Week 7 Injury Review
This week seemed like a pretty rough week with injuries. Not only was there stars on offense going down for the year, defensive players continue to get hurt and so do the Philadelphia Eagles. At this point, I feel bad for Eagles fans. I know most teams go through injuries throughout a season, but Eagles each and every week get hit with more and more injuries. Either way, the NFL goes on and so does this article every week. Here is the Week 7 fantasy football injury report.
Desean Jackson, Wide Receiver for Philadelphia Eagles
Seems like just a couple weeks ago I was writing about an injury to Desean Jackson in this article. Oh wait, I did. But this will probably be the last time I will write about Jackson this season. Thursday night Desean Jackson suffered a fractured ankle on a punt return in the fourth quarter. The timeline given for Jackson’s return is six to eight weeks. Jackson could technically return at the very end of the season as eight weeks would be the last game of the season. Remember, last year the Eagles claimed that Jackson had the possibility of returning for the playoff run for the Eagles, yet he never did. I expect the same this year. I don’t expect to see Jackson for the rest of the year.
Travis Fulgham season may still continue to be a thing for the rest of the year. Granted, Eagles expect Alshon Jeffery and rookie Jalen Reagor to come back soon. However, Eagles have already stated they expect Fulgham to continue to start once Jeffery comes back from his injury. I believe this to be even more true now since Jackson won’t see the field again. Temper Fulgham expectations though. He won’t see the same amount of targets once the Eagles get more healthy. Not only has Fulgham shined with the Eagles wide receiver core struck by injuries, tight ends Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz have been ineffective and injured as well. If possibly, once all players return from their injuries give it a week or two too watch Carson Wentz tendencies. Then, a decision can be made on who really is start worthy form all the options at hand.
Kenyan Drake, Running Back for Arizona Cardinals
During one of the more entertaining games of the season, Kenyan Drake went down with an injury that required him to be carted off the field. The injury seemed to be pretty bad, considering the way Drake went down and his reaction to the injury. Luckily, it seems like Drake escaped a major injury. Drake’s x-rays on the ankle came back negative, meaning he did not fracture his ankle. An MRI revealed a slight tear of an ankle ligament that the Cardinals are handling as a high ankle sprain. It is likely Drake suffered a grade two lateral ankle sprain that will take some time to heal without surgical procedures. Considering what we saw, this is good news for the Arizona Cardinal, fantasy managers and Kenyan Drake himself.
Drake is bound to miss a couple games with this injury. If they are treating it as a high ankle sprain, it’s more than likely that Drake will miss three to four weeks. Chase Edmunds becomes an instant must start in fantasy lineups as an RB2. Edmunds has shown he is talented and fits the Arizona offense well. Edmunds has rushed for 6.1 yards per carry so far this season, totaling 176 yards on the ground. In Drake’s absence, Edmunds had seven catches for 87 yards this past week in Seattle. This performance shows what Edmunds can be in this offense. Edmunds is a must add to fantasy teams for as long as Kenyan Drake is on the sidelines.
Odell Beckham Jr, Wide Receiver for Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns can’t catch a break. Neither can star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Starting with a hamstring injury in 2014 that caused him to miss four games. Followed by a high ankle sprain early on in 2017 which then later in the season he fractured his ankle and missed the rest of the season. Beckham then battled all last year with a core muscle injury that he later got surgery on. Odell’s career has been injury riddled and nothing changed on Sunday. Odell confirmed to reporters that he has torn his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. This is a huge hit for Beckham and the Browns as they try to make a playoff run this season.
Odell hasn’t been the best for fantasy and it’s likely fantasy managers have had options to pivot too. Baker Mayfield has been bad this year and unable to start in fantasy. That does not change. Who on the Browns benefits from Odell’s absence? Eyes will immediately go to Jarvis Landry. Landry will become Bakers first target on the team. He jumps to a mid to low end WR2 in points per reception leagues as he will see the majority of targets.
