Every Monday, fantasy football owners try to pick up the pieces of what occurred the previous day. This past Sunday, we saw running backs Rashaad Penny, Damien Harris, and James Conner exit their respective games early due to injuries. Between the three backs, Penny's injury is the most serious and will have a big effect on Week 6 waiver wire pickups.
Below we'll give you the latest news on these RBs and break down how their injuries could potentially affect the Week 6 fantasy landscape. For the latest on banged-up pass-catchers Tyreek Hill, Tee Higgins, Drake London, Pat Freiermuth, and Chris Olave, click here; for news on injured QBs Dak Prescott and Tua Tagovailoa, click here; for more on banged-up WRs, including Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas, and Rashod Bateman, go here; for the latest on Jonathan Taylor, Kyle Pitts, and Dawson Knox, click here.
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WEEK 6 FANTASY: Top waiver pickups | FAAB planner | Trade advice
Rashaad Penny injury update, Week 6 fantasy outlook
UPDATE: Penny will undergo surgery and officially miss the rest of the season.
Penny (fibula) exited Sunday's game against the Saints with what was called an ankle injury. However, he underwent further testing, showing that he fractured his fibula. The 26-year-old running back will undergo tests on Monday to determine if surgery is necessary, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
This is devastating news for Penny, who could potentially be out for the rest of the season. The veteran is coming off an excellent performance the previous week against the Lions, where he had 151 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. If Penny does miss the rest of the season, rookie running back Kenneth Walker III steps in as Seattle's starter and has RB2 value in fantasy. The rookie running back had eight carries for 88 yards against the Saints, which included a 69-yard touchdown run. Walker can carry a huge workload, as we saw at Michigan State. Walker is rostered in 45 percent of Yahoo leagues, but that will increase with the Seahawks going up against the Cardinals in Week 6. DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer will serve as Walker's primary backups, and Dallas might be worth an add in deep PPR leagues.
WEEK 6 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Damien Harris injury update, Week 6 fantasy outlook
UPDATE: It was announced Tuesday morning that Harris is expected to miss "multiple games."
Harris was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Lions after tweaking a hamstring injury in the second quarter.
Currently, we don't know how long Harris could be out. However, we know that soft tissue injuries such as hamstrings often take multiple weeks to fully heal, depending on the severity of the strain. Fantasy owners should prepare to start backup Rhamondre Stevenson in Week 6 against Cleveland if Harris is out for a couple of weeks. Stevenson dominated Detroit on the ground with 161 yards on 25 carries and added two receptions for 14 yards. The Patriots will need him to do the same thing next week against a Browns' defense that gave up 199 yards of total offense and two total touchdowns to Austin Ekeler in Week 5. Stevenson is rostered in 88 percent of Yahoo leagues and should be viewed as a low-end RB1 due to the number of touches he could see in Week 6. Rookie Pierre Strong Jr. figures to be next-man-up for touches after Stevenson, but he doesn't need to be picked up in anything but the deepest leagues.
WEEK 6 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
James Conner injury update, Week 6 fantasy outlook
Conner (rib) went down with the injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Eagles. Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury said after the game that Conner is fine, but they are checking everything out, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss.
Kingsbury added that it's something in the rib area, and they're just being "very cautious" with the veteran running back. This season, we've already seen Alvin Kamara deal with a rib injury that caused him to miss a couple of games. Depending on the severity, if Conner missed a game or two, it would put Eno Benjamin in line to start and see around 12-15 touches. Darrel Williams (ankle) could also be involved, but he left Sunday's game early, too. For now, this is a jumbled situation, but Benjamin should be picked up ahead of a highly favorable matchup in Seattle.
