There are a million ways to draft, and all of them can work. We know that players will get banged up throughout the season, and the managers who end up holding the championship belt at the end of the season aren’t those who avoided this misfortune, it’s the ones who had a firm grasp of who the fantasy football injury replacements were.
Here’s a list to keep handy: the player that would benefit the most from missed time by someone ahead of him on the current depth chart.
Fantasy Football Injury Replacements
Arizona Cardinals
Trey Benson (Running Back): Benson’s a big back who picked up 6.1 yards per carry during his two seasons at Florida State. Limited versatility (9.6% of his touches with FSU came via reception) means he’s not a one-for-one replacement should James Conner go down.
However, he scored on 7.4% of his carries at Tallahassee, Fla., and he’d move right into the Flex conversation in all formats should the veteran miss time, something the 29-year-old has done every season of his NFL career.
Atlanta Falcons
Tyler Allgeier (Running Back): Not many backup running backs have yet to turn 25 years old and have a 1,000-yard season on their résumé, but that’s the case in Atlanta. If Bijan Robinson were to get hurt, this offense would take on a different look, but it would be Allgeier handling a near-elite percentage of the backfield touches given the lack of options behind him.
I’m pessimistic that Allgeier will hold stand-alone value as the RB2, but if his number gets called, he’s a top-20 option.
Baltimore Ravens
Isaiah Likely (Tight End): Mark Andrews turns 29 years old in early September and is coming off of a season in which he missed seven games (five DNPs in his career beforehand). Likely finished last fantasy season with three top-five finishes in a four-week stretch (a feat that Trey McBride and the great Andrews himself failed to achieve in 2023), proving himself as an asset in this Todd Monken offense.
Due to limited resources at receiver, there’s a non-zero chance that the Ravens explore more two-TE sets this season, a change that makes Likely at least worth a speculative add right now. If Andrews goes down at any point, we are talking about a Tier 2 option at the position.
Buffalo Bills
Ray Davis (Running Back): With his bowling ball build (5’8”, 220 pounds), the pride of Kentucky is positioned to do something that the Bills clearly don’t want James Cook to do: handle the goal-line work. Cook had four touches inside the five-yard line in 2023, a number that ranked him tied for 39th in the NFL, trailing a player you may not know in Andrew Beck, who totaled 16 touches in all of 2023.
It seems as if Joe Brady wants to add balance to this offense, giving Davis some stand-alone appeal with Cook active and an elevated Flex rank should the starter go down. Yes, Josh Allen running for scores is a concern, but could the use of fourth-round draft capital on a bulldozing back maybe be a sign that this team is looking to keep its franchise QB out of harm’s way?
Carolina Panthers
Chuba Hubbard (Running Back): This one is a layup as presumed featured back rookie Jonathon Brooks is coming off of an ACL tear and could miss all of September. Hubbard has yet to really flash in a significant way, but he did enough last season to win the regular role (59.4% snap share) over the well-compensated Miles Sanders. He again projects as the starter in the short term for the Panthers.
He’s a draftable asset, but do so with measured expectations. This is still a developing offense under Bryce Young, and Hubbard’s peak in value is likely to come in the first quarter of the season — a stretch in which most of the league is healthy and bye weeks aren’t yet an issue.
Chicago Bears
Khalil Herbert (Running Back): The list of players (minimum 200 carries) over the past two seasons that have gained 10+ yards on a higher percentage of carries than Herbert isn’t all that long.
- Nick Chubb: 16.1%
- Jaylen Warren: 15.5%
- Raheem Mostert: 14.6%
- Bijan Robinson: 14%
- Christian McCaffrey: 14%
- James Cook: 13.8%
- Khalil Herbert: 13.4%
I’m not labeling him as the seventh-best running back in the NFL, but I am comfortable in saying he’s the next man up in Chicago. Until last season, we had durability concerns surrounding D’Andre Swift, a narrative that seems to have been forgotten by most. The Bears’ new lead back touched the ball 268 times for the Eagles last season — there is certainly a fatigue concern, and if this offense is as potent as we are projecting, the lead role would land Herbert as an RB2 for me in any week Swift sits.