Rashard Higgins and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones looked good in Beckham’s absence, however, the game was against a bad Cincinnati Bengals offense. I don’t expect the same output from these players on a game to game basis. The real beneficiary for me is tight end Austin Hooper. Before he missed week seven, Hooper’s involvement in the offense increased week by week. Hooper will continue to be more involved in the offense once he comes back from his injury.
Jeff Wilson Jr, Running Back for San Francisco 49ers
Another San Francisco 49er running back goes down with an injury. This is also the second 49er running back that’s gonna miss time with a high ankle sprain. Wilson was clearly the running back to own in San Francisco before he got injured. He ran the ball 17 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns. The rest of the 49ers running backs totaled 20 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown. Wilson was clearly the more effective back over Jerrick McKinnon and JaMycal Hasty. Now, Wilson faces the same road back like teammate Raheem Mostert. Mostert was placed on IR this week and is expected to miss at least three weeks. Don’t be surprised if the 49ers have to do the same for Wilson.
The 49ers usually always have a running back who is fantasy relevant. However, it’s hard to predict exactly what running back it will be. One week it can be Jerrick McKinnon. The next week it can be Tevin Coleman. Who knows. The injuries will give us some clarity however. We know for sure it won’t be Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson.
Tevin Coleman has reported to have an outside chance to return week eight. With those three running backs all out, that leaves Jerrick McKinnon and rookie JaMycal Hasty left healthy. Before this week, McKinnon was clearly the back who was more involved. Hasty, however, was significantly more involved than McKinnon this past game against the Patriots. Both seem to have value and should be rostered as long as these running backs are injured. However, which one of the two is more valuable right now is a coin flip to me.
Deebo Samuel, Wide Receiver for San Francisco 49ers
After a game where the San Francisco 49ers dominated the New England Patriots, 49ers fans leave anxious for the future. Not only did another running back go down with an injury, so did electric second year wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Samuel went down with a hamstring injury during the second half of the game. Disappointing to see Samuel go down with another injury after his role was expanding in the offense after a preseason foot injury. Hamstring injuries have derailed fantasy managers’ seasons so far. Kenny Golladay, Julio Jones and Davante Adams have all dealt with this injury this year and have missed games because of it. I expect nothing to change for Deebo this instance. Samuel will miss some time with this injury.
The length of time is based on the severity of the injury. The severity of the injury is unknown at this point. Reports are that the 49ers “hope Deebo’s injury isn’t severe”. I sure hope the team hopes their player’s injury isn’t severe. Either way, Deebo will miss some time. We have seen the 49ers this year without Deebo already. In the three weeks Deebo has already missed this year, a wide receiver did not top 70 yards receiving. In fact, week one Raheem Mostert was the leading receiver with 95 yards. I expect that to roll forward the same with Deebo’s new absence.
George Kittle will be forced to lead the team in receiving once again and I expect Kittle to run away with that opportunity. Brandon Aiyuk has two games under his belt that are fantasy relevant. He is a hit or miss player even with Samuel out of the lineup. No other San Francisco receiving option is an intriguing fantasy start in Samuel’s absence.
Chris Carson, Running Back for Seattle Seahawks
It is the week of players who have sustained an injury already getting hurt again. Earlier this year, Carson injured his knee. In week seven, Carson injured his foot against the Arizona Cardinals. The injury has been diagnosed as a mid-foot sprain for Carson and the severity will only be determined by an MRI. As of right now, Carson has been labeled as week to week. Week to week to me means at least a week of sitting on the sidelines but after that, it depends on how he progresses with rehab. However, we have seen Carson rush back from an injury I was certain he was gonna miss time with and didn’t even miss a single game. Monitor practice reports this week until the Seahawks officially rule him out for the game.
If Carson does indeed miss at least a game, Carlos Hyde slides in as the lead back with both Deejay Dallas and Travis Homer as the change of pace, third down back. Dallas and Homer don’t present with much of an upside as fantasy options moving forward as each will take away snaps from each other. Hyde does become an intriguing volume play at the running back position. He too doesn’t have much upside considering his skillset and age, however, he will present a solid floor in Carson’s absence. Consider Hyde as a flex option moving forward with Carson on the sidelines.
