The early reporting on Nico Collins' hamstring injury has been confusing, to say the least. The gist is that the team does not think it is serious and sent him to a doctor for an evaluation. That leaves room for both optimism and pessimism. The way I am reading it is optimistic for the rest of the season, pessimistic for Week 2.
Collins didn't practice Thursday and I have moved him below DJ Moore and Jameson Williams in my rankings, in case you have to make that decision before we get any real new information. My favorite add off the waiver wire would be Xavier Hutchinson, though Kayshon Boutte and Jaylin Noel could get a boost as well. Dalton Schultz would be a top 10 tight end against the Bengals if Collins doesn't play this week. No team gave up more Fantasy points to tight ends last year than Cincinnati.
Thursday's injury report also flagged Ladd McConkey and Zay Flowers, both wide receivers who left Week 1 early with injuries. Flowers caught five passes for 150 yards and a touchdown before leaving in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. The team is calling him day to day and our expectation is that he will play. But that's no guarantee and if he doesn't practice Friday he will be tough to trust on Sunday.
This isn't surprising, and we aren't ringing the alarm bells yet, but it may be safer to start Williams and Moore over Flowers if you don't have another option. If Flowers is out, Mark Andrews is close to a must-start tight end in Week 2. Andrews had a 42.9% target per route run in the second half without Flowers. With Ja'Kobi Lane also out, Rashod Bateman could see an increase in targets if Flowers can't go.
McConkey has a chest injury and his Week 2 status is in serious doubt. In the 4th quarter, without McConkey, both Quentin Johnston and Tre Harris ran at least 90% of the team's routes. If McConkey misses Week 2 we would view Quentin Johnston as a borderline WR2 and Tre Harris as a boom/bust WR3. David Njoku would also have streamer appeal if McConkey is out. Njoku scored 10.8 PPR Fantasy points in Week 1 and looks like the primary pass-catching tight end for the team. Justin Herbert would take a hit without McConkey, and we would view him as a borderline QB1.
Elsewhere on the injury report, Jordan Mason will miss at least the next month, which means we should get a heavy dose of Aaron Jones against a suspect Bears defense. Jones has an outstanding history against Chicago and should see at least 15 touches in a game that projects as a shootout. You can start Jones as an RB2. Demond Claiborne is worth a look on the waiver wire in deeper leagues. Jones is 31 years old and missed five games last year. If he gets dinged up in the next four weeks, we like Claiborne to be the main beneficiary; he could even get some run alongside Jones this week.
Henderson practiced in full on Thursday and says he will play in Week 2. We still expect Rhamondre Stevenson to lead this backfield but he won't come close to last week's 86% snap share. View Stevenson as a low-end RB2 and Henderson as a low-end flex. It is possible that with A.J. Brown out, we see a higher target share for both of these backs, which would make full PPR their best format.
Tua Tagovailoa missed practice again on Thursday and Michael Penix is still working his way back on the side field. That means another week of Rush, which is bad for everyone but Bijan Robinson. Robinson had a 52% target share in Week 1 and crushed the value of Drake London and Kyle Pitts. We're treating London as a low-end WR2 this week and avoiding Pitts until one of the other QBs gets healthy.
Swift was listed with ankle and knee injuries, while Monangai is dealing with a hamstring injury. We expect both to play, but it is worth noting that neither is 100% on Thursday. If either misses time, the other would be a top 10 running back. For now, we project Swift as a high-end RB2 and Monangai as a touchdown-dependent flex.
We expect Okonkwo to miss a very good matchup with the Cowboys. You probably don't want to trust John Bates, but this does give Stefon Diggs and Terry McLaurin a little extra room, where maybe both of them can be good instead of just one. They're both best viewed as high upside WR3s in Week 2.
We still expect Pierce to play on Sunday and would guess this is just a maintenance day as he works his way back to 100%. Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Warren are the only Colts we want to start against a good Chiefs defense, but if Pierce suffered a setback and misses Week 2, then Josh Downs would be more appealing as a WR3 and Keenan Allen would have some low upside flex appeal.
According to CBS.