Cincinnati Bengals
Jermaine Burton (Wide Receiver): It’s fun to dream of three-WR sets that feature Burton alongside Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but I think that’s a long shot to land him stand-alone value. There is simply too much skill duplication for that alignment to work consistently (Burton: 20.5 yards per catch at Alabama last season), but that exact flaw is what makes him so interesting in the event of an injury.
The Bengals are going to air the ball out as long as Joe Burrow is standing upright, and Burton possesses the downfield ability to stabilize this offense to a degree should one of the stars ahead of him miss time.
Burton wouldn’t be a lock to crack my top 30 if given the opportunity to run more routes, but the upside case for him in this instance is higher than most fill-in receivers.
Cleveland Browns
Jameis Winston (Quarterback): I could take the layup and go with the backfield, but I don’t think that really counts because Nick Chubb’s status has been TBD for months now. Instead, live with me in a world in which Winston gets the keys to the car.
Deshaun Watson has played in just 12 games over the past three seasons and has a nagging shoulder issue in the pass-happy era that is 2024. The Browns brought in Jerry Jeudy to give them added depth at receiver, and David Njoku seems to be an All-Pro when anyone not named Watson is under center.
Jameis Winston is a national treasure 😂🔥
(via @Browns) pic.twitter.com/pJscmvQcwh
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) August 8, 2024
Winston’s style of play can be maddening and comes with a wide range of outcomes, but in the event of an injury to Watson, there is a top-15 upside to chase here. That could be helpful for the right fantasy team that is getting underwhelming production under center.
Dallas Cowboys
Rico Dowdle (Running Back): Dowdle could win this lead role outright and should be universally drafted as a result, but an injury to a 29-year-old Ezekiel Elliott who has over 2,500 NFL touches would give Dowdle the bulk of the backfield work in the offense that led the league in scoring last season.
The contingent value alone lands Dowdle inside my draftable pool — the fact that he could lead this team in touches without a major injury has him pushing my top-125 overall players.
Denver Broncos
Audric Estimé (Running Back): There has been speculation all offseason as to how this backfield will look, and I’m as optimistic as anyone on Javonte Williams. However, there is no denying the risk that comes with betting on a running back with a knee injury that is coming off of an ugly season efficiency-wise.
Estimé has impressed during camp and ran for 1,341 yards (18 touchdowns) at Notre Dame last season. I’m not sure this offense is going to be much to write home about, but as Sean Payton looks to develop Bo Nix, he could very well opt to go the path of youth across the board, making Estimé an interesting stash at the end of drafts in deeper leagues.
In a shallow format, you can probably get away with not drafting him, but make sure to keep an eye on his usage. It might not take a Williams injury for the rookie’s role to expand in a meaningful way.
Detroit Lions
Donovan Peoples-Jones (Wide Receiver): With Jared Goff extended and the success of last season, is it not reasonable to think that the pass rate over expectation in Detroit increases in a major way this season (2023: 25th)?
The running game will continue to be featured, but this is a team that knows they are going to have to score to win ball games. Over the past two seasons, Goff owns the sixth-highest passer rating and is, surprisingly, the third most accurate deep ball thrower in the game. He’s not asked to throw deep too much, but those opportunities are valuable, and should Jameson Williams go down, those targets funnel to the 6’2” Peoples-Jones.
This isn’t anything that needs to be acted upon during the draft. The receiver position is so deep that rostering a player who only becomes viable in the case of an injury like this isn’t the way to go, but we are all projecting a breakthrough season for Williams. If that were to be halted, much of my optimism would spill over to DPJ.
Green Bay Packers
MarShawn Lloyd (Running Back): Matt LaFleur said that questions about who his WR1 is made him want to “vomit,” and his backfield could give fantasy managers a similar feeling.
