As Fantasy Football players we have more data and information today then we have ever had before. There are so many different evaluation styles it almost makes it harder to make decisions than ever before.  The classic paralysis by over analysis. While everyone will tell you that they have unlocked the secret for projecting performance, the truth is, no one has. But, the truth is out there, my X-files fans should enjoy that.

Each week, I will help you unpack the information that we have received for the week, to help you make the best decisions possible for your own fantasy rosters.  Understand that every league is different, and some information is going to be better served for DFS, or gambling, than it will for traditional season long leagues.

Week one is always an interesting one for season long fantasy. We spent several months preparing, only to find out that we had only seen a part of the picture. NFL teams do a great job of keeping things under wraps when they want to. That is why we have some “unexpected” breakouts. They may seem unexpected to us, but the teams had a plan in place that worked to predicate these breakouts.  This year, guys like Rashid Shaheed, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams come to mind.

One big piece of information that we, as fantasy players, must pay attention to is the practice report and injury list. If we do not pay attention to the data that this gives us, we are destined to fall short of our expectations. Understanding this data early can help you get a leg up on your leaguemates. I, likely, won’t go through every teams practice/injury report, but I will highlight a few situations that we, as fantasy players, will need to keep our eyes on as we move toward Sunday.

Chargers

Let’s start with one of the biggest fantasy names out there, Austin Ekeler. We have been told that he is dealing with a minor ankle injury, and he was a DNP (Did Not Practice)  on Wednesday. Ekeler was a DNP in Thursday’s practice as well, which has him trending toward missing the game on Sunday. Be ready to fire up Josh Kelley.

Broncos

One player that many fantasy pundits were high on this year is Jerry Jeudy. We have been told that he was close to playing in Week 1. Jeudy was a limited participant in Wednesdays practice, in Thursday’s game he was upgraded to full, he is good to go for Week 2. Greg Dulcich is not so lucky, he will be sidelined for several weeks with his hamstring injury, so you will need to look elsewhere if you need a TE option. Adam Trautman is likely to be Dulcich’s direct replacement in the Denver offense, but I am not rushing out to add him to my roster. On Defense, the Broncos got a little dinged up on Thursday with Frank Clark being downgraded to out for a couple of weeks with a hip injury sustained in Thursday’s practice

Raiders

The Raiders WR room got banged up in Sundays win over the Broncos. Adams, Meyers, and Carter were all listed on the teams injured list, and all three were DNP’s. With Meyers being in the concussion protocol, I think it is unlikely that he plays this week. Both Carter and Adams were upgraded to full participants on Thursday, while Meyers logged another DNP. Find a replacement for Meyers.

Packers

The Packers have several names that we need to keep an eye on here. Aaron Jones left Sunday’s win with a Hamstring injury, and those are never fun to deal with for RB. Both Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are dealing with hamstring injuries as well. Both Jones and Watson were DNP’s on Wednesday, while Doubs got in a limited practice. On Thursday, both Jones and Watson logged DNP’s while Doubs got in another limited practice. These are both situations that will need to be monitored. The Packers also have a few key names on defense that we need to keep an eye on, starting LB Quay Walker is in the concussion protocol, while Rashan Gary was limited in practice on Wednesday. On Thursday Gary and and Walker both got in limited practice, so they are trending in the right direction.

Steelers

Diontae Johnson has been given a timetable by the team on the hamstring injury he suffered on Sunday. The team has said that he is expected to miss 4 games with the injury. Pat Freirmuth is another name that popped up, but he was able to get in a limited practice on Wednesday. Freirmuth got in another limited practice on Thursday, which has him trending in the right direction. While, not a fantasy name himself, another name to watch is starting guard James Daniels, who was seen in a walking boot on Wednesday. Thursday saw Daniels get in a limited practice so he should be good to go. On Defense, Larry Ogunjobi was also seen in a walking boot, while Cam Heyward will likely miss up to 8 weeks with his groin injury. In Thursday’s practice Ogunjobi did get a limited practice, which keeps that rotation in decent shape.

49ers

Good news for George Kittle owners, he was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. Trent Williams was a DNP on Wednesday, but it was simply a veteran rest day. On the defensive side of the ball we weren’t so lucky. Dre Greenlaw, one of the incredibly talented 49er linebackers was a DNP on Wednesday with a groin injury. Good news for the 49ers Defense as Greenlaw returned with a limited practice on Thursday.

Chiefs

The Chiefs injury list is full of good news for us. Travis Kelce and Chris Jones were both limited participants, while almost everyone else got in a full practice. The only DNP was Clyde Edward-Helaire who was out with an illness. CEH returned on Thursday and logged as a full participant.

I apologize if I didn’t include your favorite team in this weeks write up. As we all know, every team has players who are dealing with injuries, these are just a few of the key injury situations that we should focus our attention on as we prepare for our matchups this week.  If you have more specific questions about any players or teams please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter(X) @2fatguysff