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The 2024 NFL season kicks off today, and that means fantasy football is here as well! Who will turn a surprise season? Some of the players who may not get off to quick starts are the injured ones, so let’s take a look at fantasy football stars who are impacted by the Week 1 injury report.
In the spotlight is Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Any injury to the game’s best player — what? just ask him, he’ll tell you — will be met with widespread interest.
Tyreek Hill, Dolphins, WR — No designation (thumb)
Hill cleared the air recently, saying he expects no impact from his thumb injury, according to palmbeachpost.com.
“I'm fine man, I'm fine,” Hill said. “I just needed some days off. That's it. I'm fine man. I'm healthy. All my fantasy, draftees, draft people, I'm fine. A-OK. 100%. I just wanted to troll y'all a little bit.”
Pencil the speedster in for a fantasy-football relevant touchdown and 100 yards receiving.
Christian McCaffrey, 49ers, RB — Questionable (calf)
McCaffrey has practiced this week, so that’s good news. Also, head coach Kyle Shanahan said during the preseason he didn’t expect him to miss the Week 1 game Monday night.
The bigger fantasy football issue is whether McCaffrey can hold up for the entire season. He received a robust 339 touches last season, the second-highest total of his career. And he started this season with an injury designation.
But Shanahan said the game comes natural to McCaffrey and he expects a good-to-go performance this year, according to nfl.com.
“He understands what it takes to play in this game, especially at the level he does,” Shanahan added. “And not many people play at that level unless they are like that.”
McCaffrey should get plenty of fantasy football touches in Week 1. The 49ers lost Elijah Mitchell for the season, leaving unheralded Jordan Mason and rookie Isaac Guerendo as the main backups.
CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys, WR (commissioner’s exempt list)
This situation will test your fantasy football nerves. While this isn’t a true injury situation, it’s treated as such because Lamb’s availability is physical in nature. Is he ready to rock at a CeeDee Lamb level?
To be clear, it’s not a start-sit question. It’s an expectation level. Is Lamb in good enough football shape to produce Lamb numbers? Probably not. Plus, the Browns have the NFL’s sixth-ranked secondary. Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, and Martin Emerson Jr., could slow Lamb down.
The main fantasy football question is how many targets will Lamb get. If he gets his usual 11, he still produce fairly big numbers. The main thing is not to expect 150 yards and three touchdowns. But then again, it’s not impossible, either.
Cowboys’ head coach Mike McCarthy said Lamb has made great strides, according to essentiallysports.com.
“I’m impressed with where he is,” McCarthy said. “You can tell where his commitment was this offseason. He’s bigger, stronger. We have a number we want him to hit each day. I’m confident he’ll be where we need to be by the end of this week.”
Romeo Doubs, Packers, WR (hand)
Dobbs popped up on the injury list earlier this week with a hand contusion. He said the injury is taking time to get better, according to ESPN reporter Rob Demovsky on X.
“It was a contusion on my hand and taking some time to heal and it is a day-to-day process,” Doubs said. “I was able to function (in practice) the way I’m supposed to.”
It appears Doubs will play, but it also looks like his impact will be limited by the setback.
Tyler Lockett, Seahawks, WR (thigh)
Lockett has been dealing with the issue since mid-August. He said he believes he will be able to get into the Week 1 fantasy football lineup, according to seahawks.com.
“So (head coach) Mike (Macdonald) did a great job,” Lockett said. “The athletic training staff did a great job just being able to work with me and give me some of the things that I felt I needed to be able to get back out here. And that's what you want. You want an A-team; you want an A-plus strength and conditioning staff, an A-plus athletic training staff, and so everybody did their job.”
Sounds positive. Now let’s see what the Seahawks offense looks like and how many targets are available for Lockett.
Jordan Addison, Vikings, WR (ankle)
Things looked iffy as the season drew closer, but head coach Kevin O’Connell said looks like Addison will give it a go, according to Sports Illustrated.
“He's doing better,” O'Connell said. “He was limited on Monday and moved around quite well. He'll do a little more today, and then we'd like to progress him hopefully to full (participation) by the end of the week. I think Jordan's in a good spot and I feel pretty good about him making the game.”
DeAndre Hopkins, Titans, WR (knee)
It’s never good to have any kind of knee injury in mid-summer, but Hopkins has worked hard to position himself for a possible Week 1 fantasy football availability. Head coach Brian Callahan is staying positive, according to espn.com.
“He looks like Hop,” Callahan said. “He's been really communicative about how he feels and where his body's at and making sure he's getting to work to be ready to play. Everything he's done has been exactly what we're looking for in terms of communication and process, so that's been positive.”
Keenan Allen, Bears, WR (heel)
Chicago Bears fans want to see what rookie quarterback Caleb Williams can do in his NFL debut, and having Allen in the group of receivers would be a boost. Allen returned to practice this week, but he’s not a guaranteed go for Sunday.
Allen called himself “day to day,” according to several reports. The translation may have come with the smile on Allen’s face, according to a post on X by WGNTV sports anchor Kaitlin Sharkey.
Kyle Pitts, Falcons, TE (hamstring)
The Falcons should have their high-potential tight end on the field, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic.
“Kyle Pitts expects to be 100 percent Sunday despite a hamstring injury that will limit him in practice (Wednesday).”