Josh Jacobs was brought in to carry the mail, and that is how the season will start — but it’s anyone’s guess how it finishes. Jacobs has one efficient season and one fully healthy season on his NFL résumé, making him the type of RB that demands interest in the other options.
Lloyd has battled injuries of his own all summer long, positioning AJ Dillon (3.4 yards per carry last season) to be a man of interest early this season. That said, when looking for injury replacements, I’m more concerned about November than I am about September. By then, I expect Lloyd to be considered the handcuff to roster in Green Bay.
Lloyd bulldozed his way to 1,052 yards and nine touchdowns on just 129 touchdowns for USC last season, a pedigree that at least makes him interesting if you’re betting against Jacobs.
Houston Texans
Noah Brown (Wide Receiver): The Texans brought in Stefon Diggs this offseason in a clear attempt to spread defenses thin and bet on C.J. Stroud to be an elite asset in Year 2. They are committed to an air raid that lends value to three receivers off the hop, and that makes me interested in a 6’2” backup should an injury take place.
Brown wasn’t used often last season, but he did turn 33 catches into 567 yards, and simply being on the field in an offense structured like this would give him deep-league Flex appeal. We saw the undersized Tank Dell’s season end early in 2023, and while Diggs has largely been healthy throughout his career, he does turn 31 in November.
Physically, the receiver on this roster that Brown most resembles is Nico Collins, giving him an interesting role upside should Houston’s WR1 go down. As is the case with most of these reserve receivers, there is no need to spend draft capital on Brown. That said, if rumors pop up that any of the primary Texan WRs are banged up, a speculative addition would make plenty of sense.
Indianapolis Colts
Alec Pierce (Wide Receiver): Trey Sermon seems to have locked up the RB2 role in this offense, and he’s a fine handcuff, but if some people are worried about Anthony Richardson’s impact on Jonathan Taylor’s bottom line, the concerns for Sermon’s role are off the charts.
In a vacuum, the backup running back is always the better bet than the backup receiver, but you know that. The Colts spent a second-round pick on Adonai Mitchell in April, and that sort of investment gives him the inside track to be the featured big-play threat in this offense.
I like Mitchell as a late-round pick and believe in the talent. That said, my hunch is that if he got banged up, there wouldn’t be as much fanfare around Pierce as there should be.
For his career, Pierce is averaging 11.1 PPR points per game when seeing more than five targets while in far less advantageous offensive settings. Last season, he saw 40% of his looks come 15+ yards downfield.
With Michael Pittman Jr. winning regularly on short-to-intermediate routes, Pierce is a Mitchell injury away from being on the field a ton (over 89% of the offensive snaps in 16 games last season) and running go routes in what we think will be a top-10 scoring unit in the sport.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tank Bigsby (Running Back): For my money, this is one of the shallowest teams in terms of skill position players in the league, making an injury replacement more of a dart throw than a priority add should the opportunity present itself.
Bigsby was a mess during his rookie season (2.6 yards per carry), but the team has remained loyal to its 2023 third-round pick. And reports out of camp seem to be painting an optimistic picture.
He showed some versatility at Auburn, and that works in his favor when it comes to trying to replace Travis Etienne Jr., should he go down. The Jags are likely to rely on their running backs in a multitude of ways this season, and that would give Bigsby low-end Flex appeal should he ascend to the top part on this depth chart.
Kansas City Chiefs
Justin Watson (Wide Receiver): The receiver news coming out of Kansas City seems to change daily, but with two starters in jeopardy of missing time (Rashee Rice via suspension and Hollywood Brown via injury), the “I’m getting targets from Patrick Mahomes, so of course I’m worth consideration” role is wide open.
Watson has yet to establish himself as much of a target earner, but the quality of his looks holds value in a significant way. Would you believe me if I told you that, since joining the Chiefs, Watson averages more PPR points per target than Davante Adams or Chris Olave?
