The fantasy football wide receiver landscape around the NFL has been hit pretty hard with injuries through the first week and a half of the season. Once again, there are questions about Tee Higgins, Keenan Allen, Hollywood Brown, and Jordan Addison entering Week 2, but now you can add Malik Nabers, Jameson Williams, and Rome Odunze to that mix.
Let’s examine the latest injury updates from around the NFL and what it means for fantasy managers entering Week 2.
Latest NFL Wide Receiver Injury News and Fantasy Analysis
Malik Nabers, New York Giants
Malik Nabers was a surprise addition to the New York Giants’ injury report on Thursday, as he was listed as a limited practice participant due to a knee injury.
Given that Nabers popped up on the injury report late in the week, it seems likely that he got hurt in practice.
Nabers’ injury comes ahead of a very favorable matchup against the Washington Commanders, but there doesn’t appear to be much concern about his injury according to Giants reporter Art Stapleton.
Not sensing much concern regarding Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers’ status right now after being listed as limited in practice with a knee issue. Sounds like they just cut back on typical number of reps today due to some soreness, so being proactive with a very important player.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) September 12, 2024
Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
Tee Higgins sat out of the Cincinnati Bengals’ home loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1 with a hamstring injury he suffered in practice.
Despite Higgins saying he felt great after sustaining the injury, he did not return to the practice field on Wednesday.
Head coach Zac Taylor said the Bengals are taking it “day by day” with Higgins.
On Thursday, Higgins remained sidelined once again at Bengals practice, and it’s becoming increasingly likely he will be out again this week.
Tee Higgins not practicing again today.
Trending towards no Tee Higgins on Sunday in KC and a second straight game OUT to open the season. #Bengals @fox19 pic.twitter.com/nYETIr498r
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) September 12, 2024
Hamstring injuries tend to linger, and Higgins has never been a quick healer. Fantasy managers should prepare to be without the Bengals’ WR2 for a second consecutive week.
Ja’Marr Chase should be back to usual safe, not that anyone was considering benching him. The beneficiary will remain Andrei Iosivas, who ran a route on 100% of Joe Burrow’s dropbacks last week.
While Iosivas only caught three passes for 26 yards, he did see a 20.7% target share. In a game where the Bengals will have to throw a bunch to try and keep up with the Chiefs, Iosivas could be a volume-based WR3.
Keenan Allen, Chicago Bears
Allen sat out the final month of last season with a heel injury. While I still believe he would have played had the Los Angeles Chargers had something to play for, perhaps the injury was more legitimate than I believed at the time.
It’s unclear whether Allen is dealing with the same injury or an entirely new one. Either way, he was on the Week 1 injury report with a heel issue, which he played through. But the difference between this week and last week is he practiced all three days ahead of Week 1.
This week, however, Allen has sat out of practice two days in a row. On Wednesday, head coach Matt Eberflus described it as a “rest day,” which was encouraging until he sat out for the second consecutive practice.
If Allen can’t go, DJ Moore could be in for an extra-heavy workload. We might also see more 12 personnel, with the Bears opting to utilize Gerald Everett and Cole Kmet instead of their backup wide receivers.
Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
After one week, my poopoo-ing of Jameson Williams all offseason is looking … not great, Bob!
Williams looked every bit like the explosive player we remember from Alabama before tearing his ACL. Perhaps Williams will be an outlier after all.
Possibly putting a damper on the excitement of his breakout Week 1 performance is an ankle injury that resulted in a limited designation at Wednesday’s practice.
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Williams picked up the injury on Sunday night and missed a handful of plays before ultimately returning. He looked just fine after he got back in the game.
The limited practice is likely just the Lions playing it safe — it is a Wednesday practice, after all.
Barring a Thursday or Friday setback, fantasy managers should have no concern over Williams’ status for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Given his performance in Week 1, Williams is worth starting as an upside WR3. Another strong performance would elevate him into the weekly circle of trust.
Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings
Jordan Addison entered Week 1 already nursing an ankle sprain. He was able to practice and ultimately played.
He did not aggravate that ankle in last week’s victory over the New York Giants — he hurt the other one.
This one seems to be a bit more serious, as Addison did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday.
After missing practice two days in a row, Addison’s outlook for Week 2 doesn’t look promising. Fantasy managers should prepare to be without the sophomore wideout when the Minnesota Vikings take on the San Francisco 49ers this weekend.
Replacing Addison in the WR2 spot could be Jalen Nailor. However, we will likely just see an extra heavy dose of Justin Jefferson and perhaps more designed targets for running back Aaron Jones.
Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
Unfortunately, Allen isn’t the only Bears WR at risk of missing this week’s contest.
Rookie wideout Rome Odunze left last week’s game with a knee issue. He did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday, either, and has been described as “day-to-day.” I guess that’s at least better than the increasingly popular “week-to-week” framing that’s been going around.
Odunze wasn’t on the fantasy radar anyway, as he’s the WR3 for a rookie quarterback who looked completely in over his head in Week 1. Caleb Williams will improve, but his WR3 was never going to be fantasy-relevant early in the year. Odunze was always a second-half play and remains that way.
If he does surprisingly suit up with Allen sitting out, perhaps he could be on the Flex radar, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
Hollywood Brown, Kansas City Chiefs
Brown first went down in the Kansas City Chiefs’ initial preseason game, suffering an SC joint injury similar to the one Tyreek Hill sustained in 2019 — one that cost Hill four games.
After being evaluated, he avoided surgery and was given a 4-6 week timeline, which we are now nearing the tail end of.
Brown did not practice at all ahead of Week 1 and was ruled out early in the week. While Wednesday practice participation is mostly meaningless, it does matter for players who did not play the week before. His absence from Wednesday’s practice is an ominous sign for his Week 2 availability.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on Hollywood Brown: "They all set a little different. It's something that has to move to get back into place… from what I understand. I'm not a physician by any means. You're talking just centimeters of it being off can be a problem. So you want to…
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) September 11, 2024
Additionally, the timing of the injury and the Chiefs’ Week 1 win mean there’s no reason to hurry Brown back unnecessarily.
Reading between the lines on this quote from Andy Reid, fantasy managers shouldn’t expect Brown to play this week. That means another week of Xavier Worthy operating in two-receiver sets. Given his usage last week, though, the rookie remains a volatile option.