DLF’s Weekly Impact Events

Ryan McDowell

hopkins
We’re ready for another week of NFL action and injuries remain the top story across the league – those injuries obviously have a major impact on our weekly lineup decisions as well as the long-term value of many of the players involved.

DeAndre Hopkins, WR HOU

Evidently, Texans’ wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins suffered a concussion in his Week Two game against the Panthers. Hopkins did not miss any significant game time, but missed multiple practices this week. For now, it looks like Hopkins will still suit up in Week Three. For dynasty owners, the concern lies with the long-term effect of multiple concussions, as this is not Hopkins’ first head injury.

Ladarius Green, TE SD

Another player dealing with a concussion is Chargers’ tight end Ladarius Green. This is more serious than Hopkins’ situation considering this is Green’s second diagnosed concussion in a two-week span. I expect Green to sit this week and there is cause for concern with his history as this is also Green’s third concussion in the past two years. Once Green recovers and returns to the field, he’ll be a player I strongly consider shopping.

Todd Gurley, RB STL

After teasing us last week with practice reports before being ruled out for the game, it appears Rams’ rookie running back Todd Gurley will make his highly anticipated NFL debut in Week Three against the Steelers. Even though he entered the league with an injury, Gurley was still a popular choice at 1.01 in rookie drafts and now he has the chance to remind us all what the hype was about. Most reports say Gurley will be eased into the lineup, but with a talent like Gurley, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him bust a long run. If he does, his dynasty value will be off the charts.

Drew Brees, QB NO

[inlinead]One player who won’t be a part of the Week Three slate is Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees, who will sit with an injury to his rotator cuff. A rumor earlier in the week had Brees potentially missing the remainder of the season, which doesn’t appear to be the case. The severity of Brees’ injury is not known, but considering he was reportedly close to playing this week bodes well for his short-term future. Brees and the entire Saints’ offense have been disappointing early this season, but perhaps that is related to the injury. Brees has fallen into QB2 tier in dynasty leagues.

Tevin Coleman, RB ATL

Rookie running back Tevin Coleman of the Falcons will miss the game this weekend after suffering some broken ribs in Week Two. The injury is relatively minor, though it could cost Coleman more game time beyond this week. The former Indiana running back had claimed the lead back job, but now second year man Devonta Freeman will get the bulk of the carries and an opportunity to gain some dynasty value.

Alshon Jeffery, WR CHI

Dynasty players may be growing impatient with star receiver Alshon Jeffery, who will miss his second consecutive game this weekend. Jeffery is battling a hamstring issue and while it’s better to have him ruled out now rather than be forced from the game early, it still has Jeffery owners scrambling to replace him and stay competitive early in the season. While his value isn’t dropping due to a two game span, this could be just the window you need to flip a lesser-valued wide receiver for Jeffery.

Brian Quick, WR STL

Rams’ receiver Brian Quick reportedly will be inactive again this week, which is one of the more surprising situations that isn’t being talked about in the early portion of the season. While Quick is still recovering from the season ending injury a year ago, he’s been deemed a “healthy scratch” in each of the first two games. While we’re left to wonder when Quick will return to the field, he is becoming a roster clogger and could be hitting waiver wires soon.

Matt Jones, RB WAS

In an ugly Thursday night loss to the Giants, rookie running back Matt Jones once again led the team is carries and rushing yards. He didn’t enjoy the same level of success as he did in Week Two, but he still outsnapped Alfred Morris by more than two to one. Jones’ value is clearly on the rise and even his biggest supporters didn’t expect him to make this type of impact this soon. On the other hand, the Morris haters are out for blood and his value has been zapped. I’ve never been a big believer in Morris, but now seems like an ideal time to buy low for any contending teams. There’s a lot of season left.

Johnny Manziel, QB CLE

After leading the Browns to a surprise win over the Titans, the team has opted to return to Week One starter Josh McCown as he’s now recovered from his concussion. This is somewhat of a surprising move as Johnny Manziel led multiple scoring drives in the latter portion of Week One as well as last week. It’s a minor hit to Manziel’s dynasty value, which was just being awakened.

Le’Veon Bell, RB PIT

Steelers’ running back Le’Veon Bell is set to return to the field in Week Three after serving his two game suspension. The Steelers didn’t really miss Bell with veteran DeAngelo Williams performing well enough to make him the current RB1 in PPR leagues. This is no cause for concern though as Bell is expected to reclaim his starting role and he remains the overall top valued dynasty running back as the Steelers’ offense has started strong.

Jimmy Graham, TE SEA

One of the most disappointing players through two weeks is new Seahawks’ tight end Jimmy Graham. While a late touchdown blanketed an overall vanilla Week One performance, that didn’t happen last week and he’s now just the TE18 on the season. Early season struggles are not uncommon and players bounce back from those each and every year, but there are few signs of things changing in the Pacific Northwest. Following the team’s Sunday Night loss to the Packers, reports surfaced about Graham’s displeasure with his role in the offense – this is not surprising considering how important he was to the Saints’ offense the past few seasons. While we wait to see if Russell Wilson begins to look Graham’s way, his dynasty value is slowly fading.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE TB

Sophomore tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins was enjoying a breakout season after being paired with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, but he’ll be on the shelf for the next month at a minimum with a shoulder injury. It’s a blow to his value, which was on the rise, but maybe this opens a window to buy the talented big pass catcher. I’d love to sell Zach Ertz or Ladarius Green for Seferian-Jenkins.

Tony Romo, QB DAL

There’s even more injury news and from a strictly NFL perspective, this is the biggest story of the past week and the Dallas Cowboys have lost yet another key player. In Week Two, quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken clavicle that will keep him out of action through Week Eleven at a minimum. Romo was already being valued outside of the top ten dynasty quarterbacks, so he actually doesn’t lose much value. This does affect all other members of the Cowboys’ offense though, which really is just Terrance Williams, Jason Witten and Joseph Randle at the moment. Considering the Cowboys already lost star receiver Dez Bryant, things went from bad to worse for the Dallas offense.

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ryan mcdowell