Navigate the NFL injury purge with these three under-the-radar targets
The NFL injury bug has been an angry little creature lately, and the fantasy football community is taking it on the chin.
Though the running back position is normally the one victimized the most, the wide receivers are the most recent casualties.
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With elite-level receivers like Malik Nabers and Tyreek Hill suffering season-ending injuries, and other stalwarts like Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson losing their quarterbacks, fantasy managers are forced to dive deep into their benches and waiver wire claims to find help here in Week 5.
Fortunately, there are still some under-the-radar players in favorable matchups to whom we can turn.
No one ever wants to rely on a receiver like Jalen Tolbert, but between the injury to CeeDee Lamb and the Cowboys’ upcoming matchup against the Jets, Tolbert has some sneaky upside this week.
We expect to see Sauce Gardner working against George Pickens throughout this game, which will leave Tolbert in a lot of one-on-one situations against Brandon Stephens.
The Jets corner grades out reasonably well according to Pro Football Focus, but he is also a bigger, more physical corner who lacks the speed to keep pace with the shifty Tolbert.
Expect to see a lean on Tolbert for a lot of the underneath work, and look for him to also stretch the field once he burns past Stephens.
We also want to keep a close watch on Saints wideout Rashid Shaheed.
The Giants rank 20th in DVOA (defensive value over average) against the opposing No. 2 receiver and are allowing an average of six receptions for 78.5 receiving yards to them.
No one is enamored with Saints quarterback Spencer rattler, but he has targeted Shaheed six times per game, and Shaheed is averaging nearly 10 yards per catch.
If you are struggling to find receivers, he is available in 40 percent of the leagues on ESPN and Yahoo.
Finally, if someone in your league bought the Tre Tucker hype from Week 3 then dropped him this week after a miserable two-catch, 13-yard game against the Bears dreadful secondary, he is also in a prime spot this week facing the Colts.
Indianapolis is expected to control most of the game with Jonathan Taylor, which should put the Raiders on their heels and into a pass-heavy mode.
The Colts rank 31st in DVOA against the opposing No. 2 receiver and are allowing over 81 yards per game to them through four weeks.
With Tucker’s ability to stretch the field, we could see a nice, long touchdown.
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Shaking off major injuries is what winning fantasy football managers do.
Like baseball, there’s no crying in fantasy football, despite all the whining you may hear from grown men.
Study the weekly matchups and stop trying to find a good “rest of season” play. They’re out there if you know where to look.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.
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