Only 2 weeks in to the season and it feels like injuries are already ravaging teams. Let's see how these injuries (and other unexpected personnel decisions) impact not only the team with the player, but the teams that picked up the replacement.
Honorable mentions/not sure if there will be an impact: Saquon, Montgomery, Waddle, Richardson
1. Nick Chubb
Impacted GMs: Jung (⬇⬇⇩), David K (⬆⇧)
Jung's team was built on a 2 RB strategy and he expected the 4 legged horse of Chubb + Henry to keep him in most fantasy matchups. Now? He's hoping that Cleveland resigns Kareem Hunt. Meanwhile, David K steals Ford off the waiver wire and he could usurp Conner as the RB2 on that team.
2. Aaron Rodgers
Impacted GMs: Jung (⬇), David K (⬇⇩)
Somehow another player went down who affected the same 2 teams, but this time, they both suffer due to the loss. Jung lost his starting QB in Rodgers and he may have picked up a better option anyways in Goff, but it still hurts to lose your preferred QB1. David K's strategy was built around 2 exciting, young players in Bijan and Wilson and Wilson goes from a mid-tier WR1 to a mid-tier WR2 thanks to Zach's inability to be as effective as Aaron. Bad news for everyone involved.
3. JK Dobbins
Impacted GMs: Mike (⬇)
Tough to see JK go down again and even tougher for Mike who was hoping he could be his sneaky good RB2. Thankfully for Mike, he was able to snag the Gus Bus off the waiver wire but there's a reason Dobbins was the lead back. Gus won't be able to replicate the same success and he'll probably have to split snaps with Justice Hill.
4. Joe Burrow
Impacted GMs: Mike (⬇⇩), Paul (⬇⇩), Jung (⬇), Simon/Dan (⬇)
So this injury happened in the pre-season but I have a feeling this is going to be a potential lingering disaster. Burrow just doesn't look like himself through 2 games. His game was never built on being crazy mobile but he had underrated athleticism and escapability when needed. Without that aspect of his game, the entire Bengals offense is struggling, but especially Chase. They just don't seem to be on the same page and without Burrow's ability to extend plays, the improvisational plays that came to define their connection has been struggling. Tee and Mixon also get a little bit of a downgrade just due to Burrow's impact reaching in to every part of the offense.
5. Cooper Kupp
Impacted GMs: Rich (⬇⇩⇩), Mike (⬆⬆⇧), David K (⬆⇧)
This one's an interesting one because the impact is currently somewhat minimal but could be bigger as the season goes on. As we all know from playing fantasy for so long, hamstring injuries do not subside quietly, especially for skill position players over 30 (side note: I think all of us are over 30 now other than David K so we can REALLY relate to the struggle of recovering from injuries) who rely on the explosiveness from their legs to create separation. If this lingers, Rich will have a tough road ahead without his first round draft pick. Meanwhile, David K (aka elite scavenger) and Mike have taken advantage by taking Stafford's new favorite targets who have both overtaken Van Jefferson on the depth chart (poor David Y, who tried to preemptively take Van and ended up with the WR3 on that team). Both Puka and Tutu (what a sick name pairing) may end up playing key roles on their new teams.
6. Austin Ekeler
Impacted GMs: Chris (⇩⇩), Rich (⇧)
At first, this looked like a minor injury but now with the team saying that the timeline to return is uncertain, I think this could also be an injury to monitor for the long term. Ekeler is 28 (which is over 30 in running back years) with a lot of mileage. He's had some injury issues in the past so whether the injury lingers or the Chargers staff choose to limit his workload to keep him for their wishful playoff run, there could be a negative impact coming. As for his replacement in Kelley, he gets great opportunity if Ekeler is gone but he didn't do much with it this week. Also, in Rich's muddled backfield with a lot of RBs that could be good but also couldn't, it's hard to say the impact he'll play over the course of a season.
7. Cam Akers
Impacted GMs: Chris (⬇⬇), Simon (⬆⬆⇧)
Originally drafted to be his RB2, Chris lost him even without a significant injury. I swear that Cam must have slept with McVay's girlfriend/wife because I don't understand why he hates him so much. He had a great end to the 2022 season and all of a sudden at only 24 years old, he's unplayable. Simon (learning from David K's scavenging) looks to be the biggest beneficiary as he picked up Kyren even before the news that Cam would be exiled to Siberia. Simon has potential for more upside if Cam Akers gets traded to a lead-RB needy team (see Cleveland, Miami, Indy, or maybe even Baltimore?) he might have another top 24 RB on his hands to use on bye weeks or for trading purposes.
Biggest loser so far as directed by the football gods: Jung (Runner Up: Chris)
Biggest winner so far as directed by the football gods: David K (Runner Up: Mike)
Good luck to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment