NFL Fantasy Football: 3 key injuries that could impact your strategy in week 3
There's only one thing that makes fantasy owners more disappointed in their leagues than losing close games: losing players to serious injuries during the season.
When you draft your fantasy team, you have to be prepared for every possible situation that arises, but sometimes you're just as unlucky as the San Francisco 49ers and most of your lineup get hurt. Even if you are a waiver warrior, it's still tough to win your league if injuries decimate your starting lineup.
Week 2 of the NFL season was full of injuries to important players, especially quarterbacks, and those will have a huge impact on fantasy owners, as the whole offense will have to change their style of play. Here are three key injuries that could impact your strategy for week 3:
Three injuries that can change your Week 3 Fantasy Football strategy
#1 Carson Wentz' ankle injuries
Wentz injured both his ankles in Sunday's contest against the Los Angeles Rams and, while he's still not confirmed to be out against the Tennessee Titans, it looks unlikely that he'll be ready to play soon.
Not only should players who have Wentz on their fantasy teams pay attention here, as a change for the Colts' starting quarterback would represent a reduced passing offense for Indianapolis receivers. That means that if you own Parris Campbell or Michael Pittman Jr., you should pay attention to Wentz's status for Sunday.
Sounds like the right is the high-ankle, left is the low ankle. Wentz still giving himself a chance to play… twitter.com/taylortannebau…
If he's out, take your Colts receivers out of the starting lineup, too.
#2 Andy Dalton's knee injury
The Bears confirmed on Wednesday that Dalton will miss Sunday's contest against the Cleveland Browns as he deals with a bone bruise in his knee. Justin Fields is slated to make his first NFL start and that changes the whole outcome of the Bears' offense.
With Fields playing, fantasy owners have to consider that, despite the potential for big plays to improve, the offense will also oversee a lack of rhythm and not many easy completions as the rookie will make only his first start.
Players like Allen Robinson have lost some of their starting potential this week, but fantasy owners of running back David Montgomery should feel happy, as he should get more carries and be more used in the passing game as a safe blanket for Fields.
#Bears QB Andy Dalton is considered week-to-week with his knee injury. No final decision, but Justin Fields appears to be in line to make his first NFL start Sunday at Cleveland. Meanwhile, another rookie QB gets his first start Thursday night. https://t.co/YMORQbslVY
#3 Jarvis Landry' knee injury
Landry was placed on injured reserve by the Browns after a knee injury suffered in the game against the Houston Texans, meaning he will be out for at least three weeks.
Landry is a favorite of the owners in points per reception (PPR) fantasy leagues, but those who have him should not be concerned, as his sprained MCL does not mean he'll be out for a long period of time. With Landry out, Odell Beckham Jr. gets even more hype if he opens his season in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears as he recovers from his own knee injury, and Donovan Peoples-Jones has become an excellent option this week as well.
The Browns are one of the teams most run-heavy in the league and without Landry, plus the possibility of being without Beckham Jr. for the third-straight week, should see an uptick in the number of carries by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.