The injuries continue to pile up through the first month of the NFL season, which could drastically affect the fantasy football outlook heading into Week 5 of NFL action.
Here are some of the most recent injury updates we have at the WR position heading into Week 5’s matchups.
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Injury Updates for Top Fantasy Football WRs
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
Deebo Samuel got plenty of cardio exercise in the Week 4 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately, despite playing 87% of the offensive snaps, he didn’t see a single target.
After not practicing throughout all of last week, Samuel was used as a decoy while battling through a rib and knee injury. This may have helped the 49ers’ offense operate at close to full capacity, but it certainly didn’t help fantasy managers who kept Samuel in their starting lineup last week.
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Fortunately, this week’s participation in practice has been far more encouraging, with Samuel participating in a limited fashion on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Then, he logged a full practice on Friday.
Only player I didn’t see during early open portion of #49ers practice Friday was RB Elijah Mitchell (knee).
Jon Feliciano (concussion) was in uniform and looked set to practice.
WRs Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings, LB Dre Greenlaw and CB Charvarius Ward all participating.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 6, 2023
The fantasy peaks and valleys of these San Francisco pass catchers have been frustrating to start the season.
Quarterback Brock Purdy has been playing at a high level through the first month of the season, but he’s been spreading the ball around to all of the dynamic playmakers to start the season.
One of those playmakers happens to be arguably the best running back in the league — Christian McCaffrey — who has touched the ball 98 times and scored seven touchdowns through the first four games.
Since McCaffrey appears to be the featured player in this offense, the 49ers’ pass catchers have all taken turns on the fantasy dud performance merry-go-round. Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle have all posted fantasy performances of fewer than eight points in PPR formats at least once this season.
Aiyuk has been the most consistent fantasy producer when on the football field through the first four games, but a healthy Samuel is capable of going off on any given week. If Samuel is active for the Week 5 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, then he should come in around the 20-25 range in WR rankings.
If Samuel is inactive against Dallas, then Aiyuk immediately jumps inside the top 12 at the WR position this week.
Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans
To say the 2023 season has been a big fantasy disappointment for Treylon Burks would be a massive understatement. His six catches for 99 yards through the first month of the season currently has him as the WR91 in PPR formats.
In August, Burks suffered an LCL sprain, which had him battling a knee injury heading into the 2023 campaign. Then, a knee injury popped up again last week, which saw him ruled out for Week 4.
Unfortunately, it looks like Burks is going to miss his second game of the season due to a knee injury.
Titans WR Treylon Burks (knee) ruled out against Coltshttps://t.co/Im421Q7sRx pic.twitter.com/DmyDEQCIZg
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) October 6, 2023
The Titans’ passing offense has been one of the most underwhelming units in the league through the first four games, averaging less than 200 yards through the air on a per-game basis.
With Burks out of the lineup, DeAndre Hopkins should continue to see plenty of volume in the passing game. Unfortunately, that volume has not equaled any breakout fantasy performances in the first four games.
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Other players to consider starting in deeper PPR leagues if you are in a pinch, would be Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Chris Moore, and Chigoziem Okonkwo.
Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants
Speaking of deeper PPR options at the WR position, Wan’Dale Robinson has led the New York Giants in receptions over the last two weeks.
Sure, the production hasn’t been great because the Giants’ offense continues to struggle as a whole, but Robinson saw his snap share jump from 22% in Week 3 to 64% in Week 4. He continues to be eased back into the offense while coming back from a torn ACL from last season.
While Robinson has been a limited participant in practice every day this week, there have been no reports of a setback, which bodes well for his availability heading into their matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
Giants-Dolphins final injury report pic.twitter.com/WckwK738GR
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 6, 2023
Since Robinson has been heavily involved in the passing game and saw his workload expand significantly over the last two weeks, he feels like a sneaky top-35 play at the WR position this week with the Dolphins’ offense potentially putting the Giants in a two-score deficit game script in the first half for a fifth straight week.