Fantasy Football Daily Notes: Injuries to Kupp, Herbert, Jeudy and Smith-Schuster mar Sunday’s action
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The news: Rams WR Cooper Kupp injured his ankle in the fourth quarter of the Rams’ loss to the Cardinals on Sunday.
What it means in fantasy: Head coach Sean McVay said immediately after the game that “it didn’t look good; it didn’t sound good”; however, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reported that Kupp appeared to have avoided serious injury to his right ankle for the second time this season. An MRI will be performed on Monday to determine the extent of the injury. Kupp also left the Rams’ Week 8 game with a right ankle injury. Fantasy managers should consider Ben Skowronek if Kupp’s injury is serious. He led the Rams with 60 snaps and 40 routes run and also had six targets. Van Jefferson, who returned in Week 8, also caught his first three passes of the season, including a touchdown.
Going deeper: Kupp had 21 consecutive games with at least 15 fantasy points based on PPR scoring, the third-longest streak in league history. Cooper accounted for 35.7% of the Rams’ receptions entering Week 10. That was the highest mark in the league.
The news: Bears RB Khalil Herbert suffered a hip injury on Sunday against the Lions.
What it means in fantasy: Herbert suffered the injury late in the game and was quickly ruled out. The Bears’ offense relied heavily on quarterback Justin Fields, but it was Herbert who had the most rushing attempts when Fields wasn’t running down the field, with 57 rushing yards to David Montgomery‘s 37. Although Herbert has been the better back all season, the Bears continue to split touches fairly evenly between the two, and once Herbert left the game, Montgomery played every snap at running back. If Herbert misses time, Montgomery would see a larger workload and could be viewed as an RB2 in Week 11. Chicago leads the league with 36.0 rushing attempts per game.
Going deeper: Fields leads the Bears with 749 rushing yards, but Herbert isn’t far behind with 643 yards. Montgomery, on the other hand, has 434 yards. So far this season, Herbert has 106.5 fantasy points, while Montgomery has 83.4.
The news: Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy suffered an ankle injury on Sunday against the Titans.
What it means in fantasy: The injury took place on the Broncos’ first play from scrimmage, and Jeudy was quickly ruled out. Jeudy wore a walking boot upon leaving the stadium and told Denver7’s Troy Renck he’s hoping his injury is not a high ankle sprain. Fellow wide receiver KJ Hamler was ruled out before the game with a hamstring injury. Courtland Sutton was targeted 11 times by Russell Wilson, who also connected with undrafted rookie receiver Jalen Virgil on a 66-yard touchdown. It was Wilson’s second touchdown pass with 40 or more yards after the catch this season. Jeudy’s injury comes at an unfortunate time, since he had scored 16 or more fantasy points in back-to-back games. Kendall Hinton stepped into a larger role because of Jeudy’s absence, catching four of five targets for 62 yards on Sunday. Although Hinton capitalized when given an opportunity Sunday, his role is heavily dependent on the health of Jeudy and Hamler. Even if both were to miss time, Hinton would be more of a deep-league depth receiver. Those in 10-team leagues would be best served to look elsewhere for flex talent.
The news: Chiefs JuJu Smith-Schuster was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Jaguars after taking a huge helmet to helmet hit.
What it means in fantasy: Smith-Schuster entered the concussion protocol after leaving Sunday’s game in the second quarter. He was going across the middle to catch a pass from Patrick Mahomes when Andre Cisco hit him high. Cisco was flagged for the collision, but the penalty was later called off. Smith-Schuster lay motionless on the turf with his hands frozen in a harrowing moment before eventually walking off the field with assistance from teammates. The Chiefs have used a heavy rotation of wide receivers all season, but Smith-Schuster leads the Chiefs’ wide receivers with 615 receiving yards. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson may be given additional snaps if Smith-Schuster misses time, but Kadarius Toney has earned an increasingly important part of the Chiefs’ offense since arriving in Kansas City. He finished the game with 19 fantasy points on four catches, including his first career touchdown.
The news: Cardinals TE Zach Ertz injured his knee on Sunday against the Rams.
