Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
We’re dealing with plenty of injuries across the NFL once again and now that we have bye weeks on top of it, the challenge for some managers is very real. There are teams that can offer some value that we wouldn’t have expected at the start of the year, so let’s get to it.
(This is the Saturday update. Check at the bottom for the original injury report.)
Week 13 Fantasy Football Injury Report — Saturday Update
Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans
I doubt I’d have the guts to start him in season-long, but Brevin Jordan is an interesting dart throw for DFS this weekend. Dalton Schultz is out, and even though the Texans are just 19th in target rate to their tight ends, Jordan is the minimum salary. It also helps that the Broncos are 32nd in points per game allowed and 31st in DVOA against the position. The duo of Tank Dell and Nico Collins should also get a couple of extra targets as well.
Demario Douglas, WR, New England Patriots
The nightmare season for New England continues as their most exciting receiver is out. Demario Douglas suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter last week and the Patriots will be down to DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thronton. It’s tough to get behind playing any of them, although maybe Smith-Schuster has some PPR value in very deep leagues.
Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals
This has been a theme for the past two weeks, as Michael Wilson has been out since Week 11. In those two games, Greg Dortch has seen 17 targets, recorded over 100 yards and scored one touchdown on nine receptions. I’m very willing to play him again, because Marquise Brown is likely to see Joey Porter from the Steelers. Porter has been excellent but the rest of that secondary can be exploited, and the targets have been there for Dortch.
Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
Chris Olave is still questionable, because he has not yet cleared concussion protocol. Rashid Shaheed has been ruled out, so if Olave plays, A.T. Perry and Lynn Bowden will take on secondary roles. If Olave sits, those two are going to be the “lead” receivers, but I believe we can expect Taysom Hill to do plenty this week and Juwan Johnson to see another 6-8 targets. He saw seven last week and the Saints will have to move the ball somehow other than Alvin Kamara.
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
It’s older news now, but Jonathan Taylor looks as though he’s going to miss multiple weeks. That means Zack Moss is going to be a top-15 running back until he returns. We’ve already seen Moss succeed in a big way this season without Taylor, so he’s a plug-and-play option.
Baker Mayfield, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield shook off an ankle injury during last week’s game and hasn’t had any setbacks, so he’s ready to go. Chris Godwin is a different story since he’s listed as questionable and was limited in practice all week. Trey Palmer would be a very interesting DFS play if Godwin were to sit as he’s already playing 66.7% of the snaps and runs out of the slot 52.3% of the time. We’ve seen flashes of talent all year and a full-time role could propel him to fantasy relevance.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB, Cleveland Browns
The Browns have had a very difficult season on the injury front and now have to play Joe Flacco at quarterback with Dorian Thompson-Robinson out with a concussion. It’s tough to even get a handle on what this Cleveland offense will look like considering Flacco has been on the couch for most of the season so unless you’re playing Amari Cooper, Jerome Ford, or David Njoku, it’s best to not look at this situation too much.
Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
Aaron Jones is out once again, leaving AJ Dillon and Patrick Taylor to split the snaps as they did last week. Dillon had an edge at 52% to 48%, but Dillon also had 17 touches to just four for Taylor, so it’s clear who the workhorse is here.
Week 13 Fantasy Football Injury Original Report
We only have one game left in Week 12 of the NFL schedule, and this week was a relatively healthy one as far as in-game injuries go. There were still very important injuries around the league, so let’s get to them and decipher what they could mean.
Check back Saturday for an update on all the week’s injuries.
Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
The Saints could be exceptionally thin in their wide receiver room coming into this week. Chris Olave exited with a concussion Sunday, this is the second time in two years that he has been concussed. Olave missed time last year with the same injury, so it’s not difficult to think he could be inactive this week. New Orleans was already missing Michael Thomas, so it had opened the door for Rashid Shaheed to step into a larger role, but he dealt with a thigh injury and played just 19 snaps. The trio of Keith Kirkwood, Lynn Bowden and A.T. Perry each played at least 35% of the snaps and combined for just seven targets. Tight end Juwan Johnson saw seven targets and turned them into 4/45, but the lack of depth combined with quarterback Derek Carr’s spotty play makes this a difficult situation to deal with for fantasy.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB, Cleveland Browns
Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns
The Browns lost to the Denver Broncos on the scoreboard, and it may have cost them more than just a loss. Dorian Thompson-Robinson exited the game with a concussion, and that led to P.J. Walker having to finish the game. He went 6/13 and took four sacks with a lost fumble, so to say he struggled would be kind. If Thompson-Robinson is out for this week, we could see Walker get the start with Joe Flacco as the backup since Deshaun Watson is on the IR. Either way, this is a very unappealing situation. If Amari Cooper is out, that just makes things even worse. Cooper took a shot to his midsection and had to get X-rays on his ribs, which returned negative. That doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods, so we’ll have to monitor it through the week. Elijah Moore and David Njoku would have to step into a large role but catching passes from Walker is not ideal.
Baker Mayfield, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This injury doesn’t seem like it will be important heading into the week. Baker Mayfield missed a couple of snaps with an ankle issue, but he got it re-taped and continued to play. The only hesitation is after the game, Mayfield was being bothered by the ankle and he didn’t want to put weight on it. He mentioned as the adrenaline of the game wore off, the pain got worse so we’ll see what happens in practice this week. Kyle Trask would be next in line but this could be minor for Mayfield.
Demario Douglas, WR, New England Patriots
The New England offense can ill afford to lose any offensive talent, but rookie receiver Demario Douglas was forced from Sunday’s game with a head injury. He was returning a punt and took what amounted to a WWE-style clothesline to the head in the fourth quarter. DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton and JuJu Smith-Schuster would be the remaining receivers of note but would be a tough recommendation for fantasy purposes.
