Travis Etienne, Mark Andrews, And Three More Must-Start Fringe Fantasy Football Options In Week 2

There are always fantasy football options who end up being fringe starters each week. They are the toughest players to make start-or-sit decisions on. These are the fringe starters who you should be sure to get in your lineup for Week 2.

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QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Maye has dropped too far after a tough week against one of the best defenses in the league. Granted, he did lose AJ Brown, but he fell just one vote short of an MVP last year without Brown.

It’s fair to drop him a bit, but he shouldn’t be a fringe QB1 against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that is missing the majority of their starting secondary. This is not a strong pass defense, and do not be deceived by them shutting down Cooper Rush in Week 1.

RB Travis Etienne Jr, New Orleans Saints

There has been widespread panic surrounding Etienne after Week 1, because Kendre Miller matched his carry total with nine. However, this is an overreaction by the fantasy community, which we often see after Week 1.

Miller only played on 29% of snaps compared to Etienne’s 59%, and Etienne saw nine targets to Miller’s zero. The only reason the carries were close was that Etienne was catching passes instead of running the ball in the second half because they were caught trailing in a shootout.

Like in Week 1, we expect Etienne to just about double Miller’s opportunities in Week 2. Etienne was also much more efficient on the ground, averaging 5.1 yards per carry to Miller’s 3.3 yards per carry. Start him this week against the Baltimore Ravens, who allowed Jonathan Taylor to total 121 yards and two touchdowns last week, while averaging 5.2 yards per carry on 19 carries.

RB Tyler Allgeier, Arizona Cardinals

Etienne was an RB2 start, and Allgeier is our running back flex option. We do expect that the snaps and opportunities with Jeremiyah Love will flip after Allgeier served as the clear RB1 in Arizona last week.

However, we do think Allgeier will still have a slight edge in Week 1, or at the very least be in a split backfield. With Allgeier likely getting the goal-line work, that’s enough for us to start him in Week 2, even in a tough matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

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WR Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

Samuel saw seven targets and a carry last week while playing 42% of the offensive snaps. His usage is going to climb with De’Zhaun Stribling being placed on injured reserve this week with an ankle injury.

Samuel also has the perfect skill set to dominate the Miami Dolphins. They are a team we saw can be dominated in the short passing game, and that’s exactly where Samuel thrives. He’s being ranked as a fringe WR3/WR4 and should be locked in as a must-start WR3.

TE Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

According to ECR, Andrews is ranked as the TE12 this week. We do not expect Zay Flowers to be out there this week. If our assumptions are realized, then Andrews has to be in your lineup.

If Flowers is ruled out, Andrews will be out there with Rashod Bateman, Chris Moore, and LaJohntay Wester. After seeing six targets in Week 1, we’d expect him to see double-digit targets in Week 2.

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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 11:48 AM.