What it means in fantasy: The injury occurred in the first quarter, and Ertz appeared emotional as he was carted to the training room. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Ertz’s anterior cruciate ligament appears to be intact after an initial examination. Ertz was wearing a brace after the game and is expected to miss a few weeks. The extent of the injury will be determined by an MRI on Monday. Trey McBride replaced Ertz in the third quarter and played nearly all the offensive snaps and will be a waiver-wire target if Ertz’s injury is serious. The Cardinals made him the first tight end selected in the 2022 NFL draft at 55th overall.
Going deeper: McBride was one of Colorado State’s most decorated players. The John Mackey Award winner set school records for tight ends in receptions, receiving yards and 100-yard games during his 2021 season. Ertz has averaged 7.0 targets per game this season.
The news: Chargers TE Gerald Everett suffered a groin injury on Sunday night against the 49ers.
What it means in fantasy: Everett left the game early in the second quarter and did not return. This was a devastating blow for Justin Herbert and the Chargers’ passing game, which was already missing Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. This season, Everett averaged 6.1 targets and 9.2 fantasy points per game. Tre’ McKitty will become the primary receiving tight end if he misses time with this injury. TE Richard Rodgers ran only four routes compared to McKitty’s 31.
The news: Colts RB Jonathan Taylor accumulated 163 total yards and a touchdown on 24 touches against the Raiders on Sunday.
What it means in fantasy: Taylor has been dealing with an ankle injury off and on since Week 4 and had missed Week 9. This was Taylor’s second-best fantasy football performance of the season and coincided with Matt Ryan back under center. If interim head coach Jeff Saturday and his staff will depend on Taylor, it bodes very well for his fantasy value for the rest of the season.
Going deeper: Taylor had 100 or more rushing yards or a rushing touchdown for the first time since Week 1. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, he reached a maximum speed of 20.64 mph during Sunday’s game, the fastest max speed by a Colts ball carrier this season.
The news: Raiders WR Davante Adams caught nine of 14 targets for 126 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Colts on Sunday.
What it means in fantasy: Adams is one of the only bright spots for a Raiders team that is now 0-6 in one-score games this season. Las Vegas’ six consecutive such losses is the longest streak in the league. Adams had 27 yards after the catch on his receiving touchdown, the third-most yards after the catch on a receiving touchdown in his career. This could be an optimal time for fantasy managers to consider trading away Adams with his consecutive games with 27 or more fantasy points. According to Mike Clay’s strength of schedule matrix, the Raiders have a difficult rest-of-season schedule. You can use Eric Karabell’s fantasy football trade value rankings, coming Tuesday, to identify some matches.
The news: Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr finished with only 73 total yards on 14 touches against the Chiefs.
What it means in fantasy: Etienne had accumulated 19.0 or more fantasy points in three consecutive games before this one. The good news is that he played 76% of the offensive snaps, but the bad news is that the negative game flow lowered his fantasy ceiling. As the Jaguars enter their bye week, proactive fantasy managers with great playoff positioning should prioritize Etienne as a trade target. According to Mike Clay’s strength of schedule matrix, the Jaguars have one of the easiest remaining rest-of-season schedules.
The news: Steelers RB Najee Harris rushed for 99 yards on 20 attempts against the Saints on Sunday.
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What it means in fantasy: It was Harris’ most rushing yards in a game this season. Fantasy managers should proactively try to trade him away this week. Harris had a 37-yard run, tu longest rush by a Steelers player this season. There had been a lot of talk in the week leading up to this game about Jaylen Warren having more of a role in Pittsburgh’s backfield, and the rookie was more involved, playing 42.8% of the offensive snaps while Harris played 59.5%.
• Eric Moody’s waiver wire pickups identify the top players to claim for your team
• Fantasy Focus podcast: Monday Morning Edition wraps up Sunday’s games (8 a.m. ET)
Tuesday:
• Week 11 fantasy football rankings at every position (PPR and NPPR)
Matt Bowen’s streaming pickups: deeper picks for deeper leagues and emergency need
Eric Karabell’s Flex and Superflex rankings for Week X
• NFL Nation’s Fantasy Fallout: beat reporters answer our most pressing fantasy questions
• Eric Karabell’s trade index and rest-of-season rankings for Week X and beyond
• Fantasy Focus podcast (10 a.m. ET)
In Case You Missed It:
• Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft on Week 10’s fantasy storylines: Justin Fields, Justin Jefferson take over