Nick Chubb Injury: Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Replacement Pickups (Week 3)

With the season-ending injury to Nick Chubb, fantasy football managers are left with a void on their roster. Let’s check out the extent of the injury and players you can target on your waiver wire this week.

• More Waiver Wire Picks
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Injury Replacement Pickups

Injury Outlook

Nick Chubb (knee) confirmed to be out for the season

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters he expects RB Nick Chubb to be out for the season with a significant knee injury.

Fantasy Impact

This has been the expectation, but it is now confirmed by Stefanski. The question now will become how serious of an injury it was that Chubb suffered. We will likely find out more information on Monday.

Ari Koslow

Waiver Wire Replacements to Target

Jerome Ford (CLE): 15% rostered

• Next Opponents: TEN, BAL, BYE
• True value: $20
• Desperate Need: $34
• Budget-minded: $14

Analysis: The grotesque knee injury sustained by Nick Chubb on Monday night throws the Cleveland backfield into turmoil. Ford was No. 2 behind Chubb on the depth chart and figures to be part of the solution to Cleveland’s backfield problem. A fifth-round draft pick in 2022, Ford had only 23 NFL carries and no receptions before the week began. Now he’s positioned to be the Browns’ lead running back in Week 3 and perhaps for the remainder of the season. The 5-10, 210-poundd Ford has good speed and athleticism. In his final college season at Cincinnati, he ran for 1,319 yards and 19 touchdowns, adding 21 catches for 220 yards and one touchdown. Ford runs into rough matchups the next two weeks — first against the rugged Titans run defense, then against the Ravens — before the Browns hit their bye. A robust bid for Ford is certainly warranted, particularly if you’re a Chubb investor trying to pick up the pieces. Just realize that the Browns may very well add another running back, whether it’s re-signing ex-Brown and current free agent Kareem Hunt, or trading for Cam Akers or some other RB.

Roschon Johnson (CHI): 38% rostered

• Next Opponents: @KC, DEN, @WAS
• True value: $17
• Desperate Need: $29
• Budget-minded: $11

Analysis: The inevitable occurred ahead of schedule when D’Onta Foreman was inactive in Week 2, paving the way for stud rookie Roschon Johnson to shoulder a larger workload. Johnson is very well-rounded, and his role as a mop-up checkdown receiver will come in handy with how atrocious the Chicago defense has been.

Chuba Hubbard (CAR): 19% rostered

• Next Opponents: @SEA, MIN, @DET
• True value: $12
• Desperate Need: $22
• Budget-minded: $6

Analysis: Though not exactly the most riveting player to this point in his career, Chuba Hubbard is the clear second man in the Carolina backfield behind Miles Sanders. The Panthers also have one of the most favorable early-season schedules in the NFL. This translates to adding Hubbard for your own depth and plugging him in as a flex starter if the need arises.

Justice Hill (BAL): 44% rostered

• Next Opponents: IND, @CLE, @PIT
• True value: $10
• Desperate Need: $18
• Budget-minded: $5

Analysis: Gus Edwards was a great waiver pickup from last week, but Justice Hill was also much more useful for fantasy than expected and is still under 50% rostership. His 14 touches in Week 2 included three receptions – a refreshing new look for Baltimore’s offense. While the Gus Bus is more likely to see goal-line work, it’s Hill’s speed and receiving ability that make him a worthy addition in fantasy.

De’Von Achane (MIA): 45% rostered

• Next Opponents: DEN, @BUF, NYG
• True value: $10
• Desperate Need: $18
• Budget-minded: $4

Analysis: Achane is slowly creeping toward being ineligible for this column after spending the offseason and Week 1 as a stash play. He was activated in Week 2 in New England after missing the first game with a shoulder injury. Expect Mike McDaniel to slowly ease Achane into the fray before folding his illustrious speed into Miami’s relay team of an offense.

Tyjae Spears (TEN): 17% rostered

• Next Opponents: @CLE, CIN, @IND
• True value: $8
• Desperate Need: $13
• Budget-minded: $3

Analysis: The Titans haven’t done very well with bolstering their RB room around Derrick Henry, but Tyjae Spears is already earning a solid role through his first two professional games. The former Tulane back is very explosive in the open field and more than adequate as a receiver. This is less of a handcuff than it is a bet that the rookie will continue to carve out games with double-digit touches.

Kareem Hunt (FA): 12% rostered

• Next Opponents: N/A
• True value: $5
• Desperate Need: $10
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: It seems reasonable to think that the Browns will consider re-signing Kareem Hunt after the catastrophic knee injury sustained by Nick Chubb on Monday night. Hunt spent four seasons with the Browns, his tenure in Cleveland highlighted by a 2020 season in which he rolled up 1,145 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns. If the Browns were to sign Hunt, he might not be ready for game action until after the team’s Week 5 bye, and in all likelihood he’d probably be part of a two- or three-man backfield. 

Pierre Strong (CLE): 1% rostered

• Next Opponents: TEN, BAL, BYE
• True value: $3
• Desperate Need: $8
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: The Browns’ No. 3 running back moves up to No. 2 with the knee injury to Nick Chubb. Cleveland traded for Strong late last month to bolster their RB depth, giving the Patriots offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. in return. A fourth-round draft pick out of South Dakota State in 2022, Strong was a big-play machine in college, albeit against lesser competition. He had 10 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown in New England last season. Strong is an intriguing speculative add since the back in front of him on the Cleveland depth chart, Jerom Ford, is just as inexperienced as Strong is and was drafted one round later.

Matt Breida (NYG): 1% rostered

• Next Opponents: @SF, SEA, @MIA
• True value: $4
• Desperate Need: $7
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Saquon Barkley‘s lower-leg injury at the end of the Giants’ Week 2 win over the Cardinals is problematic for fantasy. Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell have barely seen the field to this point, neither making an impression. Explosive rookie Eric Gray has only seen the field as a kick returner. Beware the waiver spend for the sake of chasing a miracle, especially if Saquon only figures to miss Thursday’s game against the nasty 49ers defense.

Craig Reynolds (DET): 0% rostered

• Next Opponents: ATL, @GB, CAR
• True value: $4
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: David Montgomery looks like he’ll be sidelined for at least one game, but it may be longer. This leads to Reynolds’ inclusion for waiver wire pickups this week. Reynolds likely doesn’t take on the same backfield share that Montgomery had, but he should work in tandem with Jahmyr Gibbs, serving as the early-down complement. Don’t let Reynolds’ former UDFA status or run-of-the-mill testing metrics fool you. He is a talented rusher. Across his 82 career carries, Reynolds has amassed 3.72 yards after contact per attempt, a 34.4% breakaway rate, and a 115.3 elusive rating (per PFF). Among rushers with at least 80 carries last year, these numbers would have ranked fourth, 12th and first across those categories (per PFF). If he can factor into the red zone, Reynolds is an RB3 with intriguing RB2 upside in the coming weeks.

Tony Jones (NO): 1% rostered

• Next Opponents: @GB, TB, @NE
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $3
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: With Jamaal Williams sustaining a hamstring injury in Week 2, rookie Kendre Miller working his way back from a hamstring injury of his own, and Alvin Kamara suspended for one more game, Jones is likely to be the Saints’ starting RB by default this week when they travel to Green Bay to face the Packers. That role may or may not equate to Week 3 fantasy value for Jones, since the Saints are likely to let QB/TE hybrid Taysom Hill handle a significant chunk of their rushing load. But if you’re truly desperate for a one-week-only Band-Aid, Jones is an inexpensive option.