Shark Bites are the latest fantasy football news & NFL updates. Draft Sharks has been in business since 1999. And when we started, redraft was the dominant form of fantasy football. Check out what we've learned about this most basic form of fantasy football along the way.
The Lions fear S C.J. Gardner-Johnson tore a pectoral muscle in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks, NFL Network reports. If confirmed, that would knock Gardner-Johnson out for at least a while -- and likely the rest of the season. We'll watch for confirmation.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Giants RB Saquon Barkley is expected to miss three weeks with his ankle injury. It's an "ordinary" sprain, rather than a high-ankle sprain, Schefter adds. It's all relatively good news, but fantasy owners will still need to prep to be without Barkley for the short term. Schefter's timeline would have him back for Week 6 vs. the Bills. Barkley's absence leaves the Giants' backfield to Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, and rookie Eric Gray. Breida is the preferred fantasy add but shouldn't be considered more than a low-upside RB3 or flex.
Eagles slot CB Avonte Maddox will have surgery this week for the pectoral muscle he tore in Thursday night's win over the Vikings. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Maddox is out "indefinitely" and could miss the rest of the season. That's usually the case for pectoral tears. Philly -- which is also dealing with injuries to starting CB James Bradberry (concussion) and S Reed Blankenship (ribs) -- turned to undrafted rookie Mario Goodrich after Maddox left. The Eagles have allowed each of their first two opponents to exceed 350 yards passing and could remain a favorable passing matchup.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that there's "cautious optimism" that Giants RB Saquon Barkley avoided a major ankle injury. Barkley is scheduled for additional testing on Monday, so we should have a better idea of his status by the end of the day. Fantasy owners shouldn't count on him playing vs. the 49ers on Thursday night, but it's possible that he doesn't miss much time beyond that.
Patriots WR DeVante Parker led the team in receiving with 57 yards in Sunday night’s loss vs. the Dolphins. The veteran recorded 6 catches on 8 targets in his season debut after missing Week 1 with a knee injury. Teammate Kendrick Bourne saw a team-high 9 targets and logged 4 catches for 29 yards. TE Hunter Henry is perhaps the most fantasy-relevant story from the game. He turned 7 targets into 6 catches for 52 yards and a TD en route to logging the most PPR points (17.2) of any TE in the Sunday slate. If Henry is still hanging around on the waiver wire, go ahead and scoop him up ahead of Week 3 vs. the Jets.
On Sunday night, NFL insider Jordan Schultz tweeted that Giants RB Saquon Barkley is believed to have suffered a sprained ankle vs. the Cardinals. Schultz adds that the injury “could have been much worse,” and Barkley seems to have dodged significant damage. This news is excellent for fantasy managers who feared a prolonged absence for the workhorse back. Still, Week 3's contest vs. the 49ers is set to kick off on Thursday night. It'll be tough for Barkley to work his way back on a short week to play, but he may be available again sooner rather than later. We'll keep fantasy managers in the loop as more information becomes available.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley recorded 17 carries for 63 rushing yards and 6 catches for 29 receiving yards in Week 2 vs. the Cardinals, finding the end zone twice. He appeared to sustain a foot injury late in the fourth quarter of the contest and didn't come back into action. According to a report from Pro Football Talk, he was taken on a medical cart to receive X-rays following the game. It'll be essential to follow along with practice reports in the coming days to get an idea of Barkley's availability for Week 3 vs. the 49ers. Considering their next game is on Thursday, it wouldn't be surprising to see him miss time.
Patriots WR DeVante Parker (knee) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Dolphins. It’s unclear how big a role he’ll play in his 2023 debut. Parker is only a viable option in one-game DFS contests. WR Kayshon Boutte is a healthy scratch for New England tonight.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley got rolled up on late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Cardinals. He was helped off the field, putting no weight on his right leg. We'll update his status when we learn more.
Patriots WR DeVante Parker (knee) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday night’s game vs. the Dolphins. He was in the same boat last week before ending up inactive. Parker shouldn’t be in your Week 2 fantasy plans.
A week after TE Dallas Goedert went catch-less on one target, the Eagles clearly made it a point to get him going in Thursday night's game vs. the Vikings. Goedert finished with a team-high seven targets on 23 Jalen Hurts passes -- good for a 30.4% target share. Unfortunately, he managed just 22 scoreless yards on six catches. Goedert's grabs all came near the line of scrimmage, and he wasn't able to pick up much after the catch. It's been an underwhelming start to the season for Goedert and Philly's passing game in general. But we expect the passing game to get rolling. And Goedert remains a big part of it, registering elite 90% and 87% route rates in these first two games. He remains a top-six fantasy TE and is a nice buy-low candidate on the trade market.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown mustered just four catches for 29 scoreless yards in Thursday night's win over the Vikings. He was visibly frustrated on a night when Philly's passing game struggled to get anything done outside of two deep balls to WR DeVonta Smith. Brown had a 25-yard TD in the fourth quarter negated by a holding penalty on RB Rashaad Penny -- and then appeared to be interfered with on a potential TD on the very next play. The Eagles' passing game has looked disjointed through two weeks, but we expect it to get rolling soon. Brown remains a fantasy must-start with week-winning upside. Although there's very little separating him and Smith in terms of fantasy value at this point.
