Dealing with injuries?
Me too!
No matter what the numbers say about past seasons, the list of missing players feels brutal as we start 2026. It is absolutely disheartening to plan and prep for our drafts, only for injuries to wipe our teams clean.
How can we work through this?
In a staff draft full of the names you actually care about (Sigmund, Joe, Bob, Dave, and Joey), I started with Saquon Barkley, De'Von Achane, Tee Higgins, Ladd McConkey, Jadarian Price, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Lamar Jackson.
No matter how bad it feels, it probably isn't THAT bad.
Your entire league is dealing with injuries.
Sure, one team in your league is probably cruising along with Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry, Chris Olave, and Christian Watson. It is ok to embrace some Sith emotions like hatred and jealousy. It’s fantasy football.
We will get to them later.
You just need one win.
Are you 0-4 or 1-3? That’s irrelevant. Unless you have some wild rules, you can't dig out of a hole in just one week. You need A win. Survive and advance.
Build around your strength.
The vultures are circling, trying to pick your roster clean. They want your best player. They are not offering their best players. Difference makers matter in fantasy football. It may be tempting to break down your pieces: “D'Andre Swift and Michael Wilson will both start for me.” It will be much harder to win long term without Bijan Robinson or Puka Nacua.
Adopt a DFS mindset.
Pause on building a roster. Focus on building a lineup. Have Jahmyr Gibbs? Play Jacoby Brissett and a Cardinals pass catcher to lean hard into a potential shootout. Nacua your best piece? Play Keon Coleman or Khalil Shakir. Your opponents will likely see your record and play safer. Use it to your advantage and embrace volatility.
Desperation is an advantage.
Lose multiple key players to season-ending injuries? Use the extra roster space to beat the waiver wire for streaming defense or quarterback plays. Take chances on rookies who have started slow. Add players who are dropped from stronger rosters.
My Favorite Title.
Storytime. I got into DFS in 2015, during the DFS explosion. It changed how I viewed lineups. That same season, I had my worst start ever in my home league. It was a keeper, auction league. My big buys: Dez Bryant, Alshon Jeffery, and Davante Adams. Adams was a year too early; he broke out in 2016. Jeffery and Bryant both got injured in Week 1; Jeffery was out until Week 6, and Bryant until Week 7. I had Devonta Freeman as a keeper option, but Tevin Coleman was generating camp buzz and ended up starting Week 1. I went with Coleman; he got injured after Week 1.
My league rival had nailed his draft. Calvin Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins. Freeman in his breakout year. John Brown as a dart throw on a 1,000-yard season. He deservedly talked all the trash.
Week 11. I was 4-6. He was 8-2. Jeffery was out. Drew Brees, my quarterback, was on a bye. It was his chance to knock me out.
Carson Palmer was my fill-in quarterback. I took a chance on rookie J.J. Nelson as a counter to Brown in his lineup; 140 and a touchdown. I lucked into waiver-wire play Spencer Ware; 2 touchdowns. As a massive underdog, it worked.
I survived.
In my desperate search for solutions, I had landed on David Johnson. He exploded in the fantasy playoffs. I added Jordan Reed after he missed early games and got dropped. He was a difference maker. I won that week. I did not stop winning. As injuries hit rosters around me, my willingness to lean outside the box and work hard on the waiver wire built the hottest team.
It is not too late.
Number Watch
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit
1 Touchdown - Barry Sanders, 57 Touchdowns Before Age 25
Gibbs next touchdown ties a longstanding mark for most touchdowns before age 25. Gibbs will not turn 25 until March, giving ample time to move well ahead of this mark. Gibbs is one of the week's best fantasy options, facing Arizona in an anticipated shootout.
Bijan Robinson could hit the mark, but he would need 18 touchdowns. He is two months older than Gibbs and turns 25 in January.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans
5 Receiving Yards - 5,000 Receiving Yards
7 Receptions - LaDainian Tomlinson, 624 Receptions, 4th most by a Running Back
Kamara is on the verge of becoming the 6th player in NFL history to reach 5,000 rushing and 5,000 receiving yards. The club includes McCaffrey, Marshall Faulk, Tiki Barber, Marcus Allen, and Lenny Moore. Kamara had his best game of the season in Week 4, rushing for two touchdowns and seeing activity in the passing game. Week 5 is tough against Minnesota, making Kamara a low-end RB2 in lineups.
Matthew Stafford, LA Rams
3 Touchdown Passes - 150 With Rams
7 Touchdown Passes - Roman Gabriel, 154 Touchdown Passes, 1st in Rams History
Stafford could become the first player in NFL history to throw 150+ touchdown passes for two different franchises.
He is closing in on becoming the Rams franchise leader in touchdown passes. When he hits that mark, he'll be the only player to lead two different franchises in touchdown passes. He needs 3,162 passing yards to reach Jim Everett. Stafford is well ahead on the Lions' career leaderboard.
Derrick Henry, Baltimore
2 Touchdowns - Marshall Faulk, 136 Touchdowns, 7th All-Time
Henry has 7 touchdowns in 4 games. Two more will reach Faulk. His next rushing milestone is 271 yards away, with Jerome Bettis sitting 8th on the all-time list. LaDainian Tomlinson is just 22 yards past Bettis. The Ravens will need to rely on him with Tyler Huntley starting for Lamar Jackson.
Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati
52 Receiving Yards - Isaac Curtis, 7,101 Receiving Yards, 3rd in Bengals history
Chase looked headed for a big game in Week 4 before a vicious facemask ended his day. He is questionable for Week 5, though he has been involved in practice and would be a must-play against Miami.
