Stefon Diggs Tears his ACL: The Dynasty Fantasy Football Impact
It seems every week brings us a significant injury to deal with in dynasty leagues and this week proved to be no different. Today, Houston Head Coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed what many had already expected – Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs has indeed torn his ACL and is out for the season. It’s an injury that’s significant to the Texans organization and their Super Bowl hopes. It’s also a big one in dynasty leagues that’s going to create a ripple effect in terms of player values. Let’s take a look at some players affected.
Stefon Diggs, WR HOU
Losing Diggs in fantasy or reality is a big deal for anyone involved. For his career, the veteran receiver has been dominant at times, posting 857 career catches for 10,491 yards and a whopping 70 touchdowns over his 144 career games, setting a pace where he scores just about every other week. Not bad. This season was off to another hot start as the former Bill and Viking ranks seventh in the NFL in catches (47) this and was second on the Texans in yards (496). In most fantasy formats, he was the WR8 overall, making him an easy “set it and forget it” option each and every week. While many thought Diggs would have a serious regression after the move from Buffalo, that just didn’t come to fruition.
Unfortunately, this is going to really cloud his future. Diggs is already 30 years old and restructured his contract to become a free agent at the end of the season – he’ll do so now as an aging receiver coming off a major injury. He may end up staying in Houston on a reduced contract (he’s said to love it there), but his days of being a WR1 in dynasty leagues may have just come to a close. This off-season is going to be a critical one for him. For the first time in his career, he’ll be on the hunt for a new team and be able to control his own destiny. Unfortunately, the pool of teams interested likely just decreased as Diggs is going to be considered “damaged goods” and has a reputation for rocking the boat at times. In short, some teams just may not feel like he’s worth the risk that’s going to be associated with him. He’ll find a new home (or stay in Houston), but his ranking and ADP are going to sink with this news.
Nico Collins, WR HOU
Speaking of hot starts, Collins was off to the hottest one in the league this year, recording 32 catches for 567 yards and three touchdowns in the first five games of the year, setting the pace as fantasy top fantasy receiver in the process. Unfortunately, Collins hurt his hamstring in week five and was placed on short-term IR. The Texans need him back more than ever now and you should expect him back sooner rather than later, perhaps in just a couple of weeks. Collins was proving to be an elite-level option prior to the Texans losing Diggs, so this obviously won’t stop that. In fact, having Diggs go down will likely give Collins even more targets when he returns. He’s quickly becoming one of the best players to build around in all of dynasty leagues and he’s going to be poised for a major second half if he can shake his hamstring woes.
Tank Dell, WR HOU
As hot as Diggs and Collins were, that’s about as cold as Dell was to start the year. One of the surprise rookie standouts last season, Dell has posted just 24 catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns through seven games after recording 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in just 11 games last season. There were some questions about just who would lose on the roster with the addition of Diggs and it was clearly Dell to start the year. On the good front, the Texans are going to be without Collins for at least another week or two and with Diggs lost for the year, Dell is going to step right back into a major role for the Texans. In other words, a luxury has just become a necessity. The “buy low” window has just closed as Dell could post WR2 numbers the rest of the way. If he gets back to his form from last year, it’s going to be tough for Houston to justify bringing back Diggs next season. Dell’s ADP slide should stop at this point.
Robert Woods, WR HOU
Once one of the most useful players in dynasty leagues, Woods has fallen on hard times and has just five catches for 46 yards on the season. While it’s tough to see him suddenly rounding back into form, it’s also looking like he could be roster worthy again as a player who will at least get his fair share of targets while Collins heals. His dynasty value will stay on life support, but he could get a short-term boost here.
John Metchie, WR HOU
And here we go. I’ve been telling anyone who would listen to hold on to Metchie through the trade deadline and he’s suddenly become pretty relevant. While he may not be able to maintain consistent value, this is his best chance to show he can play at the NFL level. Just remember, he had a great preseason and was once a very highly sought after player. Let’s see what happens, but Metchie is going to one to watch moving forward.
Xavier Hutchinson and Steven Sims, WR HOU
Even with the injury to Diggs, it’s hard to see either of these two maintaining too much value. However, they should both be monitored as we move forward.
Joe Mixon, RB HOU
Mixon was supposedly washed up, but his demise has seemingly been greatly exaggerated as he’s off to a great start this season with 503 rushing yards, 14 catches, 115 receiving yards and six total touchdowns. You can bet the Texans are going to ride Mixon until his wheels fall off and the loss of Diggs is likely going to solidify that thought. Mixon will be a pretty solid pickup for a contending dynasty team down the stretch as one of the few three down backs in the league who is relatively affordable in dynasty leagues.
Dalton Schultz, TE HOU
Schultz has been off to a miserable start this season, posting just 23 catches for 223 scoreless yards. This injury could conceivably boost his short-term value, but we’re going to need to see it to believe it at this point. Schultz is a TE2 at the moment and that’s not going to change until we see his targets markedly increase.
CJ Stroud, QB HOU
There’s no doubt about it, Stroud is a stud. However, losing Collins in the short-term and Diggs for the season is going to be tough on Stroud. While he clearly has the ability to still post QB1 numbers in any given week, we’re going to need to see Collins back and a few other players step up consistently before just assuming Stroud is going to be a top-five option each and every week.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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