With Julio headed towards the shelf, where do fantasy owners turn next?
In case you missed it, there has been a wave of injury news today: (1) Julio Jones (foot) could be out for the season (2) Owen Daniels will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a fibula injury & (3) The Giants RB situation is in flux with David Wilson out in week 6.
Needless to say, the infirmary is getting a little crowded. It also goes without saying that the news poses some important questions for fantasy owners. We’ll examine the fallout with the help of this week’s featured experts.
Q1: With Julio Jones’ status in serious doubt, how high are you on Harry Douglas for the remainder of the season?
“In 2011, Douglas saw his snaps increase from an average of 33 to 51 in two games that Jones missed, and Douglas totaled six catches for 119 yards in those two contests. He only has four career TDs, so he’s a better pickup in PPR than he is in standard. Drew Davis and Kevin Cone are next in line for the Falcons, though Douglas is the best bet for fantasy relevancy. I consider him a WR3/WR4-type (in PPR) if Jones is out. He’s more of a WR4/WR5 in standard formats.”
– John Paulsen (4for4)
“Harry Douglas is obviously going to get a pretty big bump in targets and will probably be ranked in the 35-45 range most weeks going forward. This means he is now a low-end WR3 and Flex option going forward. The Falcons will likely use Douglas, Drew Davis, and Kevin Cone combined to pick up the slack with Jones out. If Roddy White’s nagging injuries were to cost him time at some point in the season you could see Douglas’ value shoot up even more making him definitely worth an add this week.”
– Sean Koerner (Bloomberg Sports)
“I’m not getting too thrilled about Douglas, but there is some upside here. The Falcons are going to have to throw the ball a lot, considering how weak their defense is. Also, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter likes to draw up a variety of screen plays for Julio, and now that he won’t be out there, perhaps he does the same with Douglas. He’s no Julio Jones, but he definitely has play-making ability”
– Adam Pfeifer (Rant Sports)
“I think Douglas raises into the WR20-28 range. However, that could change easily if Atlanta looks to trade for a receiver such as Kenny Britt or Josh Gordon. There’s never a “good” time for your best offensive weapon to get hurt, but with Atlanta’s bye in Week 6, they’ll have time to prepare for this big change, whether it’s making a trade or sticking with what they have.”
–Ryan Hester (Football and Brackets)
Q2: If you were desperate for a week 6 spot play, which Giants’ RB (Scott/Jacobs/Cox) would you pick up for their matchup at Chicago?
“Barring more clarity from the New York press, I’d go with
Da’Rel Scott since I believe that the Giants view him (right now) as the best all around RB of the bunch, while Jacobs is their battering ram and Cox is the player they’re trying to develop. Since the Giants are likely to trail the Bears, Scott figures to see the most snaps. This may seem contradictory to the Giants’ recent actions (i.e. cutting Scott recently), but I don’t see either Jacobs or Cox getting a ton of work or playing much on third down.”
“Definitely
Brandon Jacobs. He is going to be getting most of the early down work and goal line carries. Da’Rel Scott would be more valuable in a PPR format as he should reclaim his 3rd down role this week and get a handful of carries by coming into the game when Jacobs needs a breather. None of them are in the top 30 for this week and it’s usually best to not play speculative players on TNF. Marcel Reece and Ronnie Brown are players likely to be available as well and who are currently ranked higher.”
“I would add
Da’Rel Scott , mainly because he was already cutting into David Wilson’s workload a little bit before the injury. He’ll easily serve as the team’s pass-catching back, and the Giants, in case you haven’t noticed, are very bad. Eli should have to throw the ball quite a bit, and I’m not counting on anything other than a cheap goal line TD from Jacobs. Scott has more upside, and should see more volume.”
“I’d go with
Da’Rel Scott . He knows the offense, which is the reason he was brought back to fill in on a short week. He’s also the passing-down back, and the Giants have been pass-heavy all season due to falling behind in games and being ineffective running the ball. There’s probably better one-week and long-term help on your league’s waiver wire, though.”
“Heath Miller, Brandon Myers and Kyle Rudolph. Graham would be a low-end TE1 without Daniels, but he doesn’t have clear long-term value.”
“Huge boost for Graham. Although he won’t be confused with Jimmy Graham the next few weeks, he certainly leaps into the low-end TE1 radar. TEs that normally rank higher than Graham who he leap frogs this week are: Jared Cook, Brandon Myers, Kellen Winslow, Tyler Eifert, Jermaine Gresham, Brandon Pettigrew, and Kyle Rudolph. I would definitely rather own him than those guys over the next 4-6 weeks. The only downside is that the Texans have a Bye Week 8 which takes away one of his games.
“Kyle Rudolph, Jared Cook, Tyler Eifert, Jermaine Gresham, Brandon Myers, and Coby Fleener.”
“Scott Chandler, Jordan Reed, Dallas Clark, Brandon Pettigrew, Brent Celek, Tyler Eifert, Kyle Rudolph, Brandon Myers, Jermaine Gresham, and Jared Cook. I see Graham as a low-end TE1 in 12-team leagues now.”
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Thanks to the experts for stopping by to give us the fantasy take on the latest injury news. You can get more of their advice by visiting their sites and by following them on Twitter: