The Los Angeles Chargers prepare for their Week 11 road matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars looking to maintain their strong season. Ladd McConkey appeared on Wednesday’s practice report with an ankle injury. Will fantasy football managers have their emerging receiver available this week?
Ladd McConkey Injury Update
McConkey popped up on Wednesday’s practice report with an ankle injury, marking a new concern for the second-year receiver. He was listed as limited during Wednesday’s session, indicating the injury is being managed carefully by the Chargers’ medical staff.​
The ankle issue represents a different ailment from the calf injury that limited McConkey’s practice time a couple of weeks ago. At that time, he remained limited through Thursday before being cleared to play, demonstrating his ability to perform through minor injuries.​
It’s important to remember that Wednesday practices carry minimal significance when evaluating player availability for Sunday’s games. Teams routinely hold players out or limit them early in the week as a precautionary measure, particularly when dealing with minor ailments that don’t threaten their game-day status.​
The fact that McConkey is practicing at all bodes very well for his chances of playing this week against Jacksonville. Even players who miss Wednesday practices entirely present little concern. McConkey’s presence on the field, even in a restricted role, suggests the ankle injury is not serious.​
There is no cause for concern about McConkey’s availability at this stage. Even if McConkey doesn’t upgrade to full participation by the end of the week, he likely won’t carry a final injury designation on the official report. Veterans often remain limited through Friday before being cleared to play without issue.​
Nothing about this situation suggests fantasy managers need to worry about McConkey’s status for Sunday’s matchup. The limited designation on Wednesday represents standard injury management for a productive player the Chargers want to keep healthy for the long season.
McConkey’s Fantasy Outlook
McConkey has one “down” game since September and is back to offering the type of floor/ceiling combination that we saw from him as a rookie.
His 12.2-yard aDOT against the Steelers last week was his highest of the season, and it resulted in his first performance of over 100 receiving yards in 2022. There is still plenty of target competition in his high-powered offense, but after taking a month to adjust, it would appear that the versatile McConkey is locked in.
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The Jags have seen a WR1 clear 22 PPR points in three of their past four games, and while putting those sorts of expectations on a receiver with six targets in consecutive weeks isn’t wise, I think we can say with confidence that he is the WR1 in this offense, and it wouldn’t shock me if he finished as a WR1 in this spot (especially should Amon-Ra St. Brown be limited).
— PFSN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe
