Presented by
THE INJURED LIST PODCAST and FANTASY SPORTS CORPORATION
by Brian Scott and Andrew Leduc
WELCOME TO THE MEDICAL TENT
Welcome back for the second year of “Inside The Medical Tent.” Each week I, Andrew Leduc, will be asking Brian Scott, of “The Injured List Podcast,” injury questions that could have a fantasy impact. Brian will be giving his professional analysis of the injury and potential timelines. I will then turn that around into what you should do with that player and who could be a possible replacement. Check back every Tuesday during the season for all the necessary information before hitting your league’s waiver wire.
Let’s jump in and tackle the injuries so far from the offseason as we prepare for the first preseason games.
Cooper Kupp - WR (LAR)
Andrew Leduc - Is this a potential Keenan Allen situation from last year, where we keep thinking he will be back and he doesn’t return?
Brian Scott - Boy I hope not! Although, if history teaches us anything, and if you have listened to my podcast and read my previous blogs, you will know how I feel about hamstring injuries! It is an inherently weak muscle group and is difficult to train. It is often neglected as part of a good strength training and agility program, even by professional athletes. It’s no wonder why we see a lot of injuries. Usually, the time to see them is in the preseason, or early in the start of the regular season. Why? Well, it's usually because no matter how hard you try, you can not always simulate game conditions. The hamstrings are usually injured when they are still de-conditioned and have not yet caught up to the football-specific demands that are placed on them week in and week out. Let us pray that because this injury happened so early in the preseason, it allows him to make a full recovery and not linger all year. I am hopeful because I do not think it is as serious as it could have been. I do anticipate he will be ready in week 1 and not have any season-long issues.
Andrew Leduc - Brian does help put me at ease a little when it comes to Cooper Kupp and this injury. However, I still have had very little to almost no shares of Kupp throughout my drafts so far. I am more worried about Matthew Stafford than I am Kupp, and this injury has just given me even more of a reason to fade him at his current high ADP. He will still be a WR1 if he plays at least 15 games I believe, but I do prefer Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson in the top tier, or just waiting for CeeDee Lamb in the second tier of wide receivers. The other guys I would draft ahead of Kupp at a similar ADP right now would be Nick Chubb, Austin Ekeler, Tyreek Hill, Bijan Robinson, or Derrick Henry.
Kadarius Toney - WR (KC)
Andrew Leduc - Is it realistic to see him be ready for week 1 after his surgery?
Brian Scott - No! I am a Giants fan by the way, so I am biased. However, he is notoriously missing weeks at a time throughout the early stages of his career with various injuries. I see this one being no different. If it was just an arthroscopic cleanup, he could return as early as 2-3 weeks. If he is not back by then, it might be more like 4-6. With Toney, it is very difficult to predict.
Andrew Leduc - KadariusToney is another guy that has been firmly on my fade list in all draft formats this year for this exact reason. In his short career, he has already missed 15 of a possible 34 games due to injury. That is not the type of roll of the dice I want on my team each week. This is especially true given he would most likely be your fourth option at wide receiver which would land him as a BYE week starter or FLEX play. You need more availability from guys in those roles. Also, even though Toney is currently listed as the Chief’s top wide receiver, Travis Kelce will continue to be the top target. With the addition of rookie Rashee Rice, who has a lot of potential hype around him, and the second year of Skyy Moore, it would not shock me if Toney ended the season as the Chief’s third or fourth receiver in stats. I am staying far away from Toney in all draft formats.
Joe Burrow - QB (CIN)
Andrew Leduc - What is your level of concern with the calf injury? It seems like it is under control.
Brian Scott - His recent calf injury in no way should affect his prior knee injury and vice versa. This was a kind of fluke thing again probably related to some de-conditioning of the calf muscle that was not yet ready for the early demands of preseason. I think he will have enough time to get it treated and healed by the start of the regular season, but I do think they will bring him along slowly. Look for the Bengals to gradually work him back up to speed with limited if any action during the preseason.
Andrew Leduc - This one was a classic case of holding your breath and overreacting. I get it. One of the league's biggest, youngest, and most exciting quarterbacks got hurt early and it seems like a lot of fantasy teams' worlds’ came crashing down. It seems as though those teams have dodged armageddon. The expectation is that Joe Burrow will be ready for week 1 and I expect him to be his usual self. His place in my rankings has not changed and I still project him out to be a top 5 quarterback this season. Draft confidently and stack him with Chase or Higgins.
J.K. Dobbins - RB (BAL)
Andrew Leduc - Tell me how different the recovery time is for Dobbins who enters this preseason on the PUP list and what we can expect for regular season action.
Brian Scott - Well, this is a lot more complicated than most injuries and guys we have written about. He suffered a multi-ligament knee injury back in 2021, missed the entire season, came back for 4 weeks in 2022, then had a second knee arthroscopic procedure and returned in week 14 feeling “as close to 100% as I have in a long time.” He enters this pre-season on the PUP list and apparently is still recovering from his knee injury. These are the toughest types of things to predict. Two years out from an isolated ACL knee injury and reconstruction, should be about when he is back to his peak, but given the nature of his injury and recovery, plus the setbacks, I do not think he is even close yet. Having multiple procedures and now a new injury on top of it, plus contract issues hovering above his head, I am hard-pressed to see him back in time for the regular season start.
Andrew Leduc - I am getting close to declaring J.K. Dobbins “not a thing.” He is young and extremely talented. He is also in a very run-centered offense where sometimes two running backs can be relative in most formats. His availability though is concerning. What is also concerning is that the Ravens have no issue going with a “hot-hand” approach. With a capable backup in Gus Edwards and a veteran who has a career of stealing goalline carries in Melvin Gordon, there is just too much variance for me to consider him a running back one or two on any of my teams. When you also include the running capability of a healthier Lamar Jackson this year, I believe Dobbin’s ceiling is unfortunately capped. I am looking elsewhere at his ADP and would actually prefer to draft Gus Edwards way later in drafts at his potential value.
Kenneth Walker - RB (SEA)
Andrew Leduc - Can we expect this groin injury to linger all year, making him a true week-to-week throughout the season?
Brian Scott - Groin injuries are not unlike hamstring injuries in that they are a weak muscle group. We more commonly see these injuries in hockey and soccer because of the nature of the sport and movements required which activates the groin muscles more frequently and places different demands on them. So due to this reasoning, I think we see him have a full recovery in the next 4-6 weeks and be ready to start the season. Expect limited pre-season action and slow work back into full participation.
Andrew Leduc - Kenneth Walker is in a similar boat for me as Cooper Kupp, although I am a little less concerned with him. Given his young rookie backup, Zach Charbonnet, also having a nagging injury, I believe Walker will still be in line for a lot of work this year. We saw how explosive Walker could be last year in his rookie campaign. He played in 15 of 17 games amassing a total of 1050 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns. I honestly don’t see why he couldn't reach those numbers again, which were good enough to make him a running back 15. Although he is not overly involved in the passing game, he should be a very steady and reliable three-down back for the season.
THE DISCHARGE
Come back every week for all of the latest injury updates. If you have other questions we didn’t get to in this week’s edition you can follow us on Twitter below and message us directly.
Brian Scott - The Injured List Podcast - (@injuredlistpod) https://twitter.com/injuredlistpod
Andrew Leduc - (@theRealMrMallard) https://twitter.com/realMrMallard
If you are interested in Andrew’s weekly rankings as well, follow the link below to TSS Fantasy.
Andrew Leduc’s (Mr. Mallard) Rankings - https://tssfantasy.com/andrews-rankings
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