The WR injury report for Week 4 is loaded with big names across the board in what has been a tough week for NFL injury updates. Let’s examine the fantasy football value of the latest news in the Week 4 injury updates and see how these injuries impact your lineups this week.
WR injury report heading into Week 4
Gabe Davis, BUF | Ankle (Questionable)
The positive news for Gabe Davis is that after sitting out Thursday’s practice, he was back on the field Friday. The general vibes coming out of Buffalo is that he will be fine to play. We saw in Week 3 that Davis can still command looks even when limited with the ankle injury, which is a positive.
However, Davis’ performance against Miami is indicative of the trouble fantasy managers will have with him this season. He saw more targets in Week 3 (six) than he did in Week 1 (five), but with just 37 yards and no touchdown, he was a disappointment for fantasy managers. He has a very boom-bust nature about his fantasy value, which limits him to a weekly flex consideration based on matchup.
This week, the Bills face a Ravens teams that allows the most fantasy points to the WR position in half-PPR leagues (46.73). They have not allowed fewer than 29 fantasy points to the position in a single game, despite facing both Joe Flacco and Mac Jones this season. Davis should be a player you can start this week in this matchup.
Marquise Brown, ARI | Foot (Questionable)
Rondale Moore, ARI | Hamstring (Questionable)
Marquise Brown landing on the injury report Friday with a foot injury was a hammer blow. He had already been listed on Wednesday, but for rest purposes. The problem with a player getting a tag like this after practice is that it often means he picked the injury up in practice itself. We saw the same issue with Gabe Davis on Saturday of Week 2, and he ultimately did not play on that following Monday.
The fact that it is a late afternoon game is also an issue. If Brown is ruled out late in the day, then fantasy managers will have limited options to turn to. Additionally, we have no idea how limited he might be, even if he plays. Therefore, it would be prudent to consider sitting Brown if you have other viable alternatives who can play in his place.
Rondale Moore should not be considered a “viable alternative” for Brown if he is active. A return from a hamstring injury can be tricky, with players often struggling for top-end speed. For a player like Moore, who relies on his speed, that is especially concerning. It is a good sign long-term if he suits up, but short-term, Moore is not a player to start for fantasy purposes this week.
Russell Gage, TB | Hamstring (Questionable)
Chris Godwin, TB | Hamstring (Questionable)
Julio Jones, TB | Knee (Questionable)
Breshad Perriman, TB | Knee/Hamstring (Doubtful)
This is a massive mess of confusion heading into the weekend. Let’s start with Russell Gage, who should be in line to play as he has every week this year. The limited participation in practice appears to be precautionary, and we have not heard of any setbacks. Regardless of who else is active, Gage and Mike Evans should be the primary two receivers for Tampa Bay. Gage is a flex consideration in 12-team leagues, but only with full-PPR scoring.
Chris Godwin returned to practice this week. However, even if he is active on Sunday, it is too early to trust him to provide fantasy value. The Buccaneers will not want to risk another setback and be without for an extended period of time. Therefore, expect Godwin to be on a limited snap count if he is active at all. Additionally, with this being a Sunday Night Football game, it will be risky to wait to see if he is active unless you have a solid backup plan.
Julio Jones is a similar story to that of Godwin. Even if he is active, it will be risky to start him with no knowledge of how limited he will be. The Sunday Night Football factor makes Jones an easy player to leave on the bench this week.
Breshad Perriman was only fantasy relevant in the deepest of leagues anyway, but doubtful usually means out. Therefore, it is best to consider him not playing and to make alternative arrangements.
DJ Chark, DET | Ankle (Questionable)
Josh Reynolds, DET | Ankle (Questionable)
The news of Amon-Ra St. Brown being out makes the status of Josh Reynolds and DJ Chark highly significant. Without St. Brown, there could be a lot of targets for both of these two receivers if they are active. There does not seem to be a huge amount of concern coming out of Detroit, which is a positive sign.
If both are active, we can view them as flex considerations in 14-team leagues. If we had a clear picture of which one would be the lead receiver in place of St. Brown, then that player would have flex consideration in a 12-team league.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, KC | Abdomen (Questionable)
There has not been a huge amount of clarity offered in terms of Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s likelihood of suiting up this week. Even if he does suit up, his value is limited to 16-team league flex consideration. If he doesn’t suit up, then Mecole Hardman should get a slight boost, but even then, his value remains limited to those 16-team leagues or deeper.
Additionally, Justin Watson would likely see an increase in playing time, and we might even see more Skyy Moore. However, neither is likely to see enough playing time to have assured value. Therefore, they would be deep league boom-bust plays only.
Jakobi Meyers, NE | Knee (Questionable)
Regardless of whether Meyers is on the field or not this week, it is tough to start him this week. With Mac Jones injured, Brian Hoyer will be under center, which is a major downgrade. We need to see what this offense looks like with Hoyer before we can start Meyers. That, combined with the injury, limits him to a flex option in 16-team leagues this week.
Jarvis Landry, NO | Ankle (Questionable)
With Michael Thomas out this week, there is a huge opportunity for Jarvis Landry and Chris Olave to see a lot of targets against the Vikings. The limiting factor if Landry starts is the uncertainty of Andy Dalton at QB. Therefore, Landry is limited to a 14-team flex option in PPR scoring at best if healthy.
If he is absent, Tre’Quan Smith figures to be the next man up in Landry’s role. However, his ceiling is capped at the same levels as Landry, with a more realistic value in a 16-team PPR league.
