Analysis
9/12/23
3 min read
Fantasy Football Impact of Jets QB Aaron Rodgers' Achilles Injury
New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers is out for the season because of a torn Achilles tendon, which is catastrophic news for anyone who loves the NFL. His injury will also have a major impact on all the Jets’ fantasy-relevant players. Let’s take a look at how those options are affected by this dreadful news:
>> READ: Jets' Outlook Without Rodgers Is Bleak
Fantasy Football Impact of Rodgers' Injury
Zach Wilson, Quarterback
Outside of very deep leagues or superflex formats that start two quarterbacks, Zach Wilson is a low-end streaming option. If Rodgers is your starting quarterback in traditional redraft, look for better options than Wilson.
Breece Hall, Running Back
As we saw on Monday night, Breece Hall is incredible. He’s one of the best running backs in the league and a true difference-maker. Hall is still a valuable fantasy option, but Rodgers’ absence brings three major negatives.
The first is opposing defenses will be more willing to load the box to stop Hall with Rodgers sidelined. The second is Hall will likely see a reduced passing game volume and efficiency. The third is the Jets will simply have fewer scoring drives without Rodgers.
Before Hall’s season-ending injury last season, he showed he’s a factor regardless of his quarterback. However, Rodgers’ injury reduces Hall’s ceiling.
Dalvin Cook, Running Back
Hall is a headliner, while Dalvin Cook is a premium handcuff with some standalone value. Every negative factor for Hall also affects Cook, although the Jets could lean on their run game more now.
Garrett Wilson, Wide Receiver
Like Hall, Garrett Wilson is still a premium fantasy option whose production ceiling will take a hit from Rodgers’ absence. The big problem here is that last season, Wilson averaged 8.6 PPR points per game with Zach Wilson at quarterback and averaged 17.2 with everyone else.
There’s no guarantee that trend continues, but it’s an obvious negative for Garrett Wilson’s season-long prospects.
Allen Lazard, Wide Receiver
Allen Lazard’s primary fantasy value was based on his long-standing rapport with Rodgers from their time in Green Bay. Unless the Jets now trade for a quality veteran such as Matthew Stafford, Lazard is little more than a bye-week fill-in. Lazard is now droppable in many traditional fantasy leagues.
Mecole Hardman, Wide Receiver
Mecole Hardman was already droppable in the majority of leagues.
Tyler Conklin, Tight End
Like Lazard, Rodgers’ injury is a disaster for Tyler Conklin’s fantasy football viability. Conklin only had one target on opening night and saw sporadic volume from Wilson last season. Conklin is now droppable in most leagues.
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