Injury Bug: Next Steps

In the past few weeks, the injury bug has hit NFL teams and fantasy managers very hard. If you’ve managed to avoid one of your players getting a significant injury up to this point, consider yourself lucky, but know that you too, could be next. Studs that were drafted in the top 5 rounds that are set to miss a minimum of several games include Joe Burrow, Ceedee Lamb, Malik Nabers, Tyreek Hill, George Kittle, and James Conner. Even Conner’s backup RB Trey Benson, the most popular waiver wire pickup across leagues going into week 4, has now found himself on IR with a knee injury. If you find that your team has one, or even multiple of these players, you might feel like your season is slipping away quickly. With that being said, here are two approaches you can take to help keep your season alive as we start approaching the playoff race.

Next Man Up Mentality

The exact same mentality that real NFL teams typically deploy to fill in their injured players, is the same approach you can take to replace them in your fantasy lineup. While they likely won’t have the same impact or effectiveness as the player you drafted, they still find themselves in an identical situation, and thus have an opportunity to produce viable fantasy numbers. Players such as Jalen Tolbert, Darius Slayton, Wandale Robinson, Michael Carter, and Malik Washington, while not big time names, all find themselves with a chance to receive a significantly expanded role in each of their respective offenses. There’s certainly no guarantee that these players will produce solid numbers. However, the reality here is that when you are hit with injuries, you’re put in a position with a certain level of desperation. Given that, the next man up mentality is a viable strategy as you angle to keep your fantasy season afloat. 

Taking flyers on young WRs

Each year, we talk about players who end up being considered league winners. Young players in the past such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Brian Thomas Jr., and Odell Beckham Jr. all emerged as league winners in their rookie years, thus rewarding managers who took a chance on them late in drafts or on the waiver wire. Aside from Emeka Egbuka and Tetairoa McMillan, very few of the rookie wide receivers have produced solid fantasy numbers. That presents a huge opportunity for managers struggling with injuries to pick up or trade for one or multiple rookie wide receivers, in hopes that they’re able to find their footing as the season progresses. Players such as Matthew Golden, Travis Hunter, Luther Burden, Jayden Higgins, and even Dont’e Thornton all project as guys who can flip the switch at any point in the year and become truly elite weapons in their offenses. Similar to the prior strategy, there are absolutely no guarantees that players like these actually turn into league winners. But once again, this is a viable strategy for those looking to capitalize on players who are candidates for late season surges. Make sure you take advantage of their buy-low opportunity now before it’s too late.