RB Injuries Piling Up During Fantasy Football Playoffs
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Guillotine Leagues, RB injuries are piling up in the playoffs, Start/Sit recommendations, and more.
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Guillotine Leagues:
For most of the season, many running backs didn’t suffer significant injuries or miss much time. In a critical time of the fantasy football season, the injuries are piling up.
Another 49ers running back is injured with Isaac Guerendo likely to miss Week 16 with a hamstring injury. Patrick Taylor is the next man up, with Israel Abanikanda behind him and Ke’Shawn Vaughn likely to be activated. Deebo Samuel should see more carries, too. We have Taylor ranked as a high-end RB3.
Alvin Kamara is dealing with a groin injury and is unlikely to play on Monday against the Packers and could be out for the season. KenDre Miller is in line for a big workload after getting 19 touches the last two games upon his return off the injured reserve.
David Montgomery was ruled out earlier in the week with an MCL injury, setting up Jahmyr Gibbs as the top-ranked running back for most of our rankers. Nick Chubb and Sincere McCormick were also ruled out for the season.
Kenneth Walker was a full participant in practice Thursday after missing the last two games with a calf injury, while Zach Charbonnet was limited with an oblique injury.
As always, continue to grind the waiver wire and even if you don’t need to start these running backs, add them to block your opponent.
Chargers Light Up Thursday Night Football: A fun game ended with the Chargers coming back to defeat the Broncos, 34-27. Justin Herbert threw for 284 yards, 2 TDs, and ran for 28 yards. Bad beat alert: Herbert was tagged with -17 rushing yards on three rushing plays trying to run out the clock. Hope that doesn’t cost any fantasy managers who started Herbert a shot at the finals.
Ladd McConkey (6-87) was the leading receiver on a night when 20 different pass catchers registered receptions (10 on each team). Gus Edwards was planted on many fantasy benches with 68 rushing yards and a pair of trips to the painted area. His 14 rush attempts outpaced the rest of the LA RBs, who combined for 6 totes. Bo Nix passed for 263 yards and 2 TDs, rushing for 25 more yards, still helping anyone who started him.
NEED TO BREAK A TIE ON WHO TO START? CHECK OUT OUR RANKINGS
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What else is in today’s newsletter?
- Stat of the Day: Marvin Harrison Jr. leads the way.
- Watercooler: It’s way over time for Trey McBride.
Air Marvin
Stat of the Day: Marvin Harrison Jr. has the 7th-most air yards at WR
Harrison has not had the type of rookie season that many were expecting. He was widely drafted in the first three rounds of fantasy drafts, but he’s merely WR43 in terms of half-PPR per-game scoring. Harrison hasn’t exactly had the type of volume that was expected, garnering just a 22% target share for the year.
However, the type of targets that Harrison is seeing are extremely valuable. Only six receivers have racked up more air yards this season, and he has a 43% air-yards share for the year. He’s been even better in that department of late, racking up at least 53% of the Cardinals’ air yards in three straight contests.
That gives him a wide range of outcomes, but he clearly has an elite ceiling. If he can connect on a deep ball or two, he has the potential to finish as one of the top scorers at the position in any week.
That’s particularly true this week. The Panthers have been one of the worst defensive teams in football this season, ranking 30th in pass defense EPA. He checks in around WR30 in our Week 16 rankings, but he has way more upside than that figure suggests. If he hits his ceiling vs. the Panthers, he could lead your team to the fantasy championship.
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AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
The latest analysis and insights from our merry band of football nerds:
🤷🏻 Is this the week Trey McBride scores? Ian, Dwain, and Freedman discuss.
❤️ No invitation necessary for Matthew’s Week 16 Love/Hate. Come as you are.
💸 Which players are close to hitting incentives or milestones? Geoff is keeping track so you can take advantage.
👀 Freedman has a new mock NFL Draft … and you’ll want to see what QB the Browns are drafting.
🕹️ Chiefs-Texans Madden NFL Cast on Peacock? Patrick Daugherty and Kyle Dvorchak have the inside scoop.
🔮 Rachaad White will find the end zone Sunday. Geoff says so here.
🏆 Fortune favors the bold, and those who started Justin Herbert on TNF.
Welcome back! As always, below is the answer to yesterday’s question (After Rams-49ers in Week 16, what three other teams have played a game without scoring a touchdown?):
A: Steelers twice (Week 11 vs. Ravens; Week 1 vs. Falcons), Commanders (Week 2 vs. Giants), Vikings (Week 12 vs. Jaguars)
Now … let’s get into today’s Fantasy Life Trivia question!
Q: Joe Burrow threw his 36th touchdown pass of the season on in Week 16, breaking his own franchise record. Who are the two other quarterbacks who have thrown at least 30 touchdown passes with the Bengals?
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