NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
The injury bug has continued to bite hard as Week 3 of the fantasy football season starts up, with multiple big-name fantasy assets likely not being available for this week. Let’s discuss who can be expected to take on expanded rules this week.
Week 3 Fantasy Football Injury Report
Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
This injury is a bit of a surprise, but Justin Herbert sounds like he is legitimately questionable for Sunday against the Steelers. He suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2 and has been limited in practice. Not being able to move around in the pocket as well as you normally can seems like a very poor idea against the Pittsburgh pass rush, and the backup here is either Easton Stick or Taylor Heinicke. Neither would be a strong option for any fantasy format on the road and could potentially sink the Chargers offense as a whole.
Pierre Strong Jr., RB, Cleveland Browns
This might seem like a fringe player to talk about, but it may solidify D’Onta Foreman. After only playing one snap in Week 1, Foreman had 15 opportunities in Week 2, and the Cleveland coaching staff talked about getting him involved. Jerome Ford played more snaps but had fewer touches in Week 2, so Foreman could be interesting in DFS, if you’re feeling bold. It helps when you’re at home against the New York Giants, as they are allowing the sixth-highest yards per carry and rank 21st in DVOA against the run.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
It’ll be very interesting to see how the San Francisco offense can function this week. They’re already missing Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle is now listed as doubtful. Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings should be getting plenty of targets, but I do have some small concerns about how Brock Purdy can play without three Pro Bowl-level players in the offense. I’m not here to say that Purdy is a bad quarterback because he’s proven that he is not. Taking this many weapons away from an offense is far from ideal, though. Eric Saubert is the backup for Kittle, but I can’t say that’s an exciting option, even as a tight end.
Jordan Addison, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Jordan Addison remains out for the Vikings for another week, but that has opened the door for Jalen Nailor to emerge as the second receiver behind Justin Jefferson. He played almost 90% of the snaps in Week 2, and it probably helped a bit that Jefferson missed some snaps with an injury. However, Nailor has scored in both games this season and is building a chemistry with quarterback Sam Darnold.
A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
We might still be a week or two away from seeing A.J. Brown get back into the Philadelphia lineup, as he’s out against the Saints. The only player that seemed to benefit from his absence last week was DeVonta Smith. Dallas Goedert was only targeted three times, Britain Covey was targeted six times but he only managed 23 yards so nobody from the Eagles looks too appealing. Even Jahan Dotson couldn’t get anything going against the Falcons Monday night.
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks feel confident that Kenneth Walker III will be back in Week 4, but that means Zach Charbonnet is the lead dog for at least one more week. It was a very lucky performance from him last week as he luck boxed his way into a 1-yard touchdown, because he only generated 69 scrimmage yards on 19 touches. Miami is a better matchup at 23rd in DVOA against the run, but you likely still won’t feel excited clicking on Charbonnet’s name for any of your lineups.
Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
There is at least a chance Jordan Love only misses one game because he was limited all week, a step up from last week. This would still be a fast rebound from the original three- to six-week timeline that floated around when he first injured his knee, so I’m wary. If Love can’t suit up quite yet, Malik Willis will draw a second straight start. That doesn’t help the pass catchers for Green Bay, but Josh Jacobs should enjoy another 20-plus touches.
Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
It looks as though Tee Higgins will be back just in time to face the Washington Commanders, the best matchup in football. The biggest question is if he can be close enough to 100% to feel comfortable playing him, and I would lean yes at this point. Even if he plays 60% of the snaps against the Commanders, that’s tough to leave him on the bench, although it’s always a gamble.
Keenan Allen, WR, Chicago Bears
Veteran Keenan Allen will have to wait another week to get back into the Chicago lineup. One thing to note is the injury report lists him with a heel issue and a non-injury personal matter. That’s worth keeping an eye on as we get into Week 4 but in the meantime, quarterback Caleb Williams will continue to have to get things going with receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
Joe Mixon/Dameon Pierce, RB, Houston Texans
Cam Akers looks to have a clear path for a heavy workload since Joe Mixon is doubtful and Dameon Pierce is out. I don’t believe he’s in line for every touch as Dare Ogunbowale will chip in on some third downs, but Akers should get 12-15 touches at least here against the Vikings. He should be considered a streamer for teams that need some help at running back this week, with a ceiling to be a top-15 back if he hits the end zone.
Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins
Based on De’Von Achane’s usage in Week 2 without Raheem Mostert, he should be locked into 20 touches or more. Mostert is listed as doubtful and since he missed Week 2, it seems to be a sure thing he’ll miss Week 3. Even with a quarterback downgrade to Skylar Thompson, Achane has taken a huge role in the passing game. He’s leading the position in receptions and yards at this point of the year and he co-led the team in targets last week.
