Injuries are inevitable in Dynasty Fantasy Football. How you prepare and react to them can make or break your Dynasty 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.
It’s Thanksgiving week and no better time to look at the NFL’s best bets if you’re looking for a little extra Turkey Day scratch! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family from the DFF family. This week adds an interesting layer of complexity to start/sit decisions surrounding injured players. Six teams play Thursday: Green Bay, Detroit, Washington, Dallas, San Francisco, and Seattle. Two more teams play in the new Black Friday Game: Miami and the New York Jets. Players will not have as much time to heal from the past week’s various bumps and bruises.
As always remember to visit the bottom section of this article where I continuously update the the projected return dates of previously injured players.
Kenneth Walker
Pete Carroll is notoriously optimistic with his injury explanations. Take anything he says about Walker with a grain of salt this week. Jaylen Waddle has been battling an oblique injury this year as well. He missed Week 3 but it affected his performance in the ensuing weeks. McDaniel even talked to how Waddle had been battling a nagging injury a few weeks ago.
Fantasy Impact
This is big news. Zach Charbonnet was a highly regarded prospect taken with the 52nd pick overall. He has league-winner-type upside in a workhorse role for Seattle. He had already worked his way up to getting more snaps than Walker in the last few weeks. However, Walker was still getting the bulk of the rushing work. That work now goes to Charbonnet. Start him with confidence as an RB2 with an RB1 upside.
Expected Return
Week 13
De’Von Achane
Dynasty managers eagerly waited for weeks for Achane to return to their lineups only for him to immediately exit while re-aggravating his knee injury. As mentioned earlier, this week has some funky scheduling that needs to be taken into account when evaluating whether to start or sit a given player. The Dolphins play in the newly scheduled Black Friday game this year vs. the Jets. That is two days less rest than normal for Achane. Therefore, I will be shocked if Achane plays this week.
Fantasy Impact
Fire up Raheem Mostert with confidence again this week as an RB1.
Expected Return
Week 13
Geno Smith
Smith’s managers likely dodged a bullet here. Reports are Smith left with a triceps contusion. Smith returned to play but was reportedly quite sore after the game. This should not keep him out of any games.
Fantasy Impact
There may be a dip in performance from Smith this week but I do expect him to be active.
Expected Return
Week 12
Aaron Jones
An MCL sprain is good news vs. what the alternatives could have been. With a Thursday game vs. Detroit, Jones is highly unlikely to play.
Fantasy Impact
Detroit has a stout run defense. They rank 28th in fantasy points against the running back position. AJ Dillon is likewise injured and was a limited participant in Monday’s practice report. Third-string running back Emanuel Wilson is also injured. Dillon is the healthiest of the bunch but given the situation, I am not overly intrigued.
Expected Return
Week 13-15
D’Onta Foreman
High ankle sprains are more severe than low ankle sprains. They typically cause the player to be out multiple weeks and cause a dip in performance when they return. We are seeing this with Austin Ekeler currently.
Fantasy Impact
With Khalil Herbert back D’Onta Foreman’s relegation to backup duties had already begun. Herbert carried the ball 16 times this week to just 6 for Foreman. Herbert was a bellcow before his injury and look for him to be the bell cow now that he is back and healthy.
Expected Return
Week 14
Kupp was unfortunately unable to return to the game. The comments lean toward a moderate low ankle sprain with a chance to play this week. High ankle sprains are more concerning. with players typically being sidelined for multiple win-or-die Rams season is on the brink at 4-6. They are in win or die mode and need Kupp.
Fantasy Impact
If Kupp does miss time, Tutu Atwell is an excellent pivot. Atwell excelled early this season without Cooper Kupp. In the first 4 games this season, Atwell averaged 8.75 targets and 67.5 receiving yards playing alongside breakout rookie Puka Nacua.
Expected Return
Week 12
Other notable players in the prior week’s estimated return to action:
Dameon Pierce – Ankle – Week 12 (Bye Week 8)
Ryan Tannehill – High Ankle Sprain – Week 12 (Bye Week 7)
Kyren Williams – High Ankle Sprain – Week 12 (IR) (Bye Week 10)
Nico Collins – Calf -Week 11 (Bye Week 7)
Tee Higgins – Ribs – Week 12 (Bye Week 7)
Michael Thomas – Knee – Week 17 (IR) (Bye Week 11)
Dallas Goedert – Forearm fracture -Week 15-16 (Bye Week 10)
Justin Jefferson – Hamstring – Week 11 (Bye Week 13)
Zach Ertz – Quad – Week 12 (Bye Week Week 14)
Derek Carr – AC Joint Shoulder – Week 12 (Bye Week 11)
Tyrod Taylor – Ribs – Week 14 (Bye Week 13)
Darren Waller – Hamstring – Week 14-15 (Bye Week 13)
Anthony Richardson – Grade 3 AC Sprain – Out for the season
Nick Chubb – Torn MCL – Out for the season
Deshaun Watson – Shoulder fracture – Out for the season
Cam Akers – Torn Achilles- Out for the season
Daniel Jones – Torn ACL – Out for the season
Mike Williams – Torn ACL – Out for the season
Aaron Rodgers – Achilles – Out for the season
J.K. Dobbins – Achilles – Out for the season
Kirk Cousins – Achilles – Out for the 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
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