Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Alright, let me just catch my breath. There, got it. What is the most stressful thing about playing fantasy football besides what to grill on game-day? Watching one of the players on your bench get injured and not knowing what happened, just how long they'll be out, and how it may affect your team (and others' teams as well!) down the road. Disclaimer: of course these injuries are hardest on the actual player themselves, this is just a game, etc! All of that being said, here's a rundown of the major injuries that occurred in Week 1 and my take on the dominoes that may fall because of those injuries.

For more in-depth analysis and discussion of these injury scenarios, tune in to the Fantasy Finish Line Podcast, Week 2 Preview: A Deep Dive.

• Nick Foles (broken left clavicle) – My understanding is that Foles underwent surgery with a plate and screws, which will allow for an earlier return... six to eight weeks, like the injury to Aaron Rodger’s throwing shoulder in 2017. The good news for Foles was that this injury was to his non-throwing shoulder, which should limit the amount of time spent on the sideline. In the meantime, Gardner Minshew (3% owned, Yahoo leagues) will serve as his replacement with Josh Dobbs as the backup. Minshew was just drafted this year in round 6 (178^th overall) and put on a good show against the Chiefs (22/25, 275 yards, 2 TD) and could end up being a QB2 in Superflex leagues. We’ll certainly find out what he’s made of this week against Houston.

• Tevin Coleman (high-ankle sprain) – Coleman was injured in the first play of the game. Typical. He won’t be going on IR and is expected to miss at least a few games. In the meantime, the 49ers will use Matt Breida, and Raheem Mostert (10% owned) in a greater capacity from week-to-week. We know who Breida is from last year, able to handle a little bit of everything he’s called upon to do and putting up 153 rushes for 814 yards and 3 TDs (5.3 YPC) and 27 receptions for 261 yards and 2 TDs. That said, everyone is still sleeping on Mostert – he has averaged 6.7 YPC over his career, had 9 carries for 40 yards in Week 1, and a 15-yard TD that was canceled due to a flag. Breida always seems to be on the verge of coming out of the game, so Mostert should be on fantasy rosters everywhere.

• Joe Mixon (sprained right ankle) – Mixon did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Looks like he’s headed for a game-time decision on Sunday. If he doesn’t play, Giovani Bernard (36% owned) has been, and will be a great fill-in starter. He’s had practice at this role and does just fine. With Rodney Anderson going to IR and Mixon starting off the season injured, Bernard’s fantasy production will just go up from here.

• Derrius Guice (meniscus sprain/tear) – Guice injured his other, non-ACL knee in Week 1. Guy can’t catch a break. The team is still trying to figure out whether he will need surgery. Adrian Peterson (53% owned) will be starting at RB once again for the foreseeable future and , but the guy we need to talk about here is Chris Thompson (36% owned) who caught 7-of-10 targets for 68 yards in Week 1. He needs to be owned as a bench stash in PPR leagues at the very least. There is no one else on the depth chart worth discussing right now, so Thompson should be in line for enough playing time to be fantasy relevant this year.

 Listen to the Fantasy Finish Line, 9/11/2019: Week 2 Preview: A Deep Dive

• Tyreek Hill (sternoclavicular joint) – Looks like 4-6 weeks out for Hill, but it could be more if rehabilitation doesn’t go as expected. No worries for Patrick Mahomes, though, as he can just fill-in-the-blanks at this point with whatever healthy receivers are on the squad, plus Travis Kelce. At this point, Sammy Watkins is the #1 WR (9 -of-11 targets for 198 yards and 3 TDs in Week 1) and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon. Apparently fully healthy for the first time since his rookie year in 2014, Watkins should be an every-week WR1 in the Chiefs offense. Congrats to those of you who snagged him in your drafts! With Hill out an extended time, Mecole Hardman (27% owned) was targeted heavily on waiver wires this week and we’ll surely see what he can do against the Raiders. Keep in mind he didn’t catch any passes in week 1 – temper expectations. Demarcus Robinson (1% owned) is my pick for the under-the-radar guy that gets a boost from this whole situation, not Hardman.

• Hunter Henry (tibial plateau fracture) – The good news is that this shouldn’t require surgery, the injury is to the left knee (as opposed to the right knee ACL tear from last year), and there are some new techniques to inject calcium into the fracture area to enhance healing and speed up his return. It’s not likely, though, that he’ll return before 4-6 weeks of recovery. Virgil Green (1% owned) is the next man up, but he has never been fantasy relevant. No, it’s more likely that we either see the return of Antonio Gates, or the Chargers simply redistribute Henry’s targets to Austin Ekeler and Mike Williams, mostly. Williams is notably also out with a knee injury and questionable for Sunday’s matchup with the Lions. Ouch, Chargers.

• Sterling Shepard (Concussion) – Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler, and J. Jones would make up the Giants’ receiving core if Shepard can’t be cleared in time for week 2’s matchup vs. the Bills. Just more targets for Evan Engram and Saquon Barkley, I suppose.

• Devin Funchess (broken collarbone) – Say what you will about Funchess, but he was still involved in this offense with 5 targets in week 1. With Funchess out until at least week 10, Parris Campbell (5% owned) should be forced to step up and we should see even more passes to the TE tandem of Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle.

It's the end of another exciting week of football which means it's time to put your claims in for available free agents in your fantasy league to strengthen your team. I'll be going over who I think are the top five picks for you to target this week so don't miss out on them. Good luck!

Note: %owned is based on Yahoo! leagues at the time of publication.

5) Nick Foles (PHI) - 2% owned - Foles will be starting the rest of the season for the Eagles after Wentz went down with a torn ACL last week. He has had big games in past starts and has a great matchup against the Giants this week who are giving up the 6^th most points to opposing quarterbacks. This makes Foles an appealing streamer for week 15 if you don’t have a great quarterback situation.

4) Mike Wallace (BAL) - 40% owned - Wallace has shown he is still a big play threat in recent weeks getting multiple opportunities for long downfield plays. If you need a boom or bust play in your matchup then he is probably the best you can find on the wire.

3) New Orleans Saints (NO) - 38% owned - The Saints started the fantasy season out with some huge games but have been quiet lately. Look for that to change as they play against the New York Jets with Bryce Petty starting at QB.

2) Mike Davis (SEA) - 38% owned - Davis has proved to be the clear lead back for Seattle the past couple weeks. He gets a great matchup this week against a Rams defense allowing the second most fantasy points to opposing running backs.

1) Dede Westbrook (JAX) - 30% owned -  Westbrook’s production has improved every week since getting on the field four weeks ago and is coming off an 81-yard performance with a TD last week. He has a good matchup next week against a bad Texans pass defense which should put him in the WR3 conversation.