This article is part of our NFL News series.
Until the past few days, nearly all of the significant injuries from training camps had affected defensive players or offensive linemen. The good fortune for fantasy players seemed almost too good to be true, and sure enough, we got our first bombshells of summer Thursday afternoon/ evening with injury announcements for Chargers QB Justin Herbert and Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins.
Rams WR Puka Nacua was the next big name to go down, with an early exit from Sunday's practice followed by a report Monday morning painting him as week-to-week. While Nacua's knee injury doesn't sound overly serious, it might be enough to push his ADP down a few spots now that the start of the season is only a month away.
Let's look at each situation, starting with what looks to be the most serious injury of the bunch, Hopkins' knee strain.
WR DeAndre Hopkins (knee)
Long-time Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky reported a timeline estimate of 4-6 weeks, with Titans coach Brian Callahan then saying Saturday that Hopkins will miss "several weeks" but won't need surgery. The injury occurred five and a half weeks before Tennessee's season opener at Chicago, meaning Hopkins is in serious danger of missing at least one game.
While it doesn't help that D-Hop is 32, he played all 17 games last season and lost only two weeks to injury the year before (plus six to a suspension). Apart from the suspension he's missed only 11 games in 11 pro seasons, but that understates the extent of his injury troubles in light of the many, many times he played without practicing in Houston and Arizona.
At the very least, fantasy managers should consider what the Titans offense might look like if Hopkins misses the start of the season and/or struggles to stay healthy this year. The first thing that probably comes to mind is a larger target share for Calvin Ridley, who signed a four-year, $92 million contract in March despite his inconsistent 2023 for the Jaguars in his first season back from a gambling suspension.
Quotes from Ridley and Titans' brass after the signing hinted at agreement that part of the problem last year was Zay Jones' injury troubles pushing Ridley into the X receiver role. This meant more press coverage, less pre-snap motion and fewer slot targets, which not only made it harder to emphasize Ridley's best traits (speed/quickness) but also added to the difficulty of mitigating his shortcomings (size/strength).
The Titans presumably figured this wouldn't be an issue alongside Hopkins, an experienced and capable X receiver who still commands respect from defenses in the latter portion of a decorated career. If the solution to missed time is putting Ridley at the X position, there's a good chance the same problem from last year crop up again, and perhaps to an even greater extent if Will Levis falls far shy of Trevor Lawrence's standard (as many expect).
The Titans don't have to play it that way, however, as they have 2022 first-round pick Treylon Burks and experienced backup Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as viable candidates for the X position and a lot of downfield routes. An offense with one of those guys as the X, Ridley as the Z and Tyler Boyd in the slot doesn't sound awful, especially if TE Chigoziem Okonkwo takes another step forward and the two-headed backfield of Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard is what the Titans expect it to be.
Ridley might handle the pressure of being The Guy if he's playing the position he's best suited for instead of living on the perimeter because nobody else on the roster is capable. In that scenario, Ridley would be looking at a boosted target share without cratering his efficiency in Hopkins' absence.
Burks is the other fun piece to consider, especially given the wealth of positive quotes coming from teammates and coaches this summer. Superstardom seems unlikely at this point, but Burks did have decent numbers as a rookie (8.2 yards per target, 1.71 per route run) on 259 routes, before cratering to 7.4 YPT and 0.89 YPRR last year. Injuries cost him six full games and parts of others each year, and it's probably fair to say he was flat-out bad even when healthy last year. Burks has a nice opportunity, as he's expected to take regular first-team reps for the next month ... and possibly into the regular season.
WR Puka Nacua (knee)
The initial signs for Nacua were positive, as he returned to watch the rest of Sunday's practice with ice around his knee after making an early exit. Guys with serious injuries usually stay inside with the training staff rather than standing around chatting with teammates and watching the action.
Unfortunately, a report from Adam Schefter on Monday morning was less positive, giving Nacua the somewhat vague "week-to-week" designation. That usually entails a minimum absence of two weeks, but in this case a quicker return would be possible if it turns out the injury is just a bad bruise rather than an issue with a muscle or ligament.
Should the opposite prove true and Nacua end up in danger of missing games, the Rams likely would turn to either Tutu Atwell or rookie sixth-round pick Jordan Whittington alongside starting WRs Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson. Coach Sean McVay is well known for preferring large workloads over rotations at the skill positions, but any missed time for Nacua or Kupp this year could lead to multi-TE formations becoming more than an occasional diversion.
Kupp's potential for massive target shares is rightly the first thing that comes to mind with a potential Nacua absence, but Robinson and TE Colby Parkinson could also come into some fantasy value. Robinson had a five-game stretch late last season averaging 4.2 catches for 63.8 yards and 0.8 TDs on 6.8 targets when Matthew Stafford caught fire, and that was with both Kupp and Nacua in the lineup. Robinson's track record suggests that's about his ceiling, even without Kupp or Nacua, but it's a pretty darn good ceiling when talking about someone drafted outside the top 150 in nearly every fantasy draft.
For what it's worth, the Rams seem pretty excited about Whittington, with Kupp even saying he expects the rookie to be "special." Whittington wasn't exactly special at Texas, which is why he lasted until Round 6 this April, but he does have some traits that could work well under McVay, namely YAC ability, size (6-foot-1, 204) and good run blocking. While unlikely to thrive in one-on-one situations on the perimeter against NFL cornerbacks, Whittington could find success via bunch formations, crossing routes and screen passes, i.e., the stuff McVay likes to do anyway.
QB Justin Herbert (foot)
Herbert is expected to use a boot on his right foot for two weeks to allow a plantar fascia injury to heal without aggravation. There doesn't seem to be much concern about missing Week 1, but it's the type of injury that could linger and cause problems later (or impact his mobility even if he's able to play).
The mobility aspect is especially crucial for fantasy, as Herbert is almost certainly looking at reduced pass volume under new offensive coordinator Greg Roman, best known for his run-heavy offenses with dual-threat QBs in Buffalo, San Francisco and Baltimore. While Herbert is a far cry from Lamar Jackson or Colin Kaepernick as a rushing threat, the case for Herbert managing back-end QB1 fantasy value this season largely depends on Roman getting him somewhat involved in the running game to make up for the presumed reduction in passing attempts.
It's also not ideal that the injury is to Herbert's plant foot, nor is it great to miss multiple weeks of practice while installing an offense under a new coaching staff. We're probably not talking about disaster scenarios, but these are the type of small factors that can move a player down by a round or two when he's already going well outside the top 100.
In terms of what the Chargers offense might look like without Herbert ... the answer might be "full collapse." Easton Stick had three touchdown passes and averaged 6.5 YPA across 174 pass attempts last year, going 0-4 as a starter and turning the ball over five times (four lost fumbles). Stick's presence under center wouldn't be good news for anyone, including Chargers running backs.
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