Top five NFL injuries and contingency plans for Week 8

Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (foot) vs. Arizona Cardinals
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was added to Thursday’s injury report with a foot injury. Teams often limit veteran players’ practice involvement as a precautionary- and/or workload-related measure but midweek Limited Participant injury report additions typically suggest the player suffered the injury during practice.

Hill’s Friday practice participation could assuage concerns entirely but his Week 8 availability is undeniably jeopardized.

Miami No. 2 wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (quad) promisingly remains a limited practice participant through Thursday. He can be expected to lead the team in targets if Hill is inactive. No. 3 wide receiver Malik Washington’s 25 offensive snaps over the last two weeks are more than double that of the next closest wide receiver, per ProFootballFocus.

Miami tight end Jonnu Smith offers perhaps the most effective pivot option for those wishing to exploit Hill’s potential absence. Among 32 NFL tight ends with at least 100 receiving snaps, Smith ranks sixth in target rate (22.9 percent) and fifth in yards per route run (YPRR, 2.00). The Arizona Cardinals’ tight end-coverage unit ties for the 13th-highest yards allowed per coverage snap (7.94).

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Seattle Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (Grade 1 MCL sprain) vs. Buffalo Bills
Date/Time: Sunday, 4:05 pm Eastern
Seattle Seahawks No. 1 wide receiver D.K. Metcalf suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain in Week 7, jeopardizing his Week 8 availability. Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain in Week 1 and was able to play in Week 2. Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Jeff Mueller helpfully reminds us that Seattle is on bye in Week 10, suggesting Seattle could play things conservatively by allowing Metcalf to sit out until Week 11. Seattle could also bench Metcalf for Week 8 before activating him for their must-win divisional games against the Los Angeles Rams (Week 9) and San Francisco 49ers (Week 11).

If Metcalf is active, he is likely to face shadow coverage from the Buffalo Bills’ No. 1 cornerback Rasul Douglas. No. 2 perimeter cornerback Christian Benford and slot cornerback Taron Johnson are among the league’s best at their respective positions.

Re-draft fantasy managers and DFS players wishing to exploit Metcalf’s potential absence and/or decoy usage could consider starting tight end Noah Fant, pending linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle), linebacker Dorian Williams (knee) and safety Taylor Rapp (foot/ankle) health. Bernard may have suffered more than just a low-ankle sprain, per Banged Up Bills, who also notes that this is Bernard’s third time injuring his right ankle. Banged Up Bills adds, “ After seeing additional footage including the two plays he returned for before he exited, this injury may be more complex than I had anticipated. There may be damage to the peroneal tendon which is seen when rolling the ankle during a lateral ankle sprain.”

The running back-coverage unit notably allows the league’s second-highest explosive pass play rate (19.6 percent).
San Francisco 49ers WR, RB and TE Injuries vs. Dallas Cowboys
Date/Time: Sunday, 8:20 pm Eastern
The San Francisco 49ers will be without running back Christian McCaffrey (bilateral Achilles tendinitis) and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (ACL and MCL tears, injured reserve) against the Dallas Cowboys. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings (hip) remains sidelined through Thursday’s practice. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel (wrist/pneumonia) returned to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday but he could operate on a severe snap count, if active. Tight end George Kittle (foot) tends to play through injury, though he could be limited in-game.

Dallas’ run defense is averaging the 10th-deepest tackle depth (4.56) while allowing the most expected points added (EPA) per play (0.155). San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan will undoubtedly lean on running back Jordan Mason, given the team’s current state. The 6-foot, 221-pound backup running back Isaac Guerendo and his 4.33-second 40-yard-dash speed could be effectively utilized as an explosive play generator.

Backup tight end Eric Saubert made good on his beatable matchup, tepidly identified in Top five NFL injuries and contingency plans for Week 3. Dallas’ tight end-coverage unit ranks bottom five in both yards allowed per coverage snap (9.00) and explosive pass plays allowed rate (20.8 percent).

Rookie wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing possess intriguing, small samples. Pearsall finished third on the team in targets (five) in his Week 7 NFL debut. Cowing is averaging a 20.0 percent target rate and 5.00 YPRR on 10 receiving snaps.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR and RB Injuries vs. Atlanta Falcons
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Nos. 1 and 2 wide receivers in Week 7. No. 1 wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring) is expected to miss multiple weeks while slot receiver Chris Godwin (dislocated ankle) has already been ruled out for the rest of the season. Ascending rookie running back Bucky Irving (toe) was notably sidelined during Wednesday and Thursday practices, likely reducing Tampa Bay’s backfield to a fantasy-friendly two-player show.

Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield has attempted 33 passes when pressured this season. Evans (seven targets, 12.7 percent target rate) Godwin (nine targets, 13.6 percent target rate) and Irving (four targets, 16.7 percent target rate) account for 20 of those targets. Tight end Cade Otton accounts for six more targets with a 9.2 percent pressured target rate and running back Rachaad White accounts for three targets and an 8.1 percent pressured target rate.

With Irving sidelined, White can be started as an RB2 while explosive No. 3 running back Sean Tucker can be started as a flex option with big-play upside. The Atlanta Falcons’ run defense has missed 40 tackles thus far, the second-most in the NFL.

Otton ranks third on the team in first-read targets (28), earning targets on plays designed for him at a likewise third-ranked rate (17.3 percent). De facto, fill-in No. 1 wide receiver Jalen McMillan ranks fourth (12) and fifth in target rate (15.6 percent), respectively.

Atlanta’s tight end-coverage unit’s 25th-ranked explosive pass plays allowed rate (19.1 percent) furthers Otton’s scoring potential.
Baltimore Ravens WR Zay Flowers (ankle) @ Cleveland Browns
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers injured his right ankle in Week 7. DPT Mueller notes the mechanism is consistent with that of a high-ankle sprain. Per DPT Adam Hutchison’s 2023 Injury Report, only 3.7 percent of wide receivers miss zero games after suffering a high-ankle sprain. Flowers failed to practice on Wednesday and Thursday, likely signaling an impending Week 8 absence.

Fantasy managers can pivot in-game to Baltimore’s No. 2 wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who quietly sits as the WR26 in points-per-reception (PPR) scoring. Bateman has finished inside the position’s top 36 for three straight weeks, most recently finishing as the overall WR2 in Week 7.

Among 67 NFL wide receivers with at least 155 receiving snaps, Bateman ranks 18th in YPRR (1.99), 16th in deep-target rate (23.3 percent), fourth in yards per reception (18.8) and ties for fourth in explosive pass plays (13).