Injury analysis for Week 3 of NFL DFS on FanDuel and DraftKings

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Quarterbacks

Justin Fields FD 6500 DK 5200
Opponent CLE
Proj Points FD - 19.38 DK - 20.29

Andy Dalton FD 6500 DK 5200
Opponent CLE
Proj Points FD - 0 DK - 0

There are some big moves at the quarterback position this week, and we have a lot to wade through. The biggest one is the injury to Andy Dalton which will have him missing this week. That’s opening up the chance for the electric Justin Fields to get behind center and flash some of the upside that made him a first-round pick for the Bears. He is their quarterback of the future and that should start here in Week 3 against the Browns. Filling in for the injured Dalton in Week 3, Fields showed some of why he’s a fantasy viable QB right now and could even be a cash game play. He wasn’t so accurate 6-13 for 60 yards through the air, but he took off 10 times on the ground and totaled 31 yards. A week of first-team snaps and a very low $5200 price tag on DraftKings has him totally in the cash game mix for his first start.

Jacoby Brissett FD 6700 DK 4900
Opponent LV
Proj Points FD - 13.75 DK - 14.44

Tua Tagovailoa FD 6700 DK 5300
Opponent LV
Proj Points FD - 0 DK - 0

Tua Tagovailoa was diagnosed with broken ribs and will sit out this game and possibly more for the Dolphins. It’s a tough, early-season blow for the Fins who will now rely on Jacoby Brissett under center. The latter is an NFL veteran at this point which might not be the worst thing for Miami and he does have a week under center with the first team leading into this one. He came in and threw 40 passes in Week 2 when Tua went down early, completing 24 for *just* 169 yards. He also scrambled five times for 21 yards. At sub-$5K you can take a chance on him on DraftKings and Miami will get Will Fuller back in the mix this week which should bolster the passing attack.

Carson Wentz FD 7000 DK 5700
Opponent TEN
Proj Points FD - 18.11 DK - 18.86

Jacob Eason FD 6500 DK 4000
Opponent TEN
Proj Points FD - 0 DK - 0

Carson Went has not one, but two sprained ankles. That isn’t easy to do considering you usually stop playing after spraining the first meaning the second never has a chance to happen. But here we are. Jacob Eason came in briefly in Week 2 and looks, um, shaky. The Colts would take a massive hit losing Went here and no matter what you think about the polarizing QB, it’s clear Eason is a major step down. This is a situation to monitor, but with Eason behind center, we could see the Titans become a viable streaming defense on the week.

Other quick notes: Ben Roethlisberger has a strained pec muscle. Considering through two games he has a career-worst completion percentage and only two passing touchdowns in the first two weeks, we could be looking a the beginning of the end for Big Ben.

Running Backs

Darrell Henderson Jr. FD 6300 DK 5900
Opponent TB
Proj Points FD - 16.89 DK - 18.3

Sony Michel FD 5700 DK 4900
Opponent TB
Proj Points FD - 0.88 DK - 0.93

This is a big one heading into Sunday. As of this writing, Darrell Henderson hadn’t practiced all week and left the game early in Week 2 as well. There is a very good chance he doesn’t play in Week 3 against Tampa and that could leave a lot of the snaps to Sony Michel. The latter came in and rushed 10 times for 46 yards in Henderson’s absence, though didn’t see any targets in the passing game. It’s unclear if they would primarily use Michel or go to an RBBC approach. There’s been very little news on that front. The matchup against Tampa isn’t amazing considering their front seven, but if Michel is the every-down back then he is still priced too cheap.

Josh Jacobs FD 7200 DK 6200
Opponent MIA
Proj Points FD - 0 DK - 0

Kenyan Drake FD 5700 DK 5500
Opponent MIA
Proj Points FD - 13.29 DK - 15.06

This is another major situation to monitor. Of course, Jacobs sat out Week 2 with an injury and Kenyan Drake played 71% of the snaps (Peyton Barber played the other 29%). Drake, as per usual, wasn’t all that effective on the ground, averaging less than a yard per carry (7 car 9 yards). But he made up for some of that with six targets in the passing game, going 5/46. It’s not a great matchup against Miami who has played well on defense and over the last couple of seasons moves at a slower pace, limiting opponents’ touches. But Drake is still priced in a value zone if he’s taking a majority of the running back snaps, even with the efficiency issues.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Odell Beckham Jr. FD 6500 DK 5300
Opponent CHI
Proj Points FD - 8.74 DK - 10.59

Odell Beckham will suit up for the first time this season after sitting out the first two weeks still recovering from last year’s ACL surgery. It comes none-to-soon for the Browns who have lost Jarvis Landry for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to expect a ton out of Beckham from an upside perspective though. He hasn’t had a 100+ yard receiving game since October 13, 2019 (those were simpler times). That’s about 17 games (he was hurt in the last one) without triple digits through the air in a game. A whole season’s worth of action. In this offense, he just isn’t the upside WR we saw in New York. But he isn’t priced that way either. I don’t think we need to take a chance on him Week 3, but this is a situation to monitor.

William Fuller V FD 5500 DK 4700
Opponent LV
Proj Points FD - 6.71 DK - 8.11

Fuller will also make his season debut after sitting out Week 1 with the suspension and Week 2 with a personal issue. Now he gets into the Dolphins’ uniform for the first time after coming over from the Texans in the offseason. It’s hard to get too excited here with Miami playing with Jacoby Brissett under center and an attack that mostly wants to limit getting the ball down the field (so far). Maybe Fuller changes that and opens things up a bit, but it is tough to think about rostering him here with a new quarterback and a new team. Taking a wait-and-see approach with Fuller this week.

Other situations to monitor

Diontae Johnson went down in Week 2 and has sat out practice this whole week. If he were to sit, we would see a possibly dramatic increase in targets for JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool. Johnson is leading the Steelers in targets (11 per game) through the first two weeks. Update Johnson has been ruled out. Claypool and Smith-Schuster both get upgrades here. 

Tee Higgins could be sidelined Sunday which would open up targets for Tyler Boyd and Ja'Marr Chase respectively. Higgins is the Bengals’ target leader this season. Update: Higgins is doubtful. This is an update to Boyd and Chase. 

Update: Russell Gage has been ruled out for Atlanta. Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts get a bit of a bump. Olamide Zaccheaus should see an increase after playing 58% of the snaps in Week 2.