“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” is a column by Kyle Frankel about fantasy football.
Two weeks is all it took for the injury monster to start tormenting football fans and fantasy managers alike. As I expressed last week, Aaron Rodgers’ torn achilles just four snaps into his career as a Jet was an especially gut-wrenching experience for Gang Green’s faithful, such as myself. Other than that, though, Week 1 largely saw the league’s star players emerge unscathed, at least of major season-altering ailments.
The same can’t be said about Week 2, as multiple ride-or-die superstars went down with injuries that could derail both NFL and fantasy franchises alike.
The headliner was of course the events that transpired in Pittsburgh on the Monday Night Football doubleheader. Browns running back Nick Chubb took an inside handoff with goal-to-go less than a minute into the second quarter. Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick dove in to make the tackle, connecting with Chubb’s left knee and resulting in the gruesome injury that has now officially ended the Cleveland star’s season.
Among the other casualties was Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who suffered a sprained ankle and is expected to be out-of-action for the next three weeks. His ailment is of course significantly less severe than Chubb’s, but highly impactful in the football world nonetheless.
If you were relying on these guys, or anyone else whose health may be up in the air, to carry you to fantasy football glory this season, I offer my deepest condolences.
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to stop feeling sorry for yourself and to put in the work to overcome these setbacks, starting with reading this column.
Running Back Replacements
Just as Nick Chubb’s unfortunate injury was the main story of the week in fantasy football, his backup is this week’s hottest waiver wire target. After Chubb left the game, Browns RB Jerome Ford took over in Cleveland’s backfield, dominating the touches.
The run-first Browns did not shy away from their style of play when their workhouse back was out of the picture. Instead they fed Ford, who took his 16 carries for 106 yards. It was a good sign that he got involved in the receiving game as well, catching three of his four targets for 25 yards and a touchdown. All this summed up to a stellar 24.1 PPR points that was largely wasted out on leagues’ waivers.
Cleveland brought in another veteran rusher to alleviate some stress, signing former Browns RB Kareem Hunt to a one-year deal Wednesday morning, but Ford’s RB2 value in fantasy should hold. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has stated that the plan is for Ford to be the team’s featured back going forward. As we saw Monday Night, the Browns’ identity as a run-first offense should not change no matter who’s taking the handoffs.
Ford is currently rostered in just 9.5% of ESPN leagues at the time of writing. That won’t hold by the time you see this. If he’s still out there, scoop him up ASAP.
If you’re looking for more of a short-term solution at the running back position (that’s you, Saquon owners), look no further than Zack Moss.
With Jonathan Taylor out of action until at least Week 5 on the PUP list, the Colts backfield has largely been a mystery as to who would play the lead role. We got that answer on Sunday, as Moss was in control of Indianapolis’ rushing attack all game long.
Moss took 18 carries for 88 yards and score, and he snagged all four of his targets for a moderate 19 yards. Not only is Moss secured as a solid fantasy starter for the next two games, but his reign within the Colts’ depth chart could last longer.
Taylor and the team still are not on very good terms, and it is a real possibility that he does not play for the Colts this season, whether that be the result of a trade or simply a healthy scratch. Further, dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson is currently in concussion protocol and could miss this weekend’s game. If he does not play, Moss will have even more touches and should receive every goal line opportunity.
He’s rostered in 32.3% of leagues at the time of writing. That will spike, but many owners will lay off of him simply due to the “imminent” Jonathan Taylor effect.
Can Garrett Wilson Survive in the Post-Rodgers Era?
To keep with the theme of injuries, what can be expected of the Jets offense without the future hall-of-famer under-center? Even though Zach Wilson played just about the entire game back on opening night, we got our first full taste of this Wilson-led team on Sunday in Dallas.
It was not pretty, as Micah Parsons and the Dallas D-Line manhandled the Jets offensive front, pressuring Wilson on what felt like every play. As a Jets fan I’m conditioned to be a pessimist, but I’ll be nice and give No. 2 some credit. Head coach Robert Saleh is right, he has gotten better. His footwork has improved, he looks a little more comfortable at settling in the pocket and making confident throws.
However, he is still a bad starting quarterback. I’d be thrilled if he proved me wrong, but it’s just the truth. He misses too many easy throws, and his poor accuracy too often turns what could have been huge plays into average (or even negative) ones. With him at the helm, the outlook for the Jets offense looks very different than if Rodgers was slinging it.
The impact is largest for Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year was poised for a massive season. Unfortunately, Rodgers’ absence likely takes him from a possible top-five receiver (in both fantasy and real life), to maybe a top-20 guy.
The upside is definitely still there, as he received a team-leading eight targets in Dallas. But he only reeled in two of those passes for 83 yards, one of which being the slant he took 68 yards to the house. While he will be the Jets clear-cut WR1, he likely won’t have big plays like that to bail him out every week.
He’ll definitely still explode for insane weeks, but his quarterback cannot effectively get the ball to his receivers, which means Wilson will also have weeks where you wish you did not even start him.
If you can still get top-end value for him, trade him immediately. Make sure you don’t do anything too crazy, though. He went from a bonafide fantasy WR1 to a WR2 in most leagues. Treat him as such and don’t overreact.
The injury bug comes for most teams eventually, so coming from someone who’s already bit the dust, if your squad is still healthy, make sure to enjoy it while it lasts.
“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” runs every Wednesday.