3 Fantasy Football Injuries to Know for Your Draft

We have just one week of preseason football left. The next two weekends are the height of fantasy football draft season. It’s go time. FantasyPros analysts Mike Maher, Derek Brown, Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice continue a series of preseason roundtables. You can find the first three articles in our roundtable series here, here, and here.

Fantasy Football Roundtable

Concerning Injuries

NFL teams are deep into training camp, and the injuries are mounting. Which injury has you most concerned?

Joe Mixon’s Foot

Pat Fitzmaurice: Joe Mixon’s foot injury is worrisome. Mixon is on the non-football injury list with an ailment he reportedly sustained while working out in the offseason. He missed OTAs, hasn’t been able to do anything in training camp, and he’s supposedly going to be re-evaluated closer to the start of the season.

It seems unlikely that Mixon plays in Week 1. If he’s dealing with a mid-foot/Lisfranc injury, it could be a months-long recovery. As it is, when/if Mixon returns, he’ll be operating behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league.

Mixon currently has an early sixth-round ADP. I consider him completely untouchable at anything close to that price.

Matthew Stafford’s Back

Andrew Erickson: The Matthew Stafford back injury is drawing the main headlines, as it’s pausing fantasy managers from drafting Puka Nacua in Round 1. However, I think fantasy football managers need to recognize the potential severity of Joe Mixon’s foot injury.

There’s a lot of ambiguity around Mixon’s health and when he will return. I am open to scooping up suppressed prices on players with injuries, but Mixon doesn’t seem like he is worth the dice roll with his long track record of foot/ankle injuries.

Even when Mixon was projected to be healthy to start the season, he was a volume-based RB2. He’s an older running back who showed signs of decline last season, and the Texans’ OL is very much a work in progress. Even if Mixon does return for Week 1, I’m not sure there’s a massive upside case for him in the short term or long term.

Derek Brown: I agree with Erickson that I’m monitoring Matthew Stafford and Joe Mixon the closest. Mixon stands above the rest, though.

If Stafford misses time (which, at this point, I’m expecting at some juncture this season), Jimmy Garoppolo can keep the boat afloat. Mixon has been a volume play for the last few years, as his efficiency has waned. If he is less than 100% for most of this season, the volume will be hurt, and the per-touch efficiency likely will be at the basement level. Mixon is off my draft board until further notice.

A.J. Brown’s Hamstring

Mike Maher: The obvious answers here are Matthew Stafford and Joe Mixon, but I’ll go with A.J. Brown since my colleagues have those other two covered.

Brown was dealing with a hamstring strain earlier in training camp, and it sounds like he may have suffered a setback during the recent joint practices with the Cleveland Browns. Eagles HC Nick Sirianni never gives updates about injured players, but NFL insider Mike Garafolo reported that the Eagles are just being cautious and are trying to make sure Brown is ready for Week 1.

Still, Brown missed time last season with a hamstring injury, and we’ve seen too many times how hamstring injuries can derail a season, be it via setbacks or leading to other lower-body injuries due to subconsciously favoring the injury.