My Friday Discord AMA this week was filled with questions about wide receivers. Namely, the WR1 in most fantasy drafts was the source of many trade questions. Another wideout who’s been traded twice in less than a year came up a few times. Finally, gamers with a rookie wideout and tight end playing for one of Florida’s teams wanted to know how concerned they should be about that club’s quarterback’s injury status.
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Friday’s Fantasy Football Discord AMA Recap
How Should Gamers Handle CeeDee Lamb?
Dak Prescott will miss at least the next four games and possibly the remainder of the season after he was placed on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury. Understandably, gamers with CeeDee Lamb want to know what to expect from him going forward and if they should trade him.
Cooper Rush will start this week, but the Cowboys might want to look at Trey Lance in the final year of his rookie contract. Still, until there are whispers about Lance overtaking Rush on the depth chart, Rush is the presumptive starter in Prescott’s absence.
Rush started five games in Dallas’s more potent offense in 2022. He wasn’t a world-beater but kept the train on the track. Most importantly for Lamb, Rush peppered Dallas’s No. 1 wide receiver with targets. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), in Rush’s five starts in 2022, Lamb was targeted on 30.2% of his routes and had 31 receptions (6.2 per game), 380 receiving yards (76.0 per game), 2.55 yards per route run (Y/RR) and two receiving touchdowns. Lamb also ran three times for 15 scoreless yards.
Lamb can still be a fantasy asset with Rush starting. Sadly, the stud wideout is also playing through a sprained AC joint. The Cowboys aren’t a serious playoff contender. So, there is at least some risk Lamb could miss games if the pain from his shoulder injury becomes too much to tolerate. He’s not on the injury report this week, though. So, gamers shouldn’t give Lamb away.
Shopping Lamb isn’t a bad move, though. One Discord user asked if they should trade Lamb for Nico Collins, and my answer was yes. Another asked if they should trade Lamb for Brian Thomas, Josh Downs and T.J. Hockenson, and I also answered yes to that query. Lamb isn’t a must-trade player, but putting him on the block and seeing what offers are presented for him is a wise move.
Should Gamers Drop Dionte Johnson?
The Panthers gave Dionte Johnson away for a minimal pick swap in next year’s NFL Draft. After completing the deal, Josina Anderson reported that the incoming Johnson wouldn’t bump Zay Flowers or Rashod Bateman down the pecking order.
Johnson ran only six routes in his debut for the Ravens in Week 9 and dipped to three routes after a quick turnaround for Thursday Night Football in Week 10. Johnson’s nine routes since Week 9 were behind Flowers (49 routes), Bateman (48) and Nelson Agholor (28) and tied with Tylan Wallace for the fourth-most among Baltimore’s wide receivers.
Sadly, Johnson is buried and likely needs an injury to Flowers or Bateman to have even modest fantasy value, and his weekly floor would still be low in an offense with Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely also vying for touches, saying nothing of Lamar Jackson‘s rushing ability. For instance, DeMario Douglas and Xavier Legette are more viable fantasy options than Johnson that users in the Discord AMA asked if they should cut Johnson for.
Should Gamers with Brian Thomas or Evan Engram Panic About Trevor Lawrence‘s Injury?
Trevor Lawrence hasn’t been ruled out for Sunday yet, but Doug Pederson has indicated it’s “trending” toward Jacksonville’s starting quarterback being out. Mac Jones will start if Lawrence is out.
Jay Gruden said Lawrence would undergo surgery, but Ian Rapoport refuted Gruden’s claim. Nevertheless, Lawrence is evaluating options, including surgery. So, Jones’s start might not be a one-off instance.
Should gamers panic about Thomas and Evan Engram? The short answer is no, they shouldn’t panic. Per Pro Football Reference, Lawrence is averaging just 222.7 passing yards per game with passing touchdowns in nine games this year. He hasn’t lit up his opponents.
Jones’s tenure with the Patriots ended with a whimper. However, he averaged 223.6 passing yards per game as a rookie in 2021 and 214.1 in 2022, chucking 22 and 14 touchdowns in 17 and 14 games. Jones, at his best, performed similarly to Lawrence’s level this season. Thus, I’m not adjusting my expectations for BTJ or Engram. If they’re on other rosters and the manager will trade them at a reduced price, it’s an excellent time to buy low on either.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
