Marching On After NFL Injuries Keep Hitting Fantasy Football

I don’t like the pace we are on with injuries right now.

We are still 20 days away from real football played and yet the hits keep on coming …

Jayden Higgins is done for the year

The Texans’ promising second-year WR tore his ACL during a joint practice with the Raiders and will now miss the entire 2026 season.

So what does it mean for fantasy?

Nico Collins gets a small bump in both target share and TD share. He is a smash target at the Round 2-3 turn in drafts.
Both Jaylin Noel and Tank Dell get a bump as well. Dwain McFarland moved up Noel’s route participation to 70% and Dell’s to 65%. They are both great late-round fliers in best ball, but still just WR5/6 darts in managed leagues.
We didn’t make any big adjustments to CJ Stroud or Dalton Schultz, but it seems likely that this injury could tilt their playcalling to more TE-heavy, bully ball. Sigh.

FANTASY IMPACT FROM HIGGINS INJURY

Alvin Kamara out for a month with a sprained MCL

Kamara is no longer draftable now that he’s slated to miss the beginning of the season. Dwain docked him four games and moved him down to RB61.

Considering there was legit risk of Kamara stealing high-value touches away from Travis Etienne, this gives me more confidence in drafting the guy whose last name is indeed pronounced like “Achane.”

Dwain gave Etienne a “small bump in attempts, routes, and targets” based on a heavier early-season workload. One of Devin Neal or Kendre Miller will likely spell him, but Etienne should get off to a fast start—making him a particularly strong Guillotine Leagues^TM pick.

BUTTON

The Greatest Dual Threat

What's the greatest fantasy season of all time by a QB? If you're going by average points per game, it was Lamar Jackson 2019, with just under 28 ppg. Time was, you had to either be a pocket passer, or a mobile QB. Then Lamar came along dropping dimes and outrunning entire defenses. And the game changed.

It's just like our BioFuse Hair Cream Clay (yes, we know. But stay with us for a sec, the comparison will make sense). Time was, you had to either use a Hair Cream, which was easy to apply but thin with low hold and super glossy shine—or a hair clay, which had better hold and matte finish, but was thick, sticky and clumpy when you tried to apply it. But no more! Our Cream Clay is a unique hybrid. It's light and easy to apply like cream, but with a strong hold and a matte finish, like a clay. It does all the things you want, at the highest level. It's the Lamar Jackson of hairstyling aids. The 2019 Lamar Jackson at least. Who knows, maybe the 2026 Lamar, too, with the new coordinator and all.

Oh, and best yet, it's also approved by Dwain McFarland himself. If there's one thing that guy knows—besides fantasy—it's hairstyling. And like all Blackwood products, BioFuse Hair Cream Clay is clean and natural. Just use code FANTASYBFM20 at checkout and you'll get 20% off what's already an absurdly low price compared to other premium products.

MAKE YOUR HAIR A DUAL THREAT

Around the Watercooler

The latest fantasy and NFL gossip, news, memes and more from your favorite football nerds …

☕️ Exploiting ESPN ADP in drafts. Matthew digs in with Alex Cupps.

💲 Ready to jump into a high-stakes draft? Jahmyr Gibbs-Nico Collins is a good start.

🪓 Join Guillotine Leagues^TM paid leagues. Only cuts taken will be weekly losers.

🙏 He could be the No. 1 WR for a top QB. Must draft.

👀 Two wrong trades don’t make a right. Some sage advice.

💪 Who can win Comeback Player of the Year? Heel to no one.

🔮 The projections got an update after this signing. Who’s going down?

🚑️ Our worst fears confirmed for the Chargers. Oof.

🙏 You can exhale about the Steelers WRs. They’ll be fine.

✏️ I’m paying attention … because the RB2 in SanFran is something I really want to know.

📉 Seeing this player fall in dynasty rankings … it just hurts.

🥜 Draft strategy in a nutshell. Bookmark this.

Draft Strategy From 1.11: Use ADP As A Guide

You hear all the time to draft “your guys.” We can go into drafts with our cheat sheets, magazines or use the ADP when in an online draft room. But when it comes down to it, no matter how much research you’re doing or what the rankings say to do, you’re the one in the arena. You have to put up the sticker or hit the button that says DRAFT. It has to be your choice, because you get to bask in the glory of taking JSN in the third round or having your first-rounder tear an ACL in the opener.

Chris Allen goes through the entire thought process that goes into the 1.11, especially the quick turnaround at the turn followed by the LONG waits before every odd-numbered round. He also answers whether there are consequences for picking a player too much ahead of his ADP. ⤵️

QUITE THE START AT THE 1-2 TURN

Utilizing Matthew’s Rankings For A Yahoo Draft

One of the true pleasures of having the Godfather of Fantasy Football Matthew Berry housing his rankings on FantasyLife.com is being able to set up those ranks in our Draft Champion tool for a mock draft. It’s as close to having Matthew at your side, giving you advice on every pick.

Adam Pfeifer prepared for his first Yahoo draft using Matthew’s rankings, and it helped so much he wrote an article about it. Choosing from the 1.09, it was a great time to employ a particular strategy. How did he do? ⤵️

HITTING RB EARLY, WERE THERE ENOUGH WRs LEFT?

Hero RB vs. Zero RB vs. Robust RB

It's the Battle Royale of fantasy football draft-strategy debates! How people attack the RB position appears to tell the story for this season. Hero, Zero or Robust RB, there are so many ways to approach a draft. Kendall, Pete and Dwain get in the ring and debate which strategy is best for this season. Subscribe to the Fantasy Life Show YouTube channel to catch every episode.

CHOOSE YOUR DRAFT-STRATEGY FIGHTER!

Published Aug 20, 2026, 6:00 AM ET