5 Key Preseason Injuries to Monitor for Fantasy Football Drafts

Football is a physical game. The reality is there has been a day or two throughout training camps this month that most players in the league have sat for some quick maintenance.

Then, there are the concerning ones.

Whether it's walking boots, grim reports, or confirmed absences, we've gotten some recent news that should impact how you draft in fantasy football this upcoming week.

For the purpose of usefulness, I'm leaving ancient news like Chris Godwin's 2024 leg injury or Najee Harris' eye accident out of this piece. These are recent camp tweaks that I don't think you should go into drafts without knowing.

Note: A player's average draft position (ADP) data comes from FantasyPros' half-PPR data. The basis for rounds used in this piece is from 12-player leagues.

Fantasy Football Preseason Injuries to Monitor

De'Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins

A few of these blurbs with be two (or more) for the price of one. Who doesn't love a deal?

Unfortunately, Dolphins fans want nothing to do with this BOGO as starting tailback De'Von Achane (groin) and wideout Tyreek Hill (oblique) have been out of practice and missed Saturday's dress rehearsal with the other starters.

Considering both of these guys are still likely going in the first three rounds, I'm pretty out as of now. Achane, when healthy, should be one of the best receiving backs in the sport in PPR formats, but the risk of a soft-tissue injury lingering is too high when Chase Brown and Bucky Irving are right there in ADP.

While this could be a bump for Jaylen Waddle, we also have to consider the overall downgrade in a Miami situation that will always have lingering Tua Tagovailoa risk due to his extensive history of head injuries.

I'm still good with Waddle and perhaps a late-round dart at Malik Washington in deeper leagues, but otherwise, the Dolphins are shaping up to be a frustrating team in fantasy this year.

DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Here's another developing situation that's two deep.

While it sounds like A.J. Brown (hamstring) is on the mend, those positive updates are lacking for DeVonta Smith (groin). It's his second camp injury after a back injury, and remember, he took a hamstring problem into last year's Super Bowl. I'm raising giant red flags for the 170-pound wideout.

There were already concerns with Smith at a WR23 ADP in a run-first offense. He was extremely efficient (2.37 YPRR) a year ago but only drew 89 total targets, which was 42nd among WRs. He'd have to slide beyond the WR44ish area of Ricky Pearsall, Matthew Golden, and Emeka Egbuka for me to click the button now with all the injuries.

Philadelphia starts the season on September 4th and would rather not be down two targets, but there is talented depth here in the form of John Metchie III and Jahan Dotson. Those two could be super relevant in DFS formats early if Brown and/or Smith miss time.

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers

If you caught any of my offseason dynasty content, you'll know I'm out on Tetairoa McMillan. I think, now, some that weren't might fall fanny-backwards into the right answer.

The assumption behind McMillan is that he'll be a target hog in his rookie year, which I don't doubt in theory. However, you've got to be a great player to make it count, and McMillan's five preseason targets already have produced one highlight catch, one interception, and two drops. That's the Tet that I studied.

Regardless of that, McMillan won't be grabbed as early as some drafts in prior weeks now. He missed Panthers camp with a hamstring issue last week.

Truthfully, I don't think this injury even keeps him out of Week 1 as it's being described. However, soft tissue tweaks can linger or recur during the season, which only adds to the several red flags I've planted on the former Arizona Wildcats receiver that no one seems particularly concerned about.

Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers

We did an entire piece on the Packers' wide receiver injuries, so it must be bad.

Jayden Reed left the team's first preseason game in a boot with a sprained foot, which dialed-in fantasy managers have probably gotten word of by now. However, he's just the start. Dontayvion Wicks (calf) and Romeo Doubs (back) joined Christian Watson (knee) on the training table in the past 10 days or so.

This is sort of a continuation of the story in Green Bay's receiving room in the past couple of seasons: mired availability and production. That's why I'm avoiding Reed, Wicks, and Watson in drafts entirely. Doubs' separation metrics still make him an intriguing deep sleeper to target, but he's not a consideration in traditional leagues, either.

First-round rookie Matthew Golden and tight end Tucker Kraft should be the priority targets here. I'd slightly reach for both at their respective WR43 and TE11 ADPs in an offense we know to be pretty good.

Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans

This news is all about the player not injured.

It's not as if Tyjae Spears, at his RB44 ADP, was an extremely relevant fantasy target to begin the season. He was always a high-upside, efficient handcuff to Tony Pollard in Tennessee, but those plans came crashing down quickly after a high-ankle sprain in the Titans' preseason opener.

With Spears now set to miss the first few weeks of the season, we can expect Pollard to have a role similar to the three consecutive weeks that Tyjae missed a year ago. Between Weeks 7 through 9, Pollard played 84.4% of the snaps in the backfield, handled 30.0 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets) per game, and scored 12.5 fantasy points per game (FPPG) without a touchdown. There should be more touchdowns in Music City with Cameron Ward leading the offense.

Pollard's early role at an RB25 ADP fits perfectly into a "Zero RB" build, and he might never split with Spears if he performs well in this audition.

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