Fantasy Injury Updates: Amari Cooper, Damien Harris, Ronald Jones could impact Week 1 rankings

Billy Heyen

Fantasy Injury Updates: Amari Cooper, Damien Harris, Ronald Jones could impact Week 1 rankings image

This final week before Week 1 of the NFL season gets underway leaves us all anxious and worried about every little bit of injury news that emerges. That means right now we're wondering about Amari Cooper, Damien Harris, and Chris Herndon. We're also trying to make sense of what the Leonard Fournette signing means for Ronald Jones. Fantasy drafts are still taking place, and other owners are planning their Week 1 lineups, and we have the latest on that quartet.

For the latest fantasy injury news and updates, check back here and on Twitter @SN_Fantasy

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Amari Cooper injury update

Cooper has not been a full participant at any of the Cowboys' four practices this week. Thursday, he worked with resistance cords off to the side. Jerry Jones has said Cooper's limited work has been of the preventative nature. Cooper did deal with plantar fasciitis last year, which is essentially a nagging foot injury that won't necessarily just disappear, although no indication has been given that he's still dealing with that now.

Cooper is a top-10 fantasy WR when healthy, and that includes for a Week 1 matchup with the Rams that should see plenty of points. If Cooper were to miss time, Michael Gallup would vault into the top-20 of our weekly rankings and CeeDee Lamb would be a strong WR3/flex play.

2020 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker | Superflex | Top 200

Damien Harris injury news

Harris could miss Week 1, according to ESPN, while NFL Network is reporting that Harris recently had surgery on his pinky finger. With Sony Michel and Lamar Miller returning toward full health, Harris' window of opportunity was already closing before his injury.

Talk about a slowed-down hype train. Harris had a few days there where he might've been the most popular Patriots running back, but for now, it looks like Michel and James White are most likely to carry the load in Week 1. Harris goes back to being a very late-round flier in drafts still to come.

2020 PPR RANKINGS:
Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | Superflex | Top 200

Will Ronald Jones still get carries after Fournette signing?

Bruce Arians said Thursday morning, mere hours after Leonard Fournette signed with the Buccaneers, that Ronald Jones II is still "our guy," adding that "nothing's changed for him." Arians also suggested LeSean McCoy will remain involved in the offense.

There's a lot of moving parts here, when you include rookie Ke'Shawn Vaughn and pass-catching back Dare Ogunbowale, but it's hard to imagine the signing of Fournette changes nothing for Jones. The vote of confidence suggests those of you who've already drafted Jones should hold tight for a week or two, but Fournette is still our favorite to lead this backfield in production and return RB2 value. 

2020 FANTASY SLEEPERS:
6 QBs | 16 RBs | 14 WRs | 10 TEs | 5 D/STs | One from each team

Chris Herndon injury update

Herndon left Tuesday's practice with irritation in his lungs, but he returned to practice Wednesday and should be fine for Week 1. The Athletic has reported positive things about the connection between Darnold and Herndon this training camp.

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After getting some hype last preseason, Herndon was a major bust. He could come with value this year if you find yourself wanting to draft a backup TE. He's going off the board 20th at the position and showed at the end of 2018 that he can return borderline starter value if given the opportunity.

Billy Heyen