Injuries are inevitable in Dynasty Fantasy Football. How you prepare and react to them can make or break your fantasy team. Did you build a bench with sufficient depth to withstand the running back injury carousel? How do you pivot if a key player goes on injured reserve? Each week we look at the most impactful injuries in the Fantasy world and what players will step up their Fantasy production. As always remember to visit the bottom section of this article where I continuously update the the projected return dates of previously injured players. Unfortunately, Week 2 brought us some major names in the world of injuries.
Tua Tagovailoa
*Click on Image Above for Full Tweet and Video
This was just another brutal head injury for Tua. He hopefully takes as much time as he needs with no pressure to come back anytime soon.
Timeline: Indefinite
Fantasy Reaction: Skylar Thompson came on in relief of Tua going for 8 of 14 for 80 yards. The Dolphins also signed Tyler Huntley. De’Von Achane should see another heavy workload next week. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle take massive hits to their interim value.
Cooper Kupp
*Click on Image Above for Full Tweet and Video
This is assumed to be a high ankle sprain. High ankle sprains are significantly more problematic than low ankle sprains.
Timeline: Sean McVay stated he expects Kupp to miss multiple weeks and an IR stint is possible. Given his age, this could last until Week 7 or 8.
Fantasy Reaction: Jordan Whittington was Kupp’s replacement in the second half playing every snap. Tutu Atwell also got more action-splitting time with Robinson and Johnson. Atwell is an intriguing pickup where available in Dynasty. He showed good chemistry with Stafford last year when Kupp missed the first games. Tutu Atwell’s average game when Kupp was out the first four weeks last year:
- 14.4 fantasy pts
- 8.75 targets
- 5.5 receptions
- 68 yards
After Kupp left Sunday Atwell had
- 4 targets
- 3 receptions
- 48 yards
Isiah Pacheco
*Click on Image Above for Full Tweet
Timeline: Jeremy Fowler reported Pacheco is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
Fantasy Impact: Carson Steele had seven carries as Pacheco’s backup. Five of those seven came before Pacheco exited the game on the last drive. The Chiefs also brought in Kareem Hunt for a visit on Tuesday. The biggest beneficiary of Pacheco’s injury may be Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce if this turns into a full-blown committee. Depending on how washed Kareem Hunt is I would expect Carson Steele to get the early down work and Samaje Perine to get the passing down work.
Deebo Samuel
*Click on Image Above for Full Tweet
Timeline: It does not look like Samuel will go on the IR so we can expect time missed to be in the 2-3 week range.
Fantasy Impact: George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk become automatic starts with major ceilings. Jordan Mason will also continue to get bell cow usage. Jacob Cowing should expect to see more action. He showed out in the pre-season and was highly productive in college. He makes for an interesting stash in Dynasty and may get a chance to prove his worth for a post-Deebo Samuel 49ers era when they have to pay Brock Purdy big money.
A.J. Brown
Timeline: Expect another 1-to-2 weeks of missed action for Brown. They are not putting him on the IR so it should not linger longer than that. Hamstring injuries can be tricky, however.
Fantasy Impact: DeVonta Smith should continue to see major volume in Brown’s absence and is an auto-start with top-5 WR upside. An interesting development was little-known Britain Covey who was 0% rostered on Sleeper. He had six targets and six receptions Monday night so he will be a popular addition in Dynasty leagues.
Previously injured players’ expected return dates:
Raheem Mostert – Week 3-4
Russell Wilson – Week 3-4
Tee Higgins – Week 3-4
Josh Downs – Week 3-4
MarShawn Lloyd – Week 2-3
Jordan Love – Week 4-5
Jonathon Brooks – ACL – Week 5 – (PUP)
Christian McCaffrey – Achilles tendonitis – Week 6 (IR)
Nick Chubb – ACL – Week 5-7 – (PUP)
Puka Nacua – MCL – Week 8 (IR)
Marquise Brown – Chest – Out for Season
I hope you enjoyed reading my article. My goal is to provide actionable advice you can utilize to improve your dynasty team. You can follow me on Twitter @force_fantasy. #DFFArmy #FantasyFootball #AlwaysBeBuilding #NFL #NFLDraft #NFLTransactions #NFLTrades #AlwaysBeScouting
Click here for a 12-month DFF Membership.
