It’s here, folks - Labor Day Weekend. If you were smart, you saved all your most important fantasy football drafts for this weekend. Why? Well, because the NFL landscape somehow finds a way to change every single day. And that goes double for fantasy football, where the difference between you winning or losing can boil down to one sleeper, one bust, or one hamstring injury. 

So today I’m putting together a list of every recent piece of NFL news, rumors, injuries, or sleepers that you need to know before the biggest weekend of fantasy football drafts. If you’ve been under a rock all summer, that’s fine - we will get you up to speed. If you think I missed something, message me on Twitter here @CoopAFiasco or comment on this Reddit thread and I’ll get it added. 

If you REALLY feel behind with your fantasy football research, we have a simple solution for that. Right now, if you use promo code WIN, you can get a month of All Pro at Fantasy Alarm, which comes with our NFL Draft Guide - for a price that is cheaper than the draft guide itself! That not only gives you access to all our NFL content but ALL sports, like our hockey draft guide that just dropped today!

Anyway, here’s what you need to know for your fantasy football draft this weekend so that you don’t draft Josh Jacobs and get laughed at by your friends. 

NFL FANTASY FOOTBALL INJURIES (AND SUSPENSIONS)

Out for the Season

Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Jayden Higgins, WR, Houston Texans

Players Who Will Miss Week One Minimum

Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers 

He’s been placed on the commissioner-exempt list due to a domestic violence issue. There is no definitive timeline, but his court date has been moved from Nov. 17 to Sept. 10. He is guaranteed to miss some time but, if it’s resolved, his suspension could be retroactive to the games he already missed, and he could be back sooner than we had previously imagined. 

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers 

Technically a 49er but has not reported to the team, nor is he expected to. At this stage he is undraftable. 

Jordyn Tyson, WR, New Orleans Saints 

Tyson is on IR-R and will miss up to two months. Chris Olave gets a boost as does Juwan Johnson.

Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks 

He’s on the IR-R as well, meaning he’s designated to return but has to miss four games minimum. Jadarian Price and George Holani are expected to split the workload. 

James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals 

On IR-R with an ankle issue, so four games minimum. With Jermiyah Love also working back from minor injury, Tyler Allgeier could see more work. 

Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans 

Dell has effectively not played in two years after a catastrophic injury. He will start the year on IR-R, missing four games as well. With Jayden Higgins already done for the year, they traded for Kayshon Boutte and will look to guys like Jaylen Noel. 

Isiah Pacheco, RB, Detroit Lions 

The presumed backup to superstar Jahmyr Gibbs was placed on IR-R with a knee issue. Jacob Saylors and Sione Vaki are next on the depth chart though they did have a tryout with Kareem Hunt.

Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints 

Kamara was not placed on IR, but he is expected to miss up to a month with a knee issue. This is a boost for Travis Etienne Jr as they were expected to split work. 

 

 

 

Players We Need To Monitor For Week One

For these, we are going to do our best to rank them by how nervous they make us in fantasy drafts based on a combination of how high the player is drafted and how likely the injuries are to affect them long term. Not an exact science by any means, but build some depth into your lineup at these positions if you draft one of these guys. 

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants 

Still recovering from offseason knee surgery, but they are hopeful he will be out there Week One.

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots

Henderson suffered an ankle injury and has not practiced since. They say he is “day to day” but is no longer a lock for Week One.

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

He’s dealing with a toe injury and is not a lock for Week One, though he is hopeful to play

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

He's been dealing with a low ankle issue but, when Klint Kubiak was asked if he would be available for the Week One opener against the Miami Dolphins, he said he was optimistic he would play. 

Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears

Monangai has missed the last month of so with a knee issue and was described as “week to week” on Tuesday. 

George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers 

George Kittle did travel with the team to Australia but has only done individual work all offseason. Has not been fully confirmed yet.

Puka Nacua WR, Los Angeles Rams 

Dealing with a groin issue but hoping to play Week One. There are also still some questions regarding an offseason legal incident that he is not fully out of the woods on yet.

Keaton Mitchell, RB, Los Angeles Chargers 

Mitchell is still sidelined with an undisclosed injury and is in danger of missing Week One.

Luther Burden, WR, Chicago Bears 

Has missed virtually all of the preseason with a groin injury but is hopeful for Week One. It is worth noting that most sportsbooks never took down the prop bet lines for him.

Mike Evans, WR, San Francisco 49ers 

Evans has missed a chunk of time in preseason but is trending towards playing.

Jalen McMillan, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

McMillan is also hurt in Tampa and uncertain for Week One. 

Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Alec Pierce practiced in full Thursday. He has not been fully cleared but that is a good sign.

Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears 

Reportedly tweaked his leg in practice. He tried to stay in, but trainers pulled him off. 

D'Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears 

Swift scared folks with reports that he was in “serious discomfort” at practice, but now that is said to have just been a cramp.

Positive NFL Injury News

Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers

Coming off a serious injury, Kraft has been a full participant in practice and should be good to go.

Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Josh Downs returned to practice after missing some time with a groin issue. 

Hyped Players, Rookies, and Sleepers - Where Are They Going?

Our consensus industry ADP looks at a wide range of sites like Yahoo, ESPN, Sleeper, FFPC, NFFC, RT Sports, etc., to give a good mix of what casual and high-stakes gamers might be doing. Based on that and my own experience in drafts over the last couple of weeks, here is where you might expect some of the most hyped names to go.

Luther Burden, WR, Chicago Bears, Round 5-6 

Burden now goes pretty squarely in the round 5-6 range. If you want him, you likely have to make that move in the range where you are drafting your starting lineup

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars, Round 5-6 

He goes in a similar spot to Burden despite concerns about a timeshare with Chris Rodriguez, so this is another early bet if you want to make it.

Jadarian Price, RB, Seattle Seahawks, Round 5-6 

The first-round rookie has a lot of upside in Seattle, but a split with George Holani is on the table along with a looming Zach Charbonnet. 

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots, Round 6-7 

Henderson has actually been falling and goes after Rhamondre Stevenson at times. So He’s cheaper now than he’s been most of the summer but still a meaningful pick. 

Carnell Tate, WR, Tennessee Titans, Round 7-8 

He’s the top rookie WR off the boards, especially with the Jordyn Tyson injury. On Sleeper, he goes slightly earlier than 7 at times, so keep that in mind. 

MarShawn Lloyd, RB, Green Bay Packers, Round 7-8 

I’ve seen Lloyd go as high as round FIVE in high-stakes drafts on FFPC. With the Josh Jacobs news today, you have to be really careful with both guys. I’m taking both in the bench player range at best. 

De'Zhaun Stribling, WR, San Francisco 49ers, Round 8-10 

The ADP range for Stribling and the next WR below is so wide that you might need to start preparing to take him anytime after Round 6 if you want him. He’s all over the place. 

KC Concepcion, WR, Cleveland Browns, Round 8-10 

Once Stribling goes, Concepcion does not last much longer. And sometimes goes ahead. 

Mike Washington, RB, Las Vegas Raiders, Round 10-12 

He was previously a last-round handcuff; now with Jeanty nicked up, he goes a little higher.

Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams, Round 10-12 

One of the better contingent upside plays; he has been creeping up draft boards. 

Jordyn Tyson, WR, New Orleans Saints, Round 10-14 

If you have an IR spot, this isn’t a bad play late. With no IR spots, I’m not making this pick. 

 

 

 

Other Late Round Sleepers And Rookies To Know

NFL Fantasy Football Relevant Rumors

These all need to be taken with a grain of salt as they are just speculation. But it's good to know what folks are saying out there.