The Replacements: Week 3

Photo: Jeff Hanisch, USA Today Sports

For a couple of years, the Coronavirus forced sports to adopt unique measures to produce a playing season. While there's still potential for a positive test to sideline a player for at least three weeks, and there’s no way of projecting how many positive cases occur during the NFL season, there are also compelling factors beyond illness that create a demand for this feature: Late-week injuries, suspensions, and coaching decisions with personnel.

We developed this feature to give you resources that will help you weather the potential loss of players.

As the author of the most comprehensive scouting analysis of skill players since 2006, I’m one of those resources—especially for players at the bottom of depth charts, signed to practice squads and training at home with dreams of that phone call from an NFL team.

Each week, I’ll walk you through the shortlist of players who will get their shot to contribute as replacements for players falling victim to unexpected late-week events.

I won't be updating this piece over the weekend, but you'll get the goods on players worth consideration, and based on the past three years, this column offered a lot of quality short-term and long-term options — many of them as preemptive picks:

• Geno Smith
• Khalil Herbert
• Craig Reynolds
• Boston Scott
• Josh Reynolds
• James Robinson
• Robert Tonyan Jr
• Travis Fulgham
• Tim Patrick
• Russell Gage
• Braxton Berrios
• Duke Johnson Jr
• Rashaad Penny
• Davis Mills
• AJ Dillon
• Tyler Conklin

This is a partial list, but you get the point.

We’ll examine three types of replacements:

1. 1. Players who get immediate playing time.
   2. Pre-emptive additions from your league’s waiver wire.
   3. Options worth monitoring in case the established backup eventually misses time.

Many of these players are late-round picks and street-free agents. I'm not giving you obvious waiver candidates that will command a large percentage of your FAAB dollars. These are options you'll often find in your First-Come, First-Serve section during the latter part of the week prior to kickoff.

If you think street-free agents won’t be factors, Ty'Son Williams from Week 1 last year is on Line 1 waiting for you to pick up. Craig Reynolds is on Line 2. Boston Scott is waiting patiently on Line 3. They each have a long list of players before them who would like to make an appointment to set you straight. James Robinson would like to tell you about his 2020 campaign. And Raheem Mostert has time on his hands if you need a deeper consultation.

WEEK 2 REVIEW

In the coming weeks, I'll provide brief thoughts and recommendations for the previous week's candidates as we move forward. Since I devoted this year's All-Gut Check Team to Waiver-Wire Sleepers as my unofficial Replacements piece for Week 1, let's use that list as the starting point.

Add Now:

• Tyjae Spears: The Titans running back earned a pivotal passing-down role in the opener at the deafening Superdome and looked great as a pass protector. It may not have led to points, but it's a huge indicator that he can take over this backfield if needed. If Ryan Tannehill were more accurate on a pair of vertical routes, Spears could have had a huge day. He had a good day running the ball last weekend. He's going to earn more playing time to keep Derrick Henry fresh.
• Calvin Austin III: A favorite of mine, Austin was efficient as a short-range option against the 49ers and has the potential to stretch the field or deliver a breakaway touch on any opportunity. Diontae Johnson will miss multiple weeks, so expect Austin to earn Johnson's role and have an opportunity to make it his full-time when considering that Johnson's deal ends next year and the financials could make him tradable next year.
• Jerome Ford: As I mentioned last week, absolutely keep him on my rosters to back up your shares of Nick Chubb, and seriously consider him as roster depth that could become a full-time starter if Chubb gets hurt.
• Tank Dell: He earned 37 snaps, 4 targets, 3 catches, and 34 yards in the opener, but more importantly, the Texans' coaching staff told the media that they will be giving him more snaps in Week 2. He's the best big-play option on the team and has a rapport with fellow rookie C.J. Stroud. An injury may hinder him, but he's worth a roster spot when healthy.
• Josh Downs: The rookie's 57 snaps and 7 targets in Week 1 are enough to add him to many rosters because the receptions should increase as he and Anthony Richardson gain more comfort with the speed of the NFL game.
• Allen Robinson II: The Steelers' leading receiver against a stout 49ers defense, Robinson's 8 targets on 56 snaps with 64 yards of output is a worthwhile start from the slot. He didn't manage similarly against Cleveland, but he's worth a short-term addition to this list at this point.
• Sean Tucker: The Buccaneers gave him the ball 7 times on 10 snaps. and generated 24 yards in his NFL debut. White earned twice as much yardage but needed nearly three times the touches and had nearly five-and-a-half more snaps. As I said this summer, the Buccaneers line isn't good, so the starting role for the running back on this team may have minimal fantasy value. Still, I like Tucker's big-play potential a little more as a runner. I bet we'll see an even split in workload between the two backs by the end of the month.
• Kareem Hunt: I recommended him as a preemptive addition last week, and this week, he's rejoining the Browns after Nick Chubb's season-ending injury. He'll likely serve in a similar capacity to Jerome Ford as he did with Chubb.
• Kadarius Toney: He caught all five targets for 35 yards against Jacksonville. I think we'll see his production continue to climb as this offense improves as a unit.
• Chuba Hubbard: Miles Sanders is limited at practice this week, which could lead to Hubbard at least earning a larger share of touches than last week. He has averaged 64.5 yards from scrimmage this year, earning at least 50 yards in each game with a range of 7-11 touches. If he gets the start, he could have a strong day against Seattle.