
13:54Coming up next, though, this is a tough guy to talk about.
13:57If you watched Bo Nix on Monday Night Football, you probably wish you didn't.
14:01Quarterback 31 on the week, which downside is only one quarterback was worse than him.
14:06Upside is you can kind of only go up from here.
14:09Jacksonville, though, not the most inviting matchup coming up.
14:11I'd look for other options if you can these next few weeks.
14:15Denver has an absolute gauntlet incoming, but then Bo Nix actually does have a very nice schedule midseason.
14:20If you've got to start him, though, I don't think he's the worst quarterback start.
14:24I'd just try to look for better options, i.e.
14:27the players we've mentioned above him. On to the next one, C.J.
14:30Stroud. I'm very interested in this matchup because I'm very interested to see if the Bengals' defense in Week 2 looks closer
14:36to what we saw in 2025 or what we saw last week in Week 1 of 2026.
14:41We saw C.J. Stroud actually put together a pretty decent game against Buffalo until the end, obviously, when he wrapped up that game in the most C.J.
14:49Stroud way possible. But he finishes the quarterback 16 on the week, and I think this is actually a decent matchup where
14:55we could see him give you some pretty solid quarterback 2 production.
14:58Next up, I have no idea how to rank this guy, Malik Willis.
15:02This just absolutely anemic offense that is just so tough to watch, but because of his rushing floor, you just kind of
15:08have to start him where you can. I think this game's going to get ugly.
15:12Last week was ugly too, though, and he finishes the quarterback 13 on the week.
15:17He is the perfect check-the-box-score-after-the-game kind of quarterback. You do not want to be watching this game, but you'll probably be able
15:23to check it after and be like, yeah, pretty solid outing from Malik Willis, and I'm happy with the performance.
15:28So there's absolutely worse starts than Malik Willis. Next up, if you had told me we were going to be mentioning this
15:35guy on a top 24 tier list, I simply would not have believed you.
15:39I would have laughed you out of the room.
15:41Carson Wentz. It feels insane, but then you look at the fact that he went out there and he passed for three
15:47touchdowns against that Green Bay defense, and now he goes up against the Chicago defense that just led up so many points to the Carolina Panthers.
15:55They let Bryce Young go for 361 yards and three touchdowns.
15:58I can't believe I'm saying this, but there truly are worse starts than Carson Wentz, and if you got to do it
16:04in a super flex league, you have my blessing.
16:07Next up, though, the man that actually went up against Chicago last week, and that is Bryce Young, who draws the Atlanta Falcons this week.
16:14I think this is somewhat of a middle-of-the-pack defense, and so I think he comes down to earth just a little bit in this game.
16:21I still think Carolina gets the W in this one, but I do project Bryce Young's stat line of fall a little
16:27bit closer to what we've seen him do historically against Atlanta with about 226 yards in the air and a touchdown and a half average per game.
16:35Again, he's a guy I would try to avoid, but he does fall into our top 24 quarterbacks.
16:40Finally, let's wrap it up with Daniel Jones taking on the Kansas City Chiefs.
16:44I really hope things go better for him than they did for Bo Nix, but if this goes anything like what we
16:50saw Monday night, things will not be good for Daniel Jones.
16:53He certainly falls in the category of hopefully you have a better start here, but if you need to start him in
16:59super flex, he is the last guy that falls in his range for us.
17:03And those were our top 24 quarterbacks here for week two.
17:06If you have any start-sick questions, leave them down below.
17:09Trade questions, leave them down below and anything else I can do to help you win your matchup in week two.
17:15We'll see you tomorrow for our top 24 tight ends of the week.
17:19And then football's back, man. This is the best time of the year.
17:22I'm so excited and we'll catch you guys next time.
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