Watson is a wide-range-of-outcomes option if he finds himself in a position to be on the field consistently — if you’re ever going to count on that sort of profile out of desperation, you’re prioritizing the play of the quarterback, and it doesn’t get any better than No. 15.
Las Vegas Raiders
Alexander Mattison (Running Back): I’m not going out of my way to draft the starters on Las Vegas, so my expectations for injury replacements are tame, to say the least.
That said, Zamir White has 121 carries on his NFL résumé, and regardless of the number of impressive biceps shots, we aren’t sure how he is going to react to a bell-cow workload.
The Raiders thought the same thing and brought in Mattison this summer after the Vikings cut ties. I have plenty of questions about his viability in this league, but backups with featured experience (210 touches last season) don’t grow on trees, and the RB landscape can get ugly in a hurry as the season progresses.
Mattison would be a player to spend some FAAB on if White’s season were to end early, or he could be a plug-in for a DFS contest if a spot start was imminent. He’s not worth stashing at the end of drafts.
Los Angeles Chargers
Kimani Vidal (Running Back): Speculation has been swirling about Vidal’s roster spot being in danger, but that’s the beauty of fantasy — if he gets cut, you need not worry about it.
Assuming he makes the team, there’s a path to mattering. We know that Jim Harbaugh wants to set up the run with the run, and we also know that the two presumed leaders of this backfield aren’t exactly the most reliable.
- Gus Edwards: 29 years old, coming off a high-usage season, missed all of 2021 and another eight games in 2022.
- J.K. Dobbins: 24 appearances across four seasons and recovering from a September Achilles tear.
Vidal racked up over 3,000 yards during his final two seasons at Troy, a level of competition that tells us very little. If you’re speculating on Vidal, you’re embracing the unknown and betting on a process. Sometimes that works out, especially at the running back position in an offense structured like this.
Los Angeles Rams
Blake Corum (Running Back): This one seems pretty straightforward. I’m not overly confident in the secondary receivers in Los Angeles, so the direct handcuff to Kyren Williams gets the nod without much question.
Williams got his hands on the ball 21.7 times per game last season, a level of usage that is tough to sustain if your name isn’t Derrick Henry. My best guess is that Corum absorbs 20% of that work — enough to be a pain for those with Williams rostered but not really enough for stand-alone value.
If Williams were to go down, however, Corum would step into elite volume on an above-average offense. He was as featured as it gets at Michigan last season, and that experience gives me more certainty in him walking into 16-18 touches should his number be called.
I don’t mind drafting Corum, I’d just be careful about assuming that he can move into the Flex conversation sans a Williams injury.
Miami Dolphins
Jaylen Wright (Running Back): Some will look at the situation for Wright and worry that two running backs are playing ahead of him, but I look at it in a more positive light (for his fantasy prospects): He has twice as many injury paths to be involved as most.
Ahead of him is a slighter back in De’Von Achane and an older one in Raheem Mostert. That’s not exactly a bulletproof backfield. With this being the third-highest-scoring offense from 2023, any role will have our interest.
Wright averaged 7.4 yards per carry at Tennessee last season and fits a similar speed profile that Achane did walking into his league-winning rookie season. Could 2024’s version of Achane and the actual version be sharing a backfield?
Minnesota Vikings
Ty Chandler (Running Back): Aaron Jones missed six games last season and only has two full seasons on his NFL résumé, an outlook that would have me interested in his handcuff by itself. Add in the fact that a win-now Packers team wasn’t interested in squeezing the veteran’s remaining juice, and I’m fully fading.
Chandler is clearly the secondary option, and if the Vikings want to keep Jones functional throughout the season, we could be looking at something awfully close to a 50/50 split.
I have my concerns about this offense as a whole, but at a 100-pick discount, it’s not close in my eyes as to who the best value in this backfield is. Many players on this list are wait-and-see types — Chandler is not that.
New England Patriots
Antonio Gibson (Running Back): Rhamondre Stevenson missed five games last season and five in 2021, but much like the situation in Minnesota, how valuable are touches in this backfield?
