New England Patriots rookie WR Demario Douglas has seen his role grow to a point where he has become a Flex option in fantasy football. However, an ankle injury has his status for Week 10 questionable as the Patriots play the early kickoff in Germany on Sunday. Let’s take a look at whether Douglas is playing in Week 10 and the fantasy impact of his status.
Editor’s Note: Demario Douglas is active for the Patriots’ Week 10 game.
Is Demario Douglas Going To Play in Week 10?
As it stands, we do not have a clear picture as to whether Douglas will be on the field when the Patriots play the Indianapolis Colts in Germany. The rookie WR has been limited all week with an ankle injury and was listed as questionable on the final injury report. On Saturday night ESPN Insider Adam Schefter reported that Douglas is expected to play.
We did not get much of an idea of where Douglas was with his injury this week, but the fact he was able to be limited all three days is a somewhat positive sign. Ideally, we would have seen him get a full practice in, but to at least be out there all week is promising that things are not too bad.
The good news with Douglas is that we will have a clear picture of his status at 8 a.m. ET when the Patriots release their inactive reports. That will give fantasy managers an hour and a half before kickoff to make any moves. Unfortunately, if you were hoping to be able to set and forget your lineup tonight with Douglas in, that is not the case unless we get further updates.
The next problem will be if Douglas is active, should you play him? The speedy WR could be limited by the ankle injury, which is always a concern for skill position players when it comes to cutting and making the other various moves required on the football field. If you have another solid flex option on your roster, that might be the safer way to go.
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Douglas is not a slam-dunk enough starter that you should risk him starting unless you have to. He has yet to find the end zone this year and has only crossed 50 total yards twice.
His main value lies in PPR scoring, with two double-digit games in the last three weeks. He is a handy option in PPR or half-PPR at a push, but in non-PPR, it would be a big risk to start him.
Potential Fantasy Options if Douglas Is Out Include JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, and Jalen Reagor
It is slim pickings in the Patriots WR room if you need an emergency replacement for Douglas. JuJu Smith-Schuster had a solid game last week with 51 receiving yards on six receptions. He was the most efficient of the Patriots receivers and also found the end zone the week before on his return from injury.
In deeper leagues, Jalen Reagor and Tyquan Thornton are options. It would be wrong to call them intriguing options because of the way this offense sets up, but they are options. Reagor has seen his playing time and opportunities grow since arriving in New England. The former first-round pick had six targets last week but only converted them to one reception for 11 yards. If Douglas is out, he could see similar usage and hopefully be more efficient with it.
Thornton has been dealing with injuries throughout his first two seasons in the NFL but saw his highest usage of the season last week. He had four targets, and while it only turned into one reception for seven yards, it was good to see the opportunities. Of the three, Thornton is the least exciting, but he does have the skill set that could most directly replace the role Douglas plays in this offense if the latter is hurt.
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