Welcome to the second of 17 weekly articles spotlighting the fantasy fades of the week! I am your host, Matt Okada, and I’ll be bringing you half a dozen potential busts each and every Friday, from now until fantasy championships.
As a note, just because a player earns a “fade” or “bust” designation doesn’t automatically mean they should be benched — it depends on the rest of your roster or the options on your waiver wire. But you can expect them to fall short of expectations (when I get them right). I include a “What to Do” section for every player to help with that.
Without further ado, here is my list for Week 2 of the 2026 season.
QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Losing Ladd McConkey last week was devastating for the Chargers offense. Check out these numbers, courtesy of Next Gen Stats: with McConkey on the field, they averaged 6.3 yards per play, and on 17 dropbacks, Herbert logged a 128.4 passer rating, 10.3 yards per attempt and a 47.1% first-down rate. With McConkey off the field, L.A. averaged 4.2 yards per play, and on 17 dropbacks, Herbert dropped to a 42.3 passer rating, 5.4 yards per attempt and an 11.8% first-down rate.
McConkey was their best receiver by far and the engine of the offense … but suffered a rib injury in the second half and is currently day-to-day (and not practicing).
In what feels like the unlikely chance McConkey plays on Sunday, it will likely be in a somewhat limited fashion. That’s not encouraging for Herbert’s fantasy prospects. Also, the Raiders significantly improved their defense on paper this offseason, and it showed — albeit, against the Dolphins — in Week 1. Nakobe Dean, Kwity Paye, Quay Walker and Treydan Stukes all made impact plays … and centerpiece Maxx Crosby had 1.5 sacks of his own. Herbert is incredibly talented, but there are red flags heading into Week 2.
What to do ❓ Herbert is outside my top 12 quarterbacks for the week, so if you have a capable QB2 or a streamer, play them instead. That certainly includes guys like Brock Purdy, Jaxson Dart and Trevor Lawrence, but it also might include Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield or even Bryce Young.
RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sometimes in fantasy, a running back can be useful despite playing for a subpar offense. For that to occur, they usually need to be an excellent receiver or have an excellent offensive line (or ideally both). Unfortunately, Quinshon Judkins has neither … and his offense isn’t just subpar, it’s atrocious. In Week 1, Cleveland only cracked the red zone twice, and only scored one field goal on those two drives (the other, they turned the ball over on downs). Only one of their first six drives ended in Jacksonville territory (and it concluded with a Deshaun Watson interception).
Meanwhile, Judkins totaled just 33 rushing yards (fewer than Watson) on 12 carries, and his 2.8 yards per carry, 25% success rate, -0.25 EPA/carry and zero explosive runs were all bottom-tier among running backs. He caught two passes for 17 yards, which was a very slight improvement over his averages from 2025, but simply not enough in a game Cleveland trailed from start to finish. Until something changes drastically for the Browns — if it ever does — Judkins is going to be very hard to trust on a weekly basis. In a game where the Browns are 8.5-point underdogs against the Buccaneers, with an implied total of 16.5 points, he’s well outside RB2 territory.
What to do ❓ If you don’t have a better option, Judkins will likely see double-digit touches, which makes him an “okay” play in your FLEX. But he is not an RB2, and in any form of PPR scoring, it’s probably smarter to look to a mid-range wide receiver like Stefon Diggs or Jalen Coker.
RB Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks
It’s going to be tough to bench Jeremiyah Love, considering how talented he is and what his draft capital insinuates for his (eventual) usage. But we have to work with the data we have. In Week 1, coming off a preseason ankle sprain, Love logged fewer snaps, carries and rushing yards than Tyler Allgeier, who’s still technically listed as the starter on their depth chart. Additionally, Love saw just 2.8 expected yards per carry, fewest among all running backs with at least five carries in Week 1, and averaged -0.7 yards before contact per carry, ahead of only the Pittsburgh backs and the Atlanta backs.
While Love did his best to make the most out of the hand he was dealt — forcing six missed tackles and gaining 4.5 yards after contact per carry — it’s going to be hard for the rookie to post consistent RB1 numbers in this offense. Now, he draws a matchup with the Seahawks in Week 2. They’ve allowed the lowest explosive run rate and EPA/carry to running backs since the start of last season and are second against the position in success rate, yards before contact per carry and missed tackle rate on rushes. Long story short, they’re probably the toughest matchup for RBs and Love is already starting at a disadvantage in this offense.