WRs cleared for Week 4
Greg Dortch, ARI | Back
Dortch’s value is intriguing this week with the Cardinals’ WR woes. If Brown is unable to play this week, we could see Dortch in line for a high target share as the lead WR. However, even if Moore is active, Dortch should still be the WR2 as Moore works back to 100%. Dortch is a player to consider as a flex option in 14-team leagues.
Michael Gallup, DAL | Knee
It is great news that we will likely see Gallup active in Week 4, but it is too risky to start him in fantasy outside of the deepest leagues. Many projections believe Gallup will not be close to full speed until closer to November. This is a positive long-term sign, but it does not mean you should rush to start him this week.
Allen Lazard, GB | Ankle
Christian Watson, GB | Hamstring
The Packers will have their four leading active receivers available for this week. Lazard remains a must-start in 12-team leagues after seeing nine targets combined when limited over the past two weeks. We should see that target share grow for the receiver who has been playing the most snaps at the position in the last two weeks.
The presence of Watson could have a detrimental effect on the fantasy value of Romeo Doubs. The two rookies somewhat split snaps in the first two weeks before Doubs broke out in Watson’s absence last week. However, we could see the two splitting time again, which is frustrating. The presence of Watson makes it tough to start Doubs after he was a hot name on waiver this week.
Mecole Hardman, KC | Heel
JuJu Smith-Schuster, KC | Shoulder
The most significant name here is JuJu Smith-Schuster, who has 14 receptions for 178 yards through three weeks. He is an intriguing flex play in 14-team leagues, but his inconsistency through the first three weeks makes him tough to trust in 12-team leagues.
Hardman really sees a boost in value if Valdes-Scantling is out. If not, then Hardman is the fourth pass-catching option, which is a tough place to find fantasy value from. He has some value as a boom-bust play in deeper leagues but ranks outside the top 75 WRs in Tommy Garrett’s PPR fantasy rankings.
Tre’Quan Smith, NO | Concussion
Smith’s value is hard to decipher unless Landry is ruled out. He could play in place of Thomas, but equally, we could see a lot of Marquez Callaway on the outside. If Landry is also out, then Smith could be an intriguing PPR option in 14-team leagues or deeper. However, if Landry plays, it is tough to imagine Dalton supporting three receivers this week.
WRs ruled out for Week 4
AJ Green, ARI | Knee (Out)
Green does not have huge fantasy implications himself, but his absence should benefit the fantasy value of Dortch and potentially even Moore.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET | Ankle (Out)
The absence of St. Brown is a huge blow for fantasy managers. Since early in the week, it had been trending towards St. Brown not playing, but the news was confirmed Friday. The second-year receiver has 33 targets, 253 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns already this season, so his absence will certainly be felt.
In his place, Chark and Reynolds should see increased work in the passing game (assuming they are active). We discussed the merits of both players in their section above. T.J. Hockenson could also see more targets as a result of St. Brown’s absence, and Kalif Raymond could be in line for more targets. However, Raymond is likely still only relevant in extremely deep formats for Week 4.
Keenan Allen, LAC | Hamstring
Keenan Allen will miss his third straight week after missing practice again on Friday to round out the week. The hope will now switch towards seeing him in Week 5. In his absence, Mike Williams remains a must-start.
Joshua Palmer should remain the other main option in two WR sets. This matchup against the Texans looks tougher on paper than it perhaps is. They sit as the 11th-toughest matchup in the league for WRs based on average points allowed to the position through three weeks. However, that number is heavily influenced by the Chicago Bears’ decision never to throw the ball. In the first two weeks, they allowed an average of 32 fantasy points per game to the WR position, which would place them right around the 12-best matchup for WRs.
Therefore, Palmer is an intriguing play in 12-team leagues as a potential flex option. His value is highest in PPR, with his role tending to be closer to the line of scrimmage. The high-upside deep-league play is DeAndre Carter. He has 150 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions from just 11 targets, with an ADOT of 12.2. He is a risky player to put in lineups, but he has the ability to put up a lot of points extremely quickly.
Hunter Renfrow, LV | Concussion (Out)
To see a player not able to practice due to a concussion nearly two weeks after suffering the injury is concerning. We can only wish Renfrow a speedy recovery and return to the field at this point in time.
What it means for fantasy managers is that Mack Hollins retains his fantasy value into Week 4. We have seen Hollins targeted 19 times in the past two weeks. Last week he had eight receptions for 158 yards and a touchdown. With Renfrow out again this week, Hollins should remain a fringe flex option in 14-team leagues. However, a tough Week 4 matchup against the Broncos, who surrender the fewest fantasy points to WRs, prevents it from being any more positive than that.
Michael Thomas, NO | Toe (Out)
It did not take long for Thomas to start frustrating fantasy managers with injury concerns again. The Saints’ WR did not get on the practice field this week despite making the trip over to London. Finding the fantasy value in his absence is somewhat tough, with Landry also questionable.
Last week, we saw Marquez Callaway filling in for Thomas on the outside. However, the Saints already had Smith playing in the slot at that point in place of Landy. Therefore, we are not certain whether Callaway or Smith will see the bulk of reps in Thomas’ place. If Landry is also out Sunday, then Smith becomes intriguing in 14-team PPR leagues as a potential flex play. If Landry is playing, it will be tough to trust either Callaway or Smith, especially with Dalton replacing Jameis Winston under center.
Wan’Dale Robinson, NYG | Knee (Out)
Kadarius Toney, NYG | Hamstring (Out)
The fantasy impact of these two receivers being absent is somewhat limited, given we haven’t seen much of them this year. The Giants are expected to go with a trio of David Sills, Richie James, and Kenny Golladay at WR.
