Injuries have been piling up across the NFL, and it’s only Week 5. Add in bye weeks, and setting your fantasy football lineup has become a delicate dance. Monday night games present an additional challenge, as you must ensure you have appropriate pivot options available.
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Injury Updates For MNF Players
Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
As most fantasy managers know by this point, Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones injured his hamstring in Week 1 at the end of an incredible catch and run. Jones finished the week with 41 yards rushing, 86 yards receiving, and two total touchdowns.
He was RB1 on the week. With such a strong start, it was especially brutal when Jones was held out of the next two games due to his injury.
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Jones returned to the field for the Thursday night game against Detroit in Week 4, but the result was not the same. He played only 35% of snaps and had 18 yards on five attempts, with just one reception for a four-yard loss. The less-than-stellar performance might have been a combination of the team easing Jones in and Detroit’s great rushing defense.
Leading up to this week against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jones will have had an additional long week to finish recovering, which is just what a hamstring needs. Jones has been limited in practice all week, and it’s clear that the team is being careful in working him back. There have been plenty of hamstring injuries so far this season, and players who have come back too quickly have paid the price.
Jones looks good on the practice field. It doesn’t look like his hamstring is bothering him at all, and he should be a full go on Monday night.
No Campbell or Zayne Anderson. But Runyan and Ford are back. Here’s Aaron Jones. pic.twitter.com/vMSZvNtFWU
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 6, 2023
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
We finally got to see the season debut of WR Christian Watson in last Thursday night’s matchup against Detroit. Watson missed the first three games of the season due to a hamstring injury, and fantasy managers were anxious to see what they had in the second-year pass catcher.
Watson finished Week 4 as the WR34. He saw four targets, catching two of them for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Although the box score wasn’t great, we knew that the Packers would ease Watson in slowly. He only played 26 snaps, which was far less than Romeo Doubs (50) and Jayden Reed (38).
Watson was a limited participant at practice on Thursday and Friday, and it seems the Packers are once again limiting his reps. He should be a full go for Monday night against the Raiders, but managers can’t assume that he’ll be back to the full amount of snaps.
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Quarterback Jordan Love has established a great connection with both Doubs and Reed, so there is less of a rush to push Watson back faster than would be wise. The thing with Watson is that he can always give you a good fantasy game on a few targets — one long pass, and he can house it.
If Watson doesn’t play on Monday, expect continued increased usage for Doubs.
Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
After an average Week 1 finishing as the WR33, Davante Adams bounced back against Buffalo in Week 2, finishing with 84 yards and a TD. He did even better in Week 3 against Pittsburgh, totaling 172 yards receiving and two scores. He ended the week as the WR2, and fantasy managers were delighted.
In Week 4, Adams unfortunately left the game against the Chargers in the second quarter after a tough hit. He walked off to the locker room under his own power but did return later in the game. He did finish the game with 75 yards receiving.
Despite returning to the game, the longer week to recover for Adams will be appreciated. He missed practice on Thursday with a shoulder injury and remained sidelined on Friday as well.
Adams is the type of player who can play without practice and still push to play. With this being a Monday night game, it might go up to 90 minutes before kickoff before we know if Adams is a go.
If Adams can’t play, look toward Jakobi Myers to get an increased target share.