It’s always a challenge to navigate through injuries in fantasy football. The RB position has several players dealing with issues. The time to set Week 16 lineups is near. What are the latest injury updates on De’Von Achane, Alexander Mattison, and Brian Robinson?
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
De’Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins
Editor’s note: Achane returned to practice on Thursday.
Achane has dealt with his fair share of injuries in his rookie season. He missed four weeks with a knee injury, then another game with another knee injury. Now, he’s dealing with a toe injury that kept him out of Wednesday’s practice.
It’s never good when a player is dealing with an injury, but Achane played through the toe issue last week. It does not appear as if this is a new injury. As a result, we can reasonably conclude this is just maintenance on the existing injury.
Achane needs to return to practice on Thursday or Friday to have a chance at playing, but I am optimistic he will do so. Expect to see Achane back in a limited fashion on Thursday. Hopefully, he can avoid an injury designation altogether.
In the event Achane can’t play, Raheem Mostert’s role would remain unchanged. It would just be Jeff Wilson taking the snaps Achane currently handles. Mostert remains an every-week must-start regardless of Achane’s status.
Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Editor’s note: Mattison was listed as a DNP in practice on Thursday.
Two weeks ago, Mattison sprained his ankle. As a result, he missed last week’s game, forcing Ty Chandler into a near-every-down role. Chandler absolutely smashed against the Bengals, putting up 132 yards on the ground.
No one roots for injuries. But fantasy managers with Chandler would obviously not hate it if Mattison missed another week.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
With the Vikings playing on Saturday, their practice week started on Tuesday. Mattison was nowhere to be seen. On Wednesday, their second practice of the week, Mattison once again was absent.
Back-to-back DNPs often spell doom for a player’s availability. They are even more concerning when the player didn’t play the previous week. It is exceedingly rare for a player to miss a week, then only get in one limited practice on Friday (in this instance, it would be Thursday), and ultimately play.
The thing is, regardless of Mattison’s status, it does appear as though Chandler’s performance has earned him lead-back duties.
According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, head coach Kevin O’Connell said the following: “We’re kind of building with the mindset that Ty is going to be a guy we’re trying to get the ball to a lot, both in the run and the pass, and if we have Alex that’s going to be a huge bonus for the depth and making sure we have our full group available.”
When the head coach talks about the former RB1 as “a huge bonus for the depth,” that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for him returning to his previous role.
This week’s matchup against the Lions will be far more challenging, but Chandler’s volume should be relatively safe with or without Mattison in the lineup. As of now, fantasy managers should plan for Chandler to get one more game in without Mattison.
Brian Robinson, RB, Washington Commanders
Editor’s note: Robinson has been ruled OUT for Week 16.
Brian Robinson first strained his hamstring back in Week 13. With the Commanders on bye Week 14, the hope was he would return afterward.
When the team opened practice last week, Robinson was nowhere to be seen. He wound up not practicing all week and getting ruled out on Friday.
Now, to start the lead-up to Week 16, it’s more of the same. Robinson remained absent from Wednesday’s practice. While Wednesday practices aren’t important this late in the season, players returning from previously missed games typically practice on the Wednesday before the game in which they return. Robinson’s absence paints an ominous picture of his availability.
In Robinson’s stead, Antonio Gibson operated as the lead back, with rookie Chris Rodriguez mixing in as well, especially in the second half.
Gibson had previously been the passing down back, but Jonathan Williams was occupying that role with Gibson as the lead runner. It’s just a thing some teams do where they want their passing down back to be “not the early-down back.”
With Robinson likely out again, expect more of the same. Gibson should see around a 45-50% snap share. Rodriguez should be in the 20-30% range. And Williams should plan a handful of snaps. Gibson is the only one worth starting in fantasy.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!