With any injury comes opportunity in fantasy football. This week, the door opens for Wendell Smallwood to see an increased role for the Eagles after Darren Sproles’ injury. We may have seen the last of Sproles as he had already stated this would be his final season, and my PPR teams will miss him. Smallwood is the only RB left on the Eagles’ roster capable of picking up the receptions Sproles’ was getting in this offense, which makes him worthy of a stash if not a start this week as the Eagles face the Chargers.
On the wide receiver side, Kelvin Benjamin could miss time or at least play injured for a few weeks depending on how he responds to the treatment on his left knee. Without him on the field, the Panthers will need Devin Funchess to step up.
#Panthers coach Ron Rivera confirms WR Kelvin Benjamin’s MRI on his knee showed no structural damage. Good news.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 25, 2017
He didn’t take advantage of his opportunity as the top receiving option in the remainder of last week’s game against the Saints, but nothing on the Panthers’ offense looked great in Week 3. Week 4 may present Funchess with another chance to impress.
Randall Cobb sat out last week for the Packers and gave Geronimo Allison a chance to shine. His 100+ yards came mostly on a 72-yard overtime reception that set up the field goal that won it. With the Packers taking the field Thursday, Cobb could still need more time, which would give Allison one more week of fantasy relevance.
Without Jordan Reed, the Redskins turned to Vernon Davis last week. He turned back the clock and racked up five catches, including a score. Davis could get another opportunity for fill-in duty if Reed doesn’t take the field in Week 4.
Though we’ve talked about them before, Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee also deserve a mention. Both have value with Allen Robinson unavailable for the Jaguars. In standard scoring, I prefer Hurns over Lee, despite Lee’s dominant share of the targets.
If you have a place on your bench, you might also consider stashing Jamaal Charles, who showed his quickness of old in Week 3 and could start to emerge for the Broncos if given the more opportunity running alongside C.J. Anderson.
