You will probably hear me say this multiple times throughout the season. I hate injuries. I hate them more than anything else in sports. I have never and will never root for an injury to any player even if it would help me or my team. Unfortunately, injuries are a huge part of football and incredibly important to keep track of in fantasy football. Each Tuesday during the season, you will all be privy to my thoughts on the previous week’s injuries. But as we well know, injuries are not limited to in-season play. Here are a few fantasy relevant injuries we need to monitor as we enter the heart of draft season.
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Mike Gillislee (RB – NE)
The Patriots’ second big offseason acquisition at RB just returned to practice recently after nursing a hamstring injury. While I already was of the belief that Rex Burkhead is better at literally every aspect of football than Gillislee, the lack of practice for Gillislee has given Burkhead the chance to run exclusively with the starters and he has excelled in that role. Burkhead is the best RB on the Patriots. If Gillislee suffers a setback, he may find himself out of the rotation as Burkhead and James White form a dynamic duo.
Jordan Matthews (WR – BUF)
After his trade away from the calamity that is the Eagles offense, the arrow was pointing up for Matthews as the Bills No. 1 WR. As luck would have it, JMatt could barely get off the plane (or did he take a bus?) before being directed straight to the trainers’ table with a chip fracture in his sternum. I’ve been watching football for a long, long time and that’s a new one even for me. If Matthews can’t get ready for Week 1, rookie Zay Jones could open the season as Tyrod Taylor’s primary receiver. I still like Matthews this season and think he’s in line for a bounce-back campaign, but he needs to get back on the field sooner rather than later. Jones could prove to be a sneaky value pick if Matthews continues to miss time.
Matt Forte (RB – NYJ)
I mention Forte only because I already like Bilal Powell, but if Forte continues to sit with injuries stemming from him being really, really old, it only bolsters Powell’s grasp on the starting job. The closer we get to the season without seeing Forte on the practice field, the better of a pick Powell becomes.
Emmanuel Sanders (WR – DEN)
Sanders dinged his shoulder at practice in the middle of August and sat out the Broncos’ second preseason game (you know, the one where Paxton Lynch made a complete mockery of the QB position and solidified himself as a colossal failure of a draft pick) as a precaution. Sanders should be fine, but it’s something to keep an eye on. If he were to miss any real time, no one benefits as the Broncos’ WR depth chart has been Sanders and Demaryius Thomas with nothing behind them for a few years now.
Joe Flacco (QB – BAL)
Flacco is not particularly good at football. But lord help the Ravens if Ryan Mallett has to throw any meaningful passes this season. Compared to Mallett, Flacco looks like Tom Brady. Flacco tweaked his back early in training camp and was quickly ruled out for the entire preseason. Flacco’s injury was dismissed as minor, but I’m not so sure. The incredibly reliable and accurate Pro Football Doc, Dr. David Chao, suspects that Flacco may have a herniated disc, which would be far more serious of an issue than the Ravens are letting on. I do think Flacco will be out there Week 1, but I’m quite worried that his back could flare up at some point during the season. It’s something to keep in mind when considering drafting guys like Danny Woodhead or Jeremy Maclin as everyone on the Ravens takes a serious hit if one of the worst Super Bowl winning QBs of all time can’t take the field.
Corey Davis (WR – TEN)
The best WR in the 2017 draft class has missed far too much practice time and the first two preseason games with a bum hamstring. That’s a problem for a rookie. While a rookie missing time and then bursting onto the scene in-season isn’t unheard of (see: Beckham, Odell), it’s the exception, not the rule. Given the profusion of talent surrounding Marcus Mariota, if Davis can’t get himself healthy to at least play in a preseason game, he could fall behind not only Eric Decker and Rishard Matthews, but fellow talented rookie Taywan Taylor as well. Davis is becoming a riskier and riskier redraft investment by the day. However, I would still advocate aggressive targeting of Davis in keeper/dynasty leagues as he projects as an elite WR in the making.
Andrew Luck (QB – IND)
Undoubtedly the most significant injury to monitor is Luck’s right shoulder. The Colts have been exceedingly quiet about Luck’s status throughout the offseason, and it’s legitimately possible that he misses the first couple games of the season. If you’ve ever watched Scott Tolzien play, you know that he is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. The downgrade from Luck to Tolzien is arguably the biggest drop in ability from starter to backup at the QB position. T.Y. Hilton goes from mid WR1 to low-end WR2. Donte Moncrief becomes unstartable. And Frank Gore’s already low weekly ceiling shrinks some more.
