Tee Higgins Injury: Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Replacements

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

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Injury Replacements

Injury Outlook

Tee Higgins (hamstring) doubtful to play Sunday
Tee Higgins (hamstring) is doubtful to play in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.

Fantasy Impact

Higgins recently suffered a hamstring injury at practice, and now, the team is listing him as doubtful to play in Week 1. He himself downplayed the injury, but it looks like he is going to miss at least a week while he recovers from it. This is bad for the fantasy value of QB Joe Burrow but could lead to more opportunites for WR Andrei Iosivas against the Patriots.

Leo Sells

Data favors sitting, at ~70%. Average WR hamstring = 2 weeks out, which puts his Week 2 in question. Given his history of hamstring injuries, he will carry a high re-injury risk upon return.
– Dr. Deepak Chona

Waiver Wire Replacements to Target

Adonai Mitchell (WR – IND) vs. Houston Texans (34.3% Rostered)

While the Colts won’t have an elite passing offense this season, Anthony Richardson can support multiple fantasy-relevant pass catchers. Many had high hopes for Josh Downs before he suffered a high ankle sprain in training camp. Unfortunately, he won’t play in Week 1, giving Mitchell a chance to steal the No. 2 wide receiver role. The former Texas star has had an impressive training camp, especially after Downs suffered the ankle injury. Furthermore, Mitchell has been successful at running routes from out wide and in the slot.

Meanwhile, the rookie has an appealing NFL debut matchup. DraftKings has the over/under for this game at 48.5 points, one of the higher totals in Week 1. More importantly, the Texans surrendered 160.4 receiving yards and 26.9 half-point PPR fantasy points per game to wide receivers in 2023. Furthermore, teams took deep shots against Houston. According to Fantasy Points Data, the Texans had the fourth-highest deep throw attempt rate against them in the NFL (13.6%). Expect Richardson to take a few downfield shots to Mitchell in this game.

Greg Dortch (WR – ARI) vs. Buffalo Bills (1.6% Rostered)

Fantasy players should be excited about the Arizona offense this season, as Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride should both be fantasy stars. However, Dortch was one of my favorite late-round draft targets at the wide receiver position. Zay Jones will miss the first five games with a suspension, creating more opportunities for the veteran receiver. More importantly, Dortch has been productive when given the chance. He averaged 11 half-point PPR fantasy points per game in the four contests with more than four targets last year.

Furthermore, Dortch shined when Rondale Moore missed half the 2022 season, averaging 10.6 fantasy points per game in the eight contests he played at least 50% of the snaps. Meanwhile, the Bills had the third-highest slot target rate in the NFL last season at 35.5% (per Fantasy Points Data). Dortch saw a 19% target per route run rate when lined up in the slot in 2023. Meanwhile, Kyler Murray targeted a slot receiver on 29.5% of his pass attempts last year. Dortch could finish as a WR3 in Week 1.