Fantasy Football: how to recover from injuries

Fantasy football is the definition of unpredictable and this unpredictability can come in a variety of forms. While past posts have addressed fantasy sleepers and fantasy busts, this post addresses a much more pressing issue: injuries.

The season is a long and hard grind and players are bound to get injured. We are through week 5 and predictably, injuries have left teams in need for replacements. These injuries can turn a team that looks unbeatable on paper to a team struggling to win games. While an owner may feel personally victimized because their players are letting them down, don’t start a pity party just yet.

These kinds of things happen and as a fantasy owner, just roll with the punches. With the proper replacements, any roster can recover from an injury. An owner just has to plug in the right player and can limit the damage to a point where they might not even realize that production was ever missing. Here are some of the players at each position a fantasy owner should look to target.

Quarterbacks:

Notable Injuries: Robert Griffin III (Out), Josh McCown (Out)

Most likely, if a team was relying on Griffin or McCown as their quarterback, they were already in deep trouble. There are just so many other guys out there that are way better. However, if you are really in a bind, try and pick up a guy like Eli Manning or Ryan Tannehill. Both quarterbacks have the ability to have a huge day on any given week and are worth a pick-up if a team is struggling with production at the quarterback position.

Running Backs: 

Notable Injuries: Rashad Jennings (Out), Mark Ingram (Out), Ryan Mathews (Out), Adrian Peterson (Out), Montee Ball (Out), Zac Stacy (Questionable), Knowshon Moreno (Questionable), Reggie Bush (Questionable), Reggie Bush (Questionable), Toby Gerhart (Questionable) 

This year has been a tough one for running backs. From all the injuries to the lack of performance by many “sure-fire” guys, it hasn’t been easy to get consistent performances out of this position. While many of the guys listed above are only questionable or out for a couple of weeks, those weeks could be pivotal for making it into the playoffs.

Here are some guys to help owners get you over the hump: Andre Williams, Justin Forsett, and Storm Johnson. Let’s start with Andre Williams, who had a huge week after Rashad Jennings went down and he should continue to see the bulk of the carries for the Giants, making him an intriguing prospect as a potential breakout guy.

Justin Forsett has produced very nicely for fantasy owners since being awarded the starting job in Baltimore and he is still available in over 60 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. While Forsett and Williams have so far proved they can handle getting significant carries, Storm Johnson should get his first shot this week and look for a potential breakout performance.

Get these guys before it is too late and it will most likely solve any running back dilemma a team may have until their main guys get back from being injured.

Wide Receivers: 

Notable Injuries: Calvin Johnson (Out), AJ Green (Out), Cecil Shorts (Out), Eric Decker (Questionable), Mike Evans (Questionable), Andre Johnson (Questionable) 

With not so many injuries at receiver for the time being, most owners are doing just fine , however if a team does have wide receiver issues, there are still a variety of players to look at.

One guy that could garner some attention with AJ Green being out is Mohamed Sanu. Andy Dalton has been finding Sanu more recently and this has led to serviceable fantasy production. He is only 11 percent owned in ESPN fantasy leagues and could have a major impact in the coming weeks. The second player fantasy owners should target is Brian Quick. Quick is slowly becoming the number one target in the Rams system and has consistently produced at a high level.

Tight Ends: 

Notable Injuries: Tyler Eifert (Out), Kyle Rudolph (Out), Vernon Davis (Questionable), Jordan Reed (Questionable)

With tight ends being relatively deeper than expected this year, there should be no problem in replacing a tight end if one gets hurt. Owen Daniels and Heath Miller are both veteran tight ends that receive constant targets on their team. Look for one of these two to play in the upcoming week because they will constantly be in the receiving picture for their respective teams.