Outside of two deep balls to WR DeVonta Smith, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts struggled to get much going through the air in Thursday night’s win over the Vikings. He finished with 193 yards, one TD, and one INT on 18-of-23 passing. But Hurts added 35 yards and two TDs on the ground to turn in a big fantasy day. Both of those scores came on the evidently unstoppable tush-push play from the Minnesota one-yard line. Philly’s passing game has yet to click through two weeks. But there’s too much talent for it not to get going soon. In the meantime, Hurts’ rushing production will buoy his fantasy value. There’s nothing scary on Hurts’ schedule until a Week 6 matchup vs. the Jets.
The Eagles have ruled S Reed Blankenship (ribs) and CB James Bradberry (concussion) out for Thursday night's game against the Vikings. Terrell Edmunds operated as the third safety in the opener and would seem to be next up in Blankenship's spot. Second-year CB Josh Jobe is expected to fill in for Bradberry. That's a matchup upgrade for Vikings wideouts.
The Eagles have ruled RB Kenneth Gainwell out for Thursday night's game against the Vikings with the rib injury that has kept him out of practice each day. The short turnaround from Sunday's opener certainly doesn't help the guy who dominated backfield work for Philly against the Patriots. D'Andre Swift and Boston Scott each figure to get more snaps in his absence. We're also betting Rashaad Penny gets activated for this game. (He was a healthy scratch in Week 1.) We'll all obviously be guessing on touch distribution with the Week 1 leader out. Swift seems like the top bet, but be careful not to overcommit to any Philly RB.
Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) did not practice on Tuesday. "Gainwell remains a wait and see issue" for Thursday night's game vs. the Vikings, insider Derrick Gunn tweeted. Gainwell's absence would leave Philly's backfield to D'Andre Swift, Boston Scott, and likely Rashaad Penny, who was a healthy scratch for the opener. Check back tomorrow for another update on Gainwell. This doesn't sound like a long-term injury, so he remains a strong target on waiver wires.
The Eagles didn't practice Monday, but they had to project a practice report because of their Thursday night game against the Vikings in Week 2. That report listed RB Kenneth Gainwell not participating because of a rib injury. Gainwell stayed involved to the end of Sunday's win against the Patriots, so there's no indication this is serious. But we'll obviously keep tracking it through the short week. If Gainwell were to go inactive, we'd bet on Rashaad Penny taking the game-day roster spot. In that case, we'd all have to guess at the work distribution, which Gainwell dominated in Week 1. D'Andre Swift and Boston Scott were active but minimally involved at New England. The short turnaround could mean a wider spread of Week 2 opportunities even if Gainwell is good to go.
Eagles LB Nakobe Dean is expected to miss "multiple weeks" with the right foot injury that knocked him out of Sunday's win over the Patriots, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler each call Dean a candidate for short-term IR, which would cost the second-year LB at least four games. If Philly doesn't place Dean on IR this week, he might be back sooner. Zach Cunningham led LB playing time for the Eagles in Week 1, but LB Christian Elliss took over the green helmet dot and play-calling duties in relief of Dean. We'll have to see who stays on the field more between them while Dean is out. Both look like low-level IDP options against the Vikings and Buccaneers the next two weeks. Dean is OK to drop in most IDP leagues. But you can consider stashing him -- at least for now -- in deeper formats.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley recorded 12 carries for 51 rushing yards and 3 catches for 12 receiving yards in Week 1’s loss vs. the Cowboys. This was an ugly game for New York from the jump, and the contest got out of hand quickly. All things considered, Barkley’s efforts are perhaps the lone bright spot from the divisional blowout. The veteran also unsurprisingly received 80% of the backfield carries, so fantasy managers can rest easy knowing that Week 2 vs. the Cardinals should bring brighter days.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert drew just 1 target in Sunday's win over the Patriots and went catchless. Philly's limited receiving production (170 yards) primarily went to WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Brown caught 7 of 10 targets for 79 yards. Smith added a 7-47-1 line on 10 targets. RB Kenneth Gainwell was the only other Eagle to draw more than 2 looks. Goedert and the Eagles face a much softer Vikings defense in Week 2. Expect to see the Eagles TE still among our top 12 for Week 2.
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