Carolina Panthers RB Miles Sanders has had a solid season for fantasy football managers so far this season. He is the RB17 in PPR as we enter Week 4.
However, fantasy managers are worried about Sanders’ current injury status, especially as he is coming off his best performance of the season. Therefore, what is Sanders’ current injury status? Is Sanders likely to play today? And, if he does, what is his current fantasy outlook for Week 4?
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Is Miles Sanders Going To Play Week 4?
Sanders landed on the injury report on Wednesday with a groin injury. He did manage to practice on Wednesday and Thursday, albeit, in a limited capacity.
And fantasy managers were extremely worried when Sanders did not practice on Friday, putting his status for today’s game vs. the Minnesota Vikings in doubt.
However, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network posted an update on Sanders’ injury status this morning. Rapoport posted “Panthers RB Miles Sanders, listed as questionable with a groin injury, is expected to play today, source said. No issues.”
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Therefore, it appears that Sanders will suit up and play today vs. the Vikings. However, what is his fantasy outlook today?
What Does This Mean for Sanders’ Fantasy Outlook?
Sanders, if he does suit up, has a favorable matchup versus the Vikings this afternoon. The Vikings gave up 73 rushing yards to the Buccaneers in Week 1, who are one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL.
They also managed to concede 259 rushing yards and three touchdowns to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. And, while the Vikings held the Chargers to just 30 rushing yards last week, part of the reason for that was because they were absolutely terrible stopping the pass, giving up 445 passing yards.
Sanders, who is currently ranked as the RB16 in our PFN Consensus Rankings, will be expected to perform.
The upside for Sanders this week is that Andy Dalton will be under center for the Panthers again. The Panthers’ offense was much improved last week with him leading the offense, putting up a season-high 378 yards off of 75 plays, which was also a season-high.
While Sanders only managed 24 yards rushing last week in a negative game script, he managed a rushing touchdown. He also tallied five receptions for 38 yards in the passing game.
DraftKings has the Panthers as 4.5-point underdogs. However, that should mean an increase in plays run by this Panthers offense as they chase the Vikings. As Sanders is one of the few offensive weapons in this team, it is expected he will have a solid role regardless.
And, while Sanders’ ceiling will be capped by the game script, a mid-range RB2 performance will be expected due to his work in the receiving game. Therefore, if he can break off a large run or find the end zone, Sanders could be in contention for a low-end RB1 finish.
Either way, Sanders should be started as a solid mid-to-low-end RB2 purely on his volume. There are not many running backs that will secure his volume. So fantasy managers can feel safe starting him this week.
