After one week of play in the NFL, it is a given that injuries are going to be a theme. That is the case as we approach Sunday’s action. There is plenty of news that we are monitoring this weekend for fantasy purposes, and every Friday here at Awesemo, I’ll highlight some of the biggest injuries and how they will impact fantasy rosters.
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Don’t forget to check out On the Contrary today at 2 EST, with special gets Rich Hribar joining Alex ‘Awesemo’ Baker and Chris Spags.
Joe Mixon nursing ankle injury
Joe Mixon suffered an ankle injury early in the game last week but after undergoing an MRI, it came back clean. He didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday but got work in on Friday, giving him a good chance to suit up on Sunday. Of course, ankle injuries can be tricky for running backs and if he is inactive, Giovani Bernard becomes a top-20 running back play and a cash game staple in DFS lineups. Bernard started two games in place of the injured Mixon last year, resulting in 18 touches per game, a 74 percent snap rate and an RB6 placing in fantasy football.
The Bengals offense looked a lot more creative in their first game under new head coach Zac Taylor, while the matchup against the 49ers is solid. They just allowed Ronald Jones to average nearly six yards per carry against them in Week 1 and the Bengals don’t have anyone of note behind Bernard if he ends up starting this game
Tevin Coleman joins the club
Coleman is also dealing with an ankle issue but his is more severe. The team has already ruled him out for the next few weeks with a high sprain, which means Matt Breida will get the start for San Francisco. Breida carried the ball 15 times last week despite heading to the locker room at one point for hydration reasons. The 49ers will likely use three backs, including Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., but Breida is the top guy. Cincinnati just let Chris Carson find the end zone against them twice last week, while the team surrendered the second-most points per drive last season (2.56).
Meanwhile, just 14.3 percent of all carries against this team ended up being stuffed at the line of scrimmage, one of the lowest rates in football. Breida is a good back, averaging six yards per touch last season, while finishing eighth in PFF’s breakaway run rate (42.5%). I think Breida touches the ball 15 or 16 times, while Mostert and Wilson combine for 10-12 looks. That is enough to warrant low-end RB2 or FLEX consideration.
Another RB injury– Derrius Guice tears meniscus
Poor Derrius Guice just can’t stay on the field. He got the start last week and got a strong workload before being seen heading into the medical tent. A few days later and it is revealed that he has a torn meniscus, sidelining him for the next handful of weeks. This means that Adrian Peterson, a healthy scratch last week, will be active and start. He’s worth a look as a deep-league FLEX in standard leagues. However, I’m more excited about Chris Thompson, who led the team in targets last week with 10. He also played 64 percent of the snaps last week, despite the Redskins being up 17-0 in the first half.
When he’s healthy, Thompson is a strong fantasy contributor in PPR formats. Since 2017, he is averaging a healthy 5.7 targets per game, the sixth-most among all running backs during that span. He’ll face the Cowboys this week, who allowed the fifth-most receptions per game to opposing running backs in 2018 (6.3).
Sterling Shepard ruled out with concussion
Golden Tate is still serving his four-game suspension and now Shepard (concussion) has already been ruled out for Week 2. Yikes. That will leave the Giants with Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler, TJ Jones and Russell Shepard at wide receiver for the Giants. I doubt you are considering any of these guys outside of maybe someone like Bennie Fowler as a GPP dart, mainly because Latimer plays on the outside, which means he’ll see Tre’Davious White. For what it’s worth, Latimer (calf) is questionable. My goodness. Still, it is pretty obvious that this will be the most concentrated offense in football, as Eli Manning will constantly look for Saquon Barkley out of the backfield and tight end Evan Engram.
Hunter Henry and Mike Williams out for Chargers
I have updated my target projection for Keenan Allen this season. The number?
All of them.
Henry suffered a fractured knee and will miss some time, while Williams has a knee injury of his own and will likely miss Week 2. This is great for Allen, who only saw seven end zone targets last season but saw two last week. And now he should continue to see that usage, as per NFL Next Gen Stats, 17.5 percent of Henry’s targets since 2016 have come in the end zone, the highest mark in football. Williams, meanwhile, saw a 27.3 percent end zone market share in 2018, which was inside the top-30 among all wideouts.
Allen is a lock for double-digit targets but he also will finally be the top red zone option for the Chargers. Travis Benjamin will likely move to the outside, matching him up with Darius Slay more often than not. Allen and Dontrelle Inman will both play inside, most likely, while running back Austin Ekeler should continue to catch five or six balls, at the minimum.
