Kadarius Toney has all the talent in the world to be an absolute force for fantasy football. His ability to create yards after the catch is truly among the best in the league, and he’s shown that he can put up solid production in this Kansas City Chiefs offense.
Unfortunately, durability has been an issue for the former first-round pick during his young career, and he missed significant time this offseason rehabbing a knee injury that he sustained during the early portion of training camp.
Can fantasy managers trust him in their starting lineups against Detroit now that he’s off of the injury report? Let’s discuss the latest news and what we should do with the talented WR this week.
Should I Start or Sit Kadarius Toney in Fantasy This Week?
While Toney may be medically cleared to play this week on Thursday Night Football, it’s far from a guarantee that he’ll see enough work to be relevant for fantasy.
He may very well still be working his way up into game shape after missing the entire preseason, and Kansas City may look to get him well-rested for Week 2 and beyond instead of pushing him to the limits in the season opener.
Another look at Kadarius Toney moving well on Monday pic.twitter.com/gRhhMhuJXz
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) September 4, 2023
There’s also a strong possibility that Toney plays on a snap count this week — expect around 10-15 snaps — which would severely limit the overall volume he could see in this matchup. Although, he does possess the skill set to take one screen pass 60+ yards to the house, making him an incredibly volatile asset to plug into your lineup.
Toney lands at WR49 on the week in my fantasy football rankings, which means that he’s on the outside looking in of my Flex spot for the first game of the year.
Fantasy Outlook for Toney vs. Detroit
The matchup for Toney is great on paper, with Detroit dealing with injuries in their secondary. Emmanuel Moseley was declared out for this matchup against Kansas City, and Jeff Okudah was dealt to Atlanta in the offseason.
That leaves Jerry Jacobs, Cameron Sutton, and rookie Brian Branch as the starting DBs in this backfield, and Toney could easily take advantage of any of those matchups with his shiftiness and ability to create separation.
MORE: Fantasy Start/Sit Optimizer
Additionally, in a game that features a very high over/under (52.5 points), there should be scoring opportunities galore. However, as alluded to previously, Toney is highly unlikely to see the amount of playing time that dictates him being in starting lineups.
He may break away for a long gain or receive a touch pass at the goal line, but volume is king in fantasy, and Toney may not see a ton of opportunities in this one.