Saquon Barkley fought his way back from an ACL tear this offseason and had re-established himself as a must-start Fantasy option heading into Week 5, so it was a supreme disappointment to see him leave Sunday's game against the Giants with one of the worst-luck injuries you'll see in an NFL game.
Barkley sprained his ankle in the first quarter when he stepped on a Cowboys defender's foot at the end of a play. Barkley was away from the ball and slowing down with his head turned when he rolled the ankle, which immediately started swelling, via the broadcast. He had the ankle taped up and was carted to the locker room to be ruled out almost immediately.
Obviously, we don't know the extent of the injury, but it is worth noting that it was not on the leg where he suffered the ACL tear, and it did look more like a classic sprain than the trickier high-ankle sprain. However, that does not necessarily mean he avoided a serious injury -- that is something we likely will not know until the team can have an MRI and X-rays taken of the ankle to determine the full severity.
However, if Barkley does have to miss time, at least we do know who the likely replacement is for the Giants: Devontae Booker. Booker has been Barkley's primary backup so far, and should be a big part of the offense if Barkley does have to miss time -- he had 16 carries, four targets, and scored a pair of touchdowns Sunday. If Barkley is out, that makes Booker the clear top waiver-wire target ahead of Week 6.
Booker hasn't really been a starter since 2016 with the Broncos, and even that was only for six games. However, he has carved out a solid career as a backup most notably in 2020, when he rushed for 423 yards (4.5 yards per carry) while adding 17 catches for the Raiders. Booker isn't anywhere near Barkley's level as a player, but I would expect he'll get something like 15 carries and a handful of targets if Barkley does miss time, which should put him in the No. 2 RB conversation for as long as he's in that role.
Obviously, we could find out tomorrow that Barkley's injury wasn't as bad as it looked and he'll be able to play through it, but as of Sunday night, Booker looks like he'll need to be the top priority on waivers this week.
Here's who else we'll be looking at this week from the 1 p.m. games on Sunday:
Williams could be in line for a big role in Week 6 if Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s knee injury causes him to miss time. Edwards-Helaire went to the locker room after suffering the injury in the second half and was unable to return. William didn’t make a huge impact in Edward-Helaire’s absence, though that was at least in part because the Chiefs were uncharacteristically trailing for much of the game against the Bills. Williams doesn’t have much history as a lead back -- he started one game during the team’s playoff run last season, scoring 13.4 PPR points in the lone start of his NFL career -- so expect to see more of Jerick McKinnon is Edwards-Helaire is sidelined. But Williams would be the guy to target on waivers and could be a low-end starter in PPR leagues.
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After a slow start to his career, Dillon has been heavily involved in the Packers last two games, looking more like the strong complementary piece to Aaron Jones we thought he would be. Dillon carried the ball eight times for 30 yards (Jones had 14 carries) and added four catches on four targets for 49 yards and a touchdown (Jones had four for 6 yards on five targets). Dillon isn't coming for Jones' job, or anything, but we've seen over the years there was plenty of room for Jamaal Williams to be viable in Fantasy while Jones was an elite option, and with 175 yards from scrimmage over the last couple of games, Dillon is looking like he's there as well. It'll be tough to trust Dillon most weeks, but with byes coming up, he's a great player to have around -- especially since he has star potential if anything happens to Jones. You've gotta love what he's shown in the passing game in limited opportunities.
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It ended in an interesting fashion with Toney being ejected for throwing a punch, but we saw a true breakout performance from the Giants first-round pick Sunday against the Cowboys. With Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton out and Kenny Golladay (knee) and Saquon Barkley (ankle) exiting the game early, Toney proved more than up to the task of serving as the Giants No. 1 option, catching 10 of 13 passes for 189 yards, including a couple of deep shots. I wasn't a big believer in Toney as a prospect, but he's gotten up to speed very quickly in recent weeks and is in a good spot to keep producing given the Giants injuries. This could be a crowded receiving corps eventually, but right now, Toney should be rostered in all leagues.