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco
1 Receiving Touchdown - Marshall Faulk, 36 Receiving Touchdowns, most by a running back
McCaffrey has sat on this number all season and still hasn't recorded a receiving touchdown. McCaffrey faces a divisional rival, the Seattle defense, that hasn't allowed him to score against it since Week 12, 2023.
Mike Evans, San Francisco
1 Receiving Touchdown - Tony Gonzalez, 111 receiving touchdowns, 9th All-Time
30 Receiving Yards - DeAndre Hopkins, 13,295 Receiving Yards, 18th All-Time
Evans had a strong Week 4, moving past Travis Kelce and Andre Reed on the career list. He can jump another spot with a decent game, and a big 117-yard performance could tie Torry Holt. Evans is a key target for Brock Purdy, but Seattle allowed only three receivers with 100+ yards in 2025.
Davante Adams, LA Rams
23 Receiving Yards / 56 Receiving Yards - Jason Witten, 13,046 Receiving Yards, 23rd All-Time / Steve Largent, 13,089 Receiving Yards, 22nd
2 Receiving Touchdowns - Larry Fitzgerald, 121 Receiving Touchdowns, 6th All-time
A decent yardage game will move Adams up two spots. He is chasing Kelce and Evans up the board, slightly behind their milestones. Buffalo should be a shootout worth targeting, and Adams' red-zone value could deliver the two needed touchdowns to reach Fitzgerald.
Keenan Allen, Indianapolis
2 Receptions - Reggie Wayne, 1,070 Receptions, 11th All-Time / Anquan Boldin, 1,076 Receptions, 10th / Terrell Owens, 1,078 Receptions
Allen returned to practice after missing Week 4. He was a key receiver for Daniel Jones early in the season; the passing attack struggled without him.
Long-Term Tracker
These numbers will not fall this week unless it is a record, but they're worth counting down.
Josh Allen, Buffalo
11 Passing Touchdowns - Jim Kelly, 237 Passing Touchdowns, 1st in Bills history
161 Rushing Yards - 5,000 Rushing Yards
Allen became the Bills' career touchdown leader in Week 4. He’s closing in on the passing touchdown record.
He is approaching a significant rushing milestone. At 4,839 rushing yards, he ranks 6th among quarterbacks. He needs 93 to catch Randall Cunningham. Only four quarterbacks have hit 5,000 career rushing yards: Lamar Jackson (6,646), Michael Vick (6,109), Cam Newton (5,628), and Russell Wilson (5,568).
Travis Kelce, Kansas City
5 Receptions - Cris Carter, 1,101 Receptions, 6th All-time / Marvin Harrison, 1,102 Receptions, 5th All-Time
47 Receiving Yards - DeAndre Hopkins, 13,233 Yards, 18th / Torry Holt, 13,703 Yards, 17th
Kelce is close to moving into the Top 5 in receptions. The Chiefs have a Week 5 bye, pausing his climb.
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia
5 Rushing Touchdowns - Steve Van Buren, 69 rushing touchdowns, 1st in Eagles history
Hurts is nearing the all-time Eagles franchise record for rushing touchdowns. The Eagles are down multiple players against a strong Jacksonville team. Hurts will need to generate most of the offense.
Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh
5 Passing Touchdowns - Peyton Manning, 539 passing touchdowns, 3rd All-Time
Rodgers has cooked the last two weeks, with six touchdowns in five days. Rodgers is live to threaten this standing as soon as Week 5 against the Colts ' 28th-ranked pass EPA defense. Rodgers is better viewed as a Superflex QB2 in Week 5.
Revenge!
Do revenge games matter? For some players, absolutely. For others, it’s a fun side story. Each week, we look at players who have something extra.
Enjoy this type of trivia? Try Immaculate Grid on Pro-Football-Reference. Use code "JBell" when you sign up for a Stathead subscription for awesome stuff. Make sure to check out Footballguys Trivia Night Live with Joey Wright and Jake Bryant every Tuesday!
- QB Sam Darnold, Seattle vs. San Francisco
- RB J.K. Dobbins, Denver vs. LA Chargers
- RB Samaje Perine, Cincinnati vs. Miami
- TE Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati vs. Miami
- RB Bam Knight, Arizona vs. Detroit
- TE Eric Saubert, Seattle vs. San Francisco
- TE Johnny Mundt, Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville
- WR Malachi Corley, Cleveland vs. NY Jets
- WR Mack Hollins, New England vs. Las Vegas - Out
- WR Michael Pittman Jr., Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis - Out
- RB Tank Bigsby, Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville - Out
- QB Cooper Rush, Atlanta vs. Baltimore
Last Week
- RB Derrick Henry, Baltimore vs. Tennessee, Won 24-18, 73 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 2 receptions, 6 receiving yards
- WR Mack Hollins, New England vs. Buffalo, Won 29-26, 3 receptions, 53 receiving yards
- TE Dalton Schultz, Houston vs. Dallas, Lost 34-30, 2 receptions, 9 receiving yards
- WR Chris Moore, Baltimore vs. Tennessee, Won 24-18, no stats
- TE Johnny Mundt, Philadelphia vs. LA Rams, Lost 24-20, no stats
- RB Reggie Gilliam, New England vs. Buffalo, Won 29-26, DNP
Revenge Touchdown Tally
- Derrick Henry, vs. Tennessee, Week 4
- Wan'Dale Robinson, vs. NY Giants, Week 3
- Jakobi Meyers, vs. New England, Week 3
- Demarcus Robinson, vs. LA Rams, Week 1
- Aaron Jones Sr., vs. Green Bay, Week 1