Here’s a suggestion for the rest of the fantasy football season: All San Francisco 49ers should come with a standing waiver claim that just kicks in automatically when the injury report comes out.
Elijah Mitchell had just taken over the Niners backfield after Raheem Mostert was lost for the season, but he’s banged up already after suffering a shoulder injury.
So are his backups JaMycal Hasty (high ankle sprain) and Trey Sermon (concussion), who also got hurt in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
So should you pick up Trenton Cannon or Kerryon Johnson?
Who knows?
Mitchell and/or Sermon could be ready, or Cannon could get the call. Maybe Roger Craig comes out of retirement. Put nothing past coach Kyle Shanahan.
The 49ers are just one example of injuries to monitor this week that could have significant fantasy implications, including quarterbacks Carson Wentz (Indianapolis Colts) and Tyrod Taylor (Houston Texans).
Stay flexible and be vigilant.
Fortunately, we’re beginning to see clarity with some other prospects.
Henry Ruggs, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
So you mean to tell me Ruggs isn’t a professional decoy? Did you know this the whole time?
Ruggs made the most of a career-high seven targets, catching five balls for 113 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown bomb.
“You just see this gear that not a lot of human beings have,” quarterback Derek Carr said via the San Francisco Chronicle. “It makes it fun for me.”
No one’s talking about Ruggs suddenly replacing tight end Darren Waller as the passing game’s go-to guy, but the opportunity’s wide open for Ruggs or Bryan Edwards to step into the top wide receiver role.
Ruggs is rostered in just 35% of Yahoo leagues.
Michael Carter, RB, New York Jets
People are abandoning ship a bit too early on Carter. He saw double-digit drop percentages on ESPN’s and Yahoo’s waiver wires over the past week, but he led the Jets backfield in total touches and had 88 scrimmage yards.
If Zach Wilson hadn’t thrown four interceptions, perhaps we might have seen Carter go on a roll because the offensive line was blocking well.
Ty Johnson and Tevin Coleman are in the mix, but Carter might have the best chance at consistency because of his involvement in the passing game.
He’s rostered in around 50% of both Yahoo and ESPN leagues. You may be able to take advantage of a rival who has given up on him, but he’s a better value in 12-team or deeper leagues.
Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals
The rookie is undersized and sits behind Christian Kirk on the depth chart, but Moore has a few advantages. He’s explosive (he ran 4.29-second 40 at his pro day, according to an NFL.com report) and his kick and punt return duties increase his chances to score.
Moore had five targets in Week 1 and led the team with eight Sunday, coming up with 77 catches and 114 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown. Kyler Murray’s playing otherworldly right now, so ditch the depth chart concerns and grab shares of his best playmakers — and that includes Moore.
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
Everything is aligned for a monster game in Week 3: Urgency (the Giants are 0-2), opportunity (they host the Atlanta Falcons) and ascendancy (Jones is fourth in fantasy points among quarterbacks, according to FantasyData.com).
Jones is looking as confident as he has ever looked and poses a threat as a rusher.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Denver Broncos
Bridgewater has been a pretty good streaming option in the first two weeks (at least 20 fantasy points) but he’s working with a razor-thin margin.
He has had two passing touchdowns and no interceptions in each of those games, and since he adds next to nothing as a rusher, his numbers could dramatically swing with an interception or two.
But there’s upside here: He’s balanced by a strong running game and leans on a crop of pass catchers who are all trending north: Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, K.J. Hamler and Noah Fant.
It only gets better when Jerry Jeudy returns from injured reserve.
Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Pollard outclassed Ezekiel Elliott with 140 total yards and a touchdown (21.5 half-PPR points), though Elliott was no slouch with 97 scrimmage yards and a score.
This only feeds the Zeke naysayers who’d like to let Pollard “eat” for a change.
“We just wanted to go with who’s hot,” Pollard said via the Dallas Morning News. “We both feed off each other. If he was hot, we would have went that way. It just turned out this way.”
In reality Pollard’s not challenging Elliott for the starting job, though he’s one of fantasy’s most appealing handcuffs.
And if Pollard can keep putting up double digit points — Sunday was just his sixth in 33 career games — he could merit standalone status like Latavius Murray or Jamaal Williams do.
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
No, it’s not too early to panic about Mike Davis.
Davis has never been a world-beater as a rusher, but you thought you could at least count on him having the job pretty much to himself — and certainly the red zone work.
But here comes the pitter-patter of Patterson vulturing two touchdowns and 35% of the rushing work (Davis had 45%) and out-snapping in the red zone as well, as NumberFire analyst Jim Sannes points out.
Patterson was almost as active in the passing game as Davis (six targets compared to Davis’ seven).
Patterson also has averaged a full yard more per rushing attempt (4.6) than Davis (3.6) on 10 fewer carries over the first two games.
It doesn’t appear Davis is in danger of losing his job, but Patterson is worth at least a stash until we see how this backfield settles.
Jared Cook, TE, Los Angeles Chargers
Cook has 13 targets over the first two games and would’ve had his first touchdown of the season Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, but it was nullified by a penalty.
The Chargers are running a new system, but Justin Herbert still loves throwing to the tight end. Hunter Henry had the second-most targets after Keenan Allen last year.
K.J. Osborn, WR, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings’ lack of defense may not be doing much for them in the standings (0-2) but it’s doing wonders for their fantasy stats.
They’ve been in two shootouts, and Osborn has 12 catches off 19 targets over the first two games.
Carolina Panthers defense/special teams
The Panthers DST was a popular offseason sleeper pick and so far they’ve paid off for their owners, producing 9 and 12 fantasy points in the first two weeks.
A matchup against the Texans next week looks promising and probably helped them trend No. 1 on Yahoo’s waiver wire early Monday.
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