Leonard Fournette (RB – JAX)
The fourth-overall pick has demonstrated his NFL-ready talents. He has the tools to be a star in this league. He is more talented than 2016’s fourth-overall pick, Ezekiel Elliott. However, Fournette’s situation is far worse in Jacksonville, and he’s already dealing with a minor foot injury. Reports are that someone stepped on his toe in practice, and he’s being handled with extreme caution. I’m all for caution, but even if this is a fluke injury, when you hear about a guy with a history of foot and ankle problems having a foot or an ankle problem, you pay attention. I’m not worried about Fournette’s Week 1 availability, but the injury is just another tally on the list of arguments against Fournette, most of which have nothing to do with Fournette himself. If Fournette were to miss any time, T.J. Yeldon and Chris Ivory would form an undesirable committee.
DeAndre Hopkins (WR – HOU)
Hopkins hasn’t practiced or played since the Texans’ preseason opener on August 9 with a hand issue. That’s a problem. It’s likely just preseason precaution, but the lack of information and the lack of practice is concerning this late in the game. Bruce Ellington burst onto the scene in the team’s second preseason game and could be in line for an early-season role if Hopkins and Braxton Miller are unable to get healthy.
Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise (RB – SEA)
These guys just never seem to be healthy. I fully expect that Rawls would have played in the second preseason game if it were a regular season game, but the fact that he’s dealing with ankle injury is a fresh reminder of his inability to stay healthy. Rawls’ absence has given rookie Chris Carson a chance to run with the starters and he hasn’t disappointed. Carson is better than Eddie Lacy and is a name to watch if Rawls and fellow RB C.J. Prosise continue to miss time. Prosise has suffered a litany of injuries dating all the way back to college and currently, the team is reportedly concerned about his groin. I’m very close to throwing in the towel on Prosise. I like him as a player, but he just never plays football. Carson may end up as the Seahawks back to own as crazy as that sounds. Under no circumstances are you to draft Eddie Lacy.
Latavius Murray (RB – MIN)
Murray was supposed to be the Vikings’ feature back. Then they went out and drafted Dalvin Cook. This had all the makings of a committee, but then Murray’s ankle just refused to heal in a timely manner, which gave Cook a chance to handle the majority of first-team reps. Cook has looked strong in his two preseason starts and has played clearly ahead of Jerick McKinnon. Murray is tentatively set to make his Vikings debut in the third preseason game and this is a situation we want to monitor closely to see how Cook is used in tandem with Murray. No one is suggesting that Murray is going to be irrelevant, but we need to see if Murray is there to legitimately split carries or merely spell Cook. And will Murray steal the goal line work? Will Murray’s ankle even let him do any of this? We will find out soon enough.
Ty Montgomery (RB – GB)
The sickle cell trait is a problem. It pretty much derailed John Brown’s career. Ty Montgomery has it, and its impact on him is it slows his healing process. He’s been sitting out with a mysterious leg injury. We truthfully have no idea how this will play out. He’s reportedly healthy now and intends to play in the third preseason game, but it’s not outside the realm of possibilities that Montgomery isn’t ready for opening day. Jamaal Williams is the likely No. 2, but expect a committee if Montgomery can’t go.
Odell Beckham (WR – NYG)
For reasons that will forever remain a mystery, Ben McAdoo decided that elite WR Odell Beckham needed to play into the second quarter in the Giants’ second preseason game. Let me tell you how many snaps Beckham actually needed in the entire preseason: zero. Instead, he gets over a quarter in the second game. Sure enough, he takes a nasty hit to his left knee that initially looked like it could’ve been an MCL injury. As it turns out, Beckham escaped with just a sprained ankle, but the aforementioned good doctor thinks it is a high ankle sprain, which would put Beckham’s opening day availability in serious doubt. Beckham certainly escaped anything major or season-threatening and, at most, he should only miss a game or two, but any guarantee of missed time is something you have to take into account when you draft. A game or two would knock Beckham clearly below Julio Jones if you had them flipped, but isn’t enough to push him out of the top six.
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Jason Katz is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive or follow him @jasonkatz13.