What to do ❓ Love is still a borderline starter based on usage and talent, but there’s a real chance he’s a full dud against this defense. If you can pivot to someone like David Montgomery, D’Andre Swift, Rhamondre Stevenson or Chuba Hubbard, do it. And as with Judkins, look to a wide receiver in your FLEX instead, if possible.
WR DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
On the one hand, DK Metcalf racked up 10 targets in Week 1 against the Falcons, more than triple what Michael Pittman Jr. saw (three) and four more than the next-closest Steelers wideout (Roman Wilson, six). On the other hand, he caught just four of those targets for 40 yards, fewer catches than Pat Freiermuth and Jaylen Warren, and fewer yards than Pittman (58). He was officially credited with one drop, but looked off and out of sync with Aaron Rodgers for most of the game.
But this fade has less to do with Metcalf, Rodgers and their apparent lack of chemistry, and more to do with Christian Gonzalez. The Patriots cornerback tends to shadow No. 1 receivers, as he did against Metcalf the last time they met, back in 2024. In that game, Metcalf caught four of seven targets for just 27 yards when matched up with Gonzalez, which was 82% of his routes. Last week, Jaxon Smith-Njigba saw Gonzalez on 64% of his routes and did not catch either of his two targets in that matchup. You’re getting a nightmare matchup for a receiver who’s already on the fringe of fantasy lineups.
What to do ❓ Bench DK Metcalf. There are a number of FLEX-level wide receivers worth playing over him … and I’d prefer teammate Michael Pittman Jr. in the same game.
WR Carnell Tate, Tennessee Titans vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Carnell Tate is an eerily fitting “wide receiver version” of the Jeremiyah Love fade this week. He was literally drafted the pick after Love back in April, and is incredibly talented, but plays in one of the most ineffective offenses in the league and has a terrible matchup this Sunday.
Let’s start with the offense. Tennessee made it to the red zone just once in Week 1 — the only team worse on that count was the Falcons (zero) — with 2:42 remaining in the game (and the touchdown went to Elic Ayomanor). Meanwhile, Cam Ward completed just 59.4% of his passes for 4.4 yards per attempt (dead last in Week 1), while averaging just 5.7 air yards per attempt (sixth-lowest). While Tate did see six targets in the game, all of that context is detrimental to his game and his fantasy upside.
Now, he takes on the Eagles and their outside cornerbacks, Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen. Philly surrendered just 5.9 fantasy points to Washington’s outside receivers in Week 1 (fewest in the league), while allowing Stefon Diggs and Antonio Williams to thrive out of the slot. I’m not particularly excited about Wan’Dale Robinson in Tennessee’s offense either, but this matchup favors him over Tate significantly.
What to do ❓ As with Metcalf, it’s straight to the bench with Tate. It doesn’t matter where you drafted him, there are at least 40 wide receivers worth playing this week instead. Not to mention, a rash of running backs who would be better suited in your FLEX.
TE Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers
At this point, you might have noticed a theme to this week’s column: we are avoiding the offenses that looked truly abysmal in Week 1. And, unfortunately, Atlanta’s probably takes the cake in that respect. Third-string QB Cooper Rush logged the lowest passer rating (51.9), completion rate over expected (-21.3%) and success rate (30.8%) in Week 1, connecting on just 12 of 22 passes. And to make matters worse, none of those 12 connections went to Kyle Pitts Sr., who posted a fantasy bagel on just one target. Rush is likely to start again in Week 2, but I’m honestly not comfortable starting Pitts even if/when Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. returns to health, until we see this offense function at a reasonable level.
To make matters worse, Carolina has a long and storied history of turning Pitts into a fantasy bust. In 10 games against his division rival, the tight end has only topped nine fantasy points once, all the way back in Week 8, 2022. On the whole, he’s averaged 6.1 fantasy points per game in this matchup, with fewer than six points in five of their last six meetings. There are essentially no green flags, and plenty of red ones, for Pitts heading into Week 2.
What to do ❓ I know the position is shallow, but try to find a tight end to stream over Pitts this week. That list absolutely includes Isaiah Likely, who is now a strong TE1, but also includes names like Juwan Johnson, Michael Mayer, Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson.
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