Week 12 wasn’t devastating on the injury front, but it wasn’t exactly good, either. A handful of fantasy-relevant players went down, including Michael Carter. How much of a priority does this make Zonovan Knight for fantasy football managers to add off the waiver wire ahead of Week 13?
Zonovan Knight Operated as Jets’ RB1
The New York Jets‘ backfield has been quite the roller coaster recently. After Breece Hall tore his ACL, the presumption was Carter would serve as the primary back, much like he did last season. Instead, the Jets used largely a committee, which included former Jaguars running back James Robinson, who they traded a day-three pick for.
In a surprising move, the Jets deactivated Robinson ahead of this week’s game against the Bears. That left them with Ty Johnson and 2022 UDFA Zonavan Knight behind Carter.
Sure enough, Carter sprained his ankle in Sunday’s contest, shattering the dreams of everyone who took his highers on Underdog Fantasy. After the game, head coach Robert Saleh indicated he was unsure of its severity.
What we do know is the Jets didn’t do the typical NFL team thing where they list any injured player questionable to return. He was quickly labeled doubtful, which, as we know, means “out.”
Following Carter’s exit, it was not long-time Jet Johnson who took over. Instead, the Jets turned to the rookie. Knight carried the ball 14 times for 69 yards while adding three receptions for 34 yards. Most importantly, he doubled up Johnson in snaps, tripled him up in carries, and ran just one fewer route.
How Aggressively Should Fantasy Managers Pursue Knight Off the Waiver Wire?
This one is a bit tricky because we have several moving parts. If Carter is out next week, Robinson is going to be active. Would it really surprise anyone if he wound up being the lead guy? After all, he has the most experience and is far more proven than the other two guys.
There’s also the possibility Carter is fine and plays next week. I don’t think that is likely, but we can’t rule it out. And it definitely must play a factor in how aggressively fantasy managers go after Knight.
Ultimately, this one comes down to your respective teams’ situations. Do you desperately need a likely short-term solution at running back that might not really be a solution?
Given how late it is, with just two weeks remaining in the fantasy regular season, there’s no need to be frugal with your remaining FAAB. Even if we don’t have a concrete update on Carter, Knight is worth the shot for the RB needy.
If you play in a league that still uses the continual rolling list waiver priority system, use your priority if you need to.