Fantasy Football Injury Concerns: Javonte Williams, De’Von Achane, Cooper Kupp

Two weeks of the preseason down, one to go. With the heart of fantasy draft season upon us and the regular season coming up quickly, FantasyPros analysts Derek Brown, Andrew Erickson, Pat Fitzmaurice and Mike Maher continue a series of preseason roundtables. Here is the full article, and check out last week’s fantasy football roundtable for even more expert advice. Below we dive deep on one of our weekly topics.

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As the regular season draws closer, which injury situation most concerns you?

Derek Brown: I remain tentative about Javonte Williams. Every camp report has been sparkling, and while I want to believe it, there’s still a sense of hesitation in my bones. I have begun to mix him into my best-ball exposures. I won’t go overboard, though. Samaje Perine remains a fine draft pick even if Williams is 100% the entire season. We have a long history of Sean Payton running a substantial amount of his offense through his backfield, especially in the realm of touchdown production.

Pat Fitzmaurice: Javonte Williams seems well ahead of schedule in his recovery from a torn ACL, LCL and posterolateral corner (PLC), but I’m treading lightly around Williams in fantasy drafts. Sure, it’s plausible that youth and athleticism have helped speed Williams’ recovery. Still, we should probably remember how long it’s taken J.K. Dobbins to recover from multiple torn ligaments in his knee. I’ve been fading Williams and drafting a lot of his backfield partner, Samaje Perine.

Mike Maher: I was already worried about De’Von Achane because of the crowded Miami backfield. Now, he’s week-to-week with a shoulder injury at a time when he really needs reps. The hope was that Achane would come into the league, flash his elite speed and potential, and make it hard to keep him off the field, even with two veterans ahead of him on the depth chart. But he needs to stay on the field for that to happen. And if the Dolphins actually pull off a Jonathan Taylor trade, things could get interesting quickly in South Florida. I’m still bullish on the Achane talent but am concerned about the opportunities.

Andrew Erickson: Cooper Kupp is a middle-first-round pick but is entering his age-30 season after suffering a hamstring injury in the offseason … coming off a season-ending injury. You don’t have to squint too hard to see where this could go wrong for fantasy drafters.