| | Sunday, September 20, 2020 | There are so many injuries to deal with in Week 2. In one league, I'm going without Michael Thomas, George Kittle, and Chris Godwin; in another, I'm missing Phillip Lindsay and A.J. Brown. I'm sure I'm not alone, which means I'm sure plenty of you need help locking in your lineups. | | Plus, you'll want to tune back into the Twitch stream at 4 pm as we get set for the ultimate second-screen watch experience for the Chiefs-Chargers game this afternoon. We'll be reacting live to the game in real time, offering instant Fantasy takes on that game and the rest of the slate, and we'll also be joined by guest like Chiefs and Chargers legends Dante Hall and Shawne Merriman. You won't want to miss it. | Until then, get those last-minute lineup questions answered for Week 2 with all of our preview content here and my look at the latest injuries and how to handle them from around the league: | | Here's what today's newsletter will cover: | | | Injury Report Updates: Who's in, who's out? | | At least there aren't too many game-time decisions coming. That won't make filling out your lineup any easier, given the big names dealing with injuries. Here's how to handle today's key injury question marks: | - Out: Phillip Lindsay (toe - likely 2-4 weeks), Le'Veon Bell (hamstring - IR), Michael Thomas (ankle), Chris Godwin (concussion), A.J. Brown (knee), Kenny Golladay (hamstring), Jamison Crowder (hamstring), George Kittle (knee), Jack Doyle (ankle/knee)
- Miles Sanders (hamstring) — Start. Sanders probably could've played in Week 1 if it was a key game, so the expectation here is he's going to be able to play a full role with no problems. The injury in camp sort of quieted the hype, but Sanders was viewed as a potential first-rounder for a reason before that.
- Courtland Sutton (shoulder) — Sit. It sounds like Sutton has a pretty good chance of playing in this one, but I would still prefer to sit him. He'll be Drew Lock's No. 1 WR and should be a quality starter for Fantasy moving forward, but in his first game back, I'd rather let him show it — especially against a tough matchup like Pittsburgh.
- DeVante Parker (hamstring) — Sit. Another tough matchup for Parker, though he did more than hold his own in the first half against Stephon Gilmore last week, catching all four targets thrown his way for 47 yards. However, given the recurring nature of this injury, it's best to stay away until he's past it.
- Brandin Cooks (quadriceps) — Sit. Cooks is probably going to be on the injury report every week with something, but it doesn't seem like this injury is expected to keep him out. Still, you want to see Cooks get more involved than he was in Week 1 before you start him.
- Henry Ruggs (knee) — Sit. Ruggs is going to be a threat to take one to the house every time he touches the ball, and he showed signs of that in his NFL debut. I would rather steer clear until he's fully healthy and shows consistent production. That could come as soon as next week.
- Golden Tate (hamstring) — Sit. The problem for the Giants coming into the season was it wasn't clear how the receiving hierarchy would shake out between Tate, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Evan Engram, and Saquon Barkley, and we still don't have a clue. I'm starting Slayton, Engram — with some trepidation — and Barkley, but Tate and Shepard can stay on the bench.
| | Injury Fill-in Options | | If you've got to make any last-minute adds, consider these options: | Running back | - Tevin Coleman, 49ers — You could also go with Jerick McKinnon here. The question is whether Coleman's limited Week 1 role was due to the poor air quality in San Francisco last week, or if McKinnon is truly the primary backup. My guess is we see a decent amount of Coleman in what should be a laugher against the Jets.
- Peyton Barber, Washington — Barber wasn't much of a priority for folks on the wire, which means he still may be out there in your league. You will never, ever, be happy starting Barber, but Washington gave him plenty of work in Week 1, especially near the goal line — he led the week with seven touches inside the 10-yard line. I'd rather start him against the Cardinals than Adrian Peterson (72%) against the Packers.
- Myles Gaskin, Dolphins — This is pretty close to the bottom of the barrel here, since we're not sure just how much of Gaskin leading Miami's backfield was just a one-week thing — and especially since the matchup against Buffalo certainly isn't one you want to target. But he played 63% of the team's snaps and had 10.6 PPR points in Week 1 and could be an OK emergency fill-in.
| Wide receiver | - Corey Davis, Titans — Davis should've gotten scooped up in most leagues, but he's still rostered in just 59% of CBS Fantasy leagues. You may not feel great about having to rely on him, but with Brown out and Davis coming off a seven-catch 101-yard performance, he's probably worth starting as a No. 3 WR against Jacksonville.