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Moore still isn't quite getting the kind of snap share we'd like to see, but he continues to produce a ton with the opportunities he gets, which is exactly what you want to see from a young player, because it means the chances of him continue to see his role grow are quite good. I think it's clear Moore is the second-best playmaker on this team, and the Cardinals have made it a point to get the ball in his hands regularly, and it won't be long until he's playing a full-time snap share. I don't think I'm quite to the point of viewing Moore as an every-week starter, but he needs to be universally rostered given his upside.
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Sunday looked a lot more like the version of Callaway who started popping up on sleeper lists with his big preseason. He was targeted a season-high eight times Sunday, catching four of them for 85 yards and a pair of scores, and that continues a little three-game stretch of interesting production -- he has 200 yards and three touchdowns on 15 targets over those three games. He's been a solid deep target for the Saints, but has been held back by a total lack of passing game volume -- the 30 passes Jameis Winston threw in Week 5 were his highest of the season. Hopefully they'll start to look a little more normal in that regard, and Callaway can continue to break out. Of course, with the Saints on bye in Week 6 and Michael Thomas eligible to come back from the PUP list, we'll have to keep a close eye on his status to see if Callaway will have to take a step back.
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Sunday was Henry's best game of the season, but he's now put together a couple of solid Fantasy performances in a row. He has earned 19 targets over the last three games, and while Jonnu Smith remains a factor, he just hasn't been as good as Henry with the opportunities he is getting. Henry probably won't emerge as much more than a low-end starter at tight end, but he's at least giving some reason to think he can be more than just a touchdown-or-bust guy.
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Arnold played a bigger role Sunday after getting acclimated in Week 4, and he had his best game of the season as a result. Arnold tied for the team lead with eight targets, catching six of them for 64 yards. It would have been an even better game if not for a first-half fumble that the Titans recovered. Given the lack of viable options at tight end, league-wide, Arnold could be a very useful player if he emerges as the Jaguars No. 3 option in the passing game.
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We expected Damien Williams to be the clear lead back for the Bears, and while he was, Herbert played a bigger role than we thought he might as well.In fact, Herbert ended up leading the Bears in carries, finishing with 18 carries for 75 yards. Moving forward, Williams is still the better Fantasy play here, but it sure looks like this is going to be more of a timeshare than we expected when David Montgomery went down. Herbert probably won't get that many carries most weeks, but he's going to matter, and is worth snagging on waivers in case something happens to Williams.
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I'm a bit hesitant to buy into Njoku considering he had just four catches for 35 yards in the team's previous two games, but he's clearly the best receiving option the Browns have at tight end, so I'm hoping this might be the start of them leaning on him more. He had three catches for 76 yards and led all tight ends in air yards in Week 1, so this is now two games where he has made big plays for the Browns. You can't necessarily trust Njoku, but if you're looking for someone who might be able to be more than just an "I hope he catches a touchdown" option for you, Njoku certainly has that kind of upside.
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Stevenson was one of the stars of the preseason, but it took until Week 5 for him to see much of a regular season role. And, while he didn't do much with his opportunities Sunday, the fact that he got 11 carries and was still a factor even after Damien Harris returned from his brief chest injury was a good sign. Harris has been little better than fine so far this season, and we know the Patriots aren't afraid to shake things up at RB if they think it will help the offense, which means Stevenson could carve out a larger role if he takes advantage of his opportunities moving forward. In a week where there may not be a ton of high-end targets on the waiver wire, Stevenson could be a sneaky stash.
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St. Brown had just 10 targets and 43 yards through the Lions first three games but put together his second solid performance in a row Sunday against the Vikings. St. Brown caught a career-high seven passes out of eight thrown his way for 65 yards, one week after catching six of eight for 80. He's emerging as a reliable weapon for Jared Goff, and while there isn't much upside as a possession receiver in a bad offense, St. Brown could be a useful PPR option with the bye weeks coming up.
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