I’m not overly confident in Gibson as a player, but his path to a reasonable PPR role (2.8 catches per game for his career) is clear in an offense that lacks options.
New Orleans Saints
A.T. Perry (Wide Receiver): Size doesn’t slump. Perry stands 6’5” and has a clear path to a perimeter role should Chris Olave or Rashid Shaheed miss time.
Haener goes DEEP to A.T. Perry for the @Saints!
📱: Stream #NOvsAZ on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/3Cdmf3yZES
— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2024
My guess is that a big-play receiver in a Derek Carr-led offense results in a thought along the lines of, “Height is nice, but does it matter if the field isn’t being stretched?”
That sounds about right.
Over the past five seasons, on passes thrown 15+ yards down the field, Carr has a
- Higher passer rating (105.4) than Joe Burrow (102.6)
- Higher yards per attempt (13.2) than Patrick Mahomes (12.8)
- Higher TD rate (9.3%) than Aaron Rodgers (8.8%)
This offensive line is a mess, and while that will limit Carr’s time, it also could completely rule out trying to run the ball. Perry enters 2024 as an interesting DFS punt play with the potential for Hail Mary upside in redraft leagues should an injury ahead of him occur.
New York Giants
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (Running Back): The rookie suffered an injury of his own in practice, but he avoided a major issue and should be viewed as the clear RB2 in New York.
Of course, you could argue (and I would) that touches in this Giants offense aren’t exactly valuable. That, actually, is part of why I like drafting Tracy late. What does this team have to gain by running Devin Singletary out there?
The incumbent has produced viable numbers through his five NFL seasons, but they all have been as a part of strong offenses in Buffalo or Houston. If he struggles to be efficient, there’s a world in which Tracy takes this job outright, and that’s enough for me.
Not to oversimplify things, but this is simple: Stashing Tracy is chasing touch-upside, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
New York Jets
Malachi Corley (Wide Receiver): In Aaron Rodgers’ past two seasons with an alpha WR1, a secondary pass catcher found paydirt with consistency.
- 2020: Robert Tonyan scored 11 times
- 2021: Allen Lazard scored eight times
Of course, Lazard remains on this roster and is a threat. But right now, Mike Williams, an injury-prone receiver coming off of an ACL tear, is the favorite to be the WR2 in this offense.
Corley scored 11 times in each of his final two seasons at Western Kentucky, and with third-round draft capital investment, the Jets have every reason to get their high-upside rookie on the field with their future Hall of Fame QB.
In a deeper league, stashing Corley is live. You may not need to pull the trigger in a standard-sized league, but at the first sniff of discomfort for Williams (the team has hinted that he will be eased into action), you better act fast — any receiver tethered to Rodgers is going to be a popular add when the time comes.
Philadelphia Eagles
Will Shipley (Running Back): Saquon Barkley was brought in to be the lead dog in this backfield, and that makes Shipley even more appealing from a redraft standpoint.
This offense is going to be structured to highlight Barkley’s strengths, and Shipley’s versatility (30+ catches in each of his final two collegiate seasons) would allow it to keep its general form in the event of an injury to the RB1.
Barkley has missed at least one game in every season since his rookie year, leaving the door wide open for Shipley to offer plug-and-play value when the chance is there.
With Kenneth Gainwell’s presence, Shipley’s perception isn’t that of a clean handcuff. For that reason, you need not draft the Clemson product — you just need to remember to thank me when he produces in Barkley’s absence.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cordarrelle Patterson (Running Back): Everyone is aware of the two primary backs in Pittsburgh and drafts them with their contingent value in mind, so my recommendation of them wouldn’t shed light on anything new.
You could, however, be sleeping on Patterson. Again. He came over with Arthur Smith from Atlanta, and his rare blend of size and speed makes him the perfect bye-week filler.
There isn’t enough meat on this bone for Patterson to matter as the third running back in the Steelers’ rotation, but if he were to be elevated to an RB2 for a few weeks, his versatility combined with the trust factor of his offensive coordinator makes him a viable option for those chasing upside.
