Fantasy football matchups can be won during Monday Night Football, but they can also be lost if you are banking on a player being active and they are scratched. Normal injuries are a pain to work around, but ones on the final game of the week are especially complicated. With the Green Bay Packers preparing to face the New York Giants, what is the latest on the injuries to Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and AJ Dillon?
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Watson said earlier this week that this hamstring injury isn’t as bad as the one that cost him three games earlier this season. But that doesn’t mean he’s a good start this week. Watson has yet to practice. For a player who relies on speed, a hamstring injury (especially one that has been a problem in the past) is one we have to take seriously.
It sounds as if he is on the wrong side of questionable at the moment, and even should he play, are we sure he makes it through 60 minutes? The Packers are chasing a playoff berth — they can try to win this game without him in the hopes of getting him for the final four games of the regular season.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
At this moment, bench Watson where you have him. If this game was Sunday, I’d be willing to be more patient. However, with this game coming on Monday night, you’re sacrificing too much potential to roll the dice on Watson.
At this point, I’d much rather play Noah Brown in a tough matchup or struggling players like Drake London/Jerry Jeudy in good spots. The recent play of Watson has been encouraging and he may be able to make a difference over the next few weeks. But the risk outweighs the reward with the information that we currently have surrounding Week 14.
Editor’s note: Watson has been ruled OUT for Week 14.
Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers
The standout rookie receiver has been dealing with a chest issue since the middle of November. While it limits what he can do on the practice field, there have yet to be any signs of it holding him back on game day.
Reed has caught at least four passes in four straight games and has multiple rushing attempts in two of his past three. There is no debating that Jordan Love is developing on the fly, and with that, the targets that Reed continues to earn are increasing in value.
He’s not a must-start, but he is my highest-ranked receiver in Green Bay, and the health concerns appear to be minimal. This team is clearly interested in getting Reed the ball in space consistently. As long as that is the case, I’m playing him over receivers like Adam Thielen, Garrett Wilson, and Jakobi Meyers, all of whom have major question marks in terms of QB.
AJ Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers
Dillon continues to battle through a groin injury that was nagging at him during the ramp-up to Week 13 as well. He’s been practicing on a limited basis this week. Given that this is the general pattern we saw from him last week, it stands to reason he suits up on Monday night.
Aaron Jones (knee) will miss another game, and that leaves the door open for Dillon to once again hold a significant role. While the production hasn’t been great this season when counted on as the starter, there were some positive signs last week in the upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Per the Week 14 Cheat Sheet, he …
- Gained yardage on 94.4% of carries
- Gained 3+ yards on 72.2% of carries
- Gained 4+ yards on 55.6% of carries
Baby steps! For a physical runner like Dillon, the ability to fall forward is a nice development, especially playing alongside a thriving Love. He was trusted with 85.7% of Green Bay’s running back carries in that game, a role he could be taking again this week in a matchup against the third-worst per-carry run defense in the league.
I have no reservations at the moment about counting on Dillon as a rock-solid RB2 option in all formats.
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