Evan Engram, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
It certainly doesn’t look like Evan Engram is going to make it back for a matchup with Buffalo after being injured in warmups in Week 2. This Jacksonville offense has not played to expectations so far but Brenton Strange did see the most snaps in Week 2 at 65.5%. The six targets aren’t horrible but one of them was a Hail Mary that only kind of counts as a realistic target. I wouldn’t be looking at him as a streamer.
Original Monday Injury Report
It was a very difficult week for injuries in fantasy football, especially with players who were drafted in the top three rounds. Multiple top-30 picks were injured, some are certain to be out for a good chunk of time and the jury is still out on others. Let’s analyze how to react ahead of Week 3 of the fantasy football season.
A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
We still have the Monday Night Football game to go, but we already know that A.J. Brown has been ruled out with a hamstring. The fear is this could be a multi-week injury because he practiced in a limited capacity on Friday but was downgraded to DNP on Saturday. We don’t know yet how the Eagles will function without him, but DeVonta Smith will be the alpha in the passing game until he’s back, and they’ll need contributions from Jahan Dotson, Dallas Goedert and others.
Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
One of the toughest injuries happened in Kansas City, where the Chiefs lost Isiah Pacheco for the next few games. He left the stadium in a walking boot and with crutches on Sunday and got bad news on Monday with a fractured fibula. Carson Steele and Samaje Perine will split work for the Chiefs, but the wild card could be them signing a back who’s not on the team. Perhaps they call Jerick McKinnon to see if he’s interested in a reunion, so we’ll need to keep close tabs on what the Chiefs do. That will help discern the plan over the next few weeks. We should also remember that Clyde Edwards-Helaire is on IR and is eligible to be back in Week 5, but that’s far from a sure thing if he’s back at that point.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
It’s not as though Tyjae Spears has had a ton of production for the Titans, but he had an ankle injury and walked to the locker room with his shoe off and a trainer on Sunday. This could put more work on the plate of Tony Pollard, who had another 22 touches against the Jets. That would firmly put Pollard into RB2 consideration (with RB1 upside) every single week if Spears is out.
Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Anyone who has Justin Jefferson on their team is waiting on pins and needles for an update on Jefferson after he left Sunday’s game and didn’t return. This happened in the second half, and the Vikings are calling it a thigh bruise/contusion even though Jefferson needed some assistance getting off the field. After the game, Jefferson said he would be fine, but it’s hard to always believe the player right after the game. We’ve seen time and again that the prognosis gets worse later in the week, and Minnesota is already thin in the receiver room since Jordan Addison is currently injured. Jalen Nailor, Trent Sherfield Sr. and Brandon Powell are not the scariest grouping of receivers, and I’m not sure how many will be actual assets for fantasy.
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks
We knew Friday that Kenneth Walker was doubtful and likely going to miss Week 2, but the reports on Sunday morning were not super encouraging. The Seahawks want to be extremely careful with Walker so he doesn’t hurt the oblique worse, so this could be more of a multi-week injury. I can’t say Zach Charbonnet was all that exciting as a replacement since he had 14 carries for 38 yards and five receptions for 31 yards. If he hadn’t fallen into the end zone, that score for fantasy would have looked pretty gross. They face Miami in Seattle this week, which is a better matchup than on the road against New England, but you might need that touchdown from Charbonnet to have a passable fantasy game.
Taysom Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints
They haven’t needed him much in the first two weeks since the Saints have blown out the Panthers and Cowboys, but Taysom Hill left with a chest injury and didn’t return. Taking that X-factor out of the New Orleans offense could raise the floor for Alvin Kamara, who is coming off his third-best fantasy game in his career. If Hill misses time, we should expect more consistent touches in the red zone for Kamara with some Jamaal Williams mixed in (not that he will be playable for fantasy).
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are in the running for having their season totally ruined already with the amount of injuries they’ve had. The offensive line is just about to pull a fan from the stands for depth, they’re already without receiver Puka Nacua (IR), and now Cooper Kupp left Sunday’s game and was in a walking boot afterward. If both receivers are out, that means Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson and Tutu Atwell are going to be the main trio. Needless to say, that’s a large downgrade from what was expected this year for Los Angeles.
Joe Mixon, RB, Houston Texans
Joe Mixon left Sunday night’s game for a spell with an ankle issue, but he came back and finished the contest. Sometimes, adrenaline can carry a player through, and then after the game an injury can get worse. We now know that Mixon is heading for an MRI on Monday, which is not the best sign ever. If Mixon is forced to miss time, Cam Akers and Dameon Pierce would likely split the carries for Houston. The toughest part of trying to figure out that split is both backs have been a healthy scratch for one game each. Akers sat out Week 1 while Pierce sat out Week 2, so we’ll have to see what the MRI shows us.