- Laviska Shenault, Jaguars — Shenault is still more of a long-term target, but his Week 1 was very promising — 62% of offensive snaps, 13.7 PPR points, and he lined up all over the field, including in the backfield and at QB. The Jaguars want to get the ball in Shenault's hands, and he could emerge as a must-start player quickly.
- Parris Campbell, Colts — Zach Pascal and Michael Pittman are both dealing with injuries in Week 2, but even if they weren't, Campbell would be worth a look. He tied for the team lead in targets in Week 1 with nine, catching six of them for 71 yards while playing 82% of the Colts offensive snaps.
| Tight end | - Logan Thomas, Washington — Thomas was the talk of Washington camp, and the former QB impressed in his first game. He played 74% of the offensive snaps, was targeted eight times, and caught four for 37 yards and a touchdown. There's huge potential for Thomas to emerge as the No. 2 weapon in Washington's passing game.
- O.J. Howard, Buccaneers — Howard should be in a good spot in Week 2 with Godwin sidelined, especially after earning six targets in Week 1. Both he and Rob Gronkowski could be Fantasy starters this week.
- Jordan Reed, 49ers — This one is a total dart throw. It's entirely possible Ross Dwelley is the one who sees a significant role with Kittle out — he's almost certainly going to play more snaps than Reed does. However, I would expect Reed to run a route on pretty much all of his snaps, and he has the chops to break a big play or two and get into the end zone.
| | #AskFFT Mailbag | | - Nik: I currently have Ekler and Barkley as my top two backs. I also have Chris Carson, Nyheim Hines, Malcolm Brown, and Benny Snell. Of those 4 who is my best bet at flex? Second, my WRs are Cooper Kupp, Michael Gallup, DK Metcalf, and Parris Campbell. Considering Godwin is out, I have Kupp and Gallup starting, is that my best choice?
| I would rank the running backs this way: Carson (small gap) Hines (larger gap) Brown (chasm) Snell | And at wide receiver, I would go with Kupp and Metcalf. Hopefully the Seahawks keep letting Russ cook. | - Chuck: Who should I start in my WR2 slot, Corey Davis or Allen Lazard? I have JuJu Smith-Schuster at one WR spot and need to replace Godwin. .5-PPR league.
| I like both Davis and Lazard — and probably prefer Lazard in the long term — but I would roll with Davis with Brown out. It's a good matchup against Jacksonville and I think he's the more talented player between he and Lazard. | - Jennifer: WR - which two out of the four should I play? Amari Cooper, Corey Davis, Allen Lazard, Cole Beasley. RB - I have both Benny Snell and James Conner - who should I play? I also have Ezekiel Elliott and Hines.
| If you have to start one of Snell or Conner, I think it has to be Conner — he played 12 snaps to Snell's three in the first quarter in Week 1, and I would assume he's still the primary option when healthy. Ideally, I would prefer to avoid that backfield entirely this week, and would definitely start Hines over either of them. | As for the wide receivers, I'm going with Cooper and Davis. | Christian: After a disappointing start to the week with A.J. Green, I have two spots for three receivers: T.Y. Hilton, Terry McLaurin, or D.J. Chark? | I'll still roll with Hilton and McLaurin, who I assume you drafted before Chark anyway. I think Chark should emerge as a must-start option just like he was last season, but I'd rather start the other two guys over him for now. Hopefully Jacksonville gets to throw it more than 20 times this week, and hopefully Chark establishes himself as the No. 1 option after a weirdly quiet Week 1. | Mike: Would you start Mark Ingram or Antonio Gibson as your RB2? | Nothing we saw from Gibson suggests he's someone you can rely on for Fantasy yet. He was No. 2 in line for carries and actually somehow ran basically the same number of routes as Barber. As dispiriting as Ingram's Week 1 was, you can chalk at least some of it up to the blowout nature of the Ravens win. He's still their top back. Gibson will improve as the season goes on, but he's not worth starting yet. | | | | | | | | Want your sports news and highlights straight without the noise? Stream CBS Sports HQ on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and more! Watch Now | | Enter Parlay Pick'em now for your free chance to win weekly cash prizes and the $20,000 guaranteed season prize. Play Now |
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