San Francisco 49ers
Isaac Guerendo (Running Back): We’ve been chasing the running back behind Christian McCaffrey as long as he’s been in San Francisco, and the 49ers may have solved that quandary in the fourth round this April.
Or not. There aren’t 10 players on this Earth capable of picking up McCaffrey’s role, so expecting anything close to that isn’t fair. That said, Guerendo has a home-run hitting potential that could shine in this efficient offense that threatens defenses at every level.
Guerendo has been banged up during camp, and that’s not ideal, but again, we are looking down the road more than September.
McCaffrey has been the picture of health in S.F. after playing in just 10 of a possible 33 games from 2020-21 with the Carolina Panthers. If his reps were to be managed, Guerendo is the upside option I’d currently plan on attacking off the waiver wire.
Seattle Seahawks
Jake Bobo (Wide Receiver): I’ve taken a stance on this being the season in which we see a significant decline from Tyler Lockett, and if that happens, an injury to DK Metcalf or Jaxon Smith-Njigba would open the door for the 26-year-old out of UCLA.
Bobo is a 6’4” athlete who would pencil into three-receiver sets in this instance. Geno Smith has been a top-seven quarterback over the past two seasons when throwing deep in terms of passer rating, yards per attempt, and touchdown rate.
Labeled as the WR4 at best, Bobo is not a player you need to come out of the draft with. The receiver position doesn’t work like running backs in that an injury results in a player elevating to fantasy relevance. But I think we could see that in Seattle if bumps and bruises occur.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jalen McMillan (Wide Receiver): This was a very concentrated offense last season (48.4% of targets went to either Mike Evans or Chris Godwin), and while I’m expecting regression with Dave Canales moving on, a similar structure is what I’m expecting.
Evans is entering his age-31 season. If he were to miss time, their third-round pick out of Washington could walk into a fantasy-friendly role. McMillan scored on 11.3% of his receptions during his final two collegiate seasons. He probably wouldn’t be a consistent producer if forced into an extended role, but he’d carry touchdown equity into every week, and that can be valuable as injuries/byes wreak havoc on your roster.
Tennessee Titans
Tyler Boyd (Wide Receiver): McMillan could be an exciting high-upside replacement, and that makes him the anti-Boyd. Tennessee brought in the veteran slot man, and the idea behind this recommendation is volume over everything.
Will Levis’ path to development is increasing his processing speed. In doing so, the slot role could gain value. The Titans made it clear this offseason that they want to open up their offense. With DeAndre Hopkins already banged up, a safety net like Boyd profiles as a high-floor option that can get you through weeks as needed.
Treylon Burks will pick up the deep routes, but are we sure that Levis can feed multiple big-play options (including Calvin Ridley) on any sort of consistent basis? There are plenty of names on this list that can fill your need for upside — Boyd is the more practical addition for a very good team that just needs a Flex option that won’t lose them the week.
The Titans are going to need to score to keep up in September (opponents: Bears, Jets, Packers, and Dolphins) — don’t be surprised if Boyd is better during that stretch than the industry is giving him credit for.
Washington Commanders
Luke McCaffrey (Wide Receiver): The last name alone puts this rookie on radars, and I think it’s warranted. The Rice product displayed strong YAC skills that could translate to the professional level sooner rather than later.
The idea behind promoting him in this space is tied to the unknown hierarchy in Washington. After Terry McLaurin, it’s unclear where the targets are going to go; thus, any injury adds a level of clarity.
Adding McCaffrey after Week 1 on the cheap should he post an encouraging route count is the play. We all like the promise that Jayden Daniels brings to this offense — that means this team will be in a position to put points on the board.
Last season, mobile quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Kyler Murray posted an average ranking of 20th in deep passer rating. That same trio ranked sixth on short passes. If Daniels follows a similar trajectory, McCaffrey could be a PPR asset if his path to consistent looks clears up a bit.