Injured NFL Stars Worth Reaching for in 2013 Fantasy Football

It's barely June, and already the injury bug has taken a bite out of fantasy football rosters.

The first big name to go down was San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who went from fantasy breakout candidate to waiver-wire fodder in the span of one torn Achilles tendon.

Crabtree's injury underscores two realities about fantasy football.

First, drafting early is crazy and should be avoided if you can help it. Nothing is more maddening than watching a key part of your fantasy squad go down before the season even starts.

Second, there are always players who are either coming off of injuries or nursing them during training camp. These players carry with them additional risk.

However, that same risk can mean value on draft day, as skittish owners pass on these players in lieu of "safer" plays.

So, which dinged up stars are worth the gamble in fantasy leagues this year?

Read on to find out!

Robert Griffin III, QB, Washington Redskins

There probably hasn't been a more talked-about injury in the NFL this offseason than the torn ACL suffered by Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III in the playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks that ended Washington's 2012 season.

That injury dampened a fantastic rookie season in which Griffin threw for 3,200 yards and finished among in the top five in points per game of fantasy options at his position.

That injury also has fantasy owners skittish in early drafts this year. According to My Fantasy League, Griffin is currently being selected as the ninth quarterback off draft boards, with an average draft position of the sixth round.

As Tracee Hamilton of The Washington Post recently reported, Griffin is participating (albeit in a limited fashion) in OTAs, and he remains on track to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Yes, there's risk involved in drafting Griffin, but that risk can be mitigated by hedging your bet with a solid fantasy reserve under center. Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs and Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals are both undervalued right now and would make for serviceable short-term fill-ins if Griffin misses a game or two.

Meanwhile, you'll have a fantasy passer with top-five upside that you acquired on the cheap.

Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans

Arian Foster of the Houston Texans was fantasy football's second-ranked running back in standard scoring leagues in 2012, a ranking buoyed by over 1,400 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

Heading into the 2013 campaign Foster was widely regarded as a top-three fantasy pick, but recent developments have dinged the 26-year-old's stock a bit.

As the Associated Press (via USA Today) reports, Foster's strained right calf will sideline him for the remainder of the team's OTAs.

For his part, Houston head coach Gary Kubiak downplayed the injury, although he also indicated that the team wouldn't rush Foster:

"

Don't expect me to bring him back out here. We're not going to do anything to take a risk with him...so we'll just go to work on getting him healthy and getting him ready for training camp.

 

"

The injury may not be serious, but it underscores the fact that Foster is coming off a 351-carry season and has a history of getting nicked up.

Those factors have caused Foster to slip in many drafts. It's advisable to "handcuff" backup Ben Tate as injury insurance, but the middle of the first round is excellent value for Foster.

Trent Richardson, RB, Cleveland Browns

Much like Arian Foster, Trent Richardson of the Cleveland Browns was viewed as a top-five fantasy back as recently as a few weeks ago.

However, the same injury goblins that dogged Richardson in 2012 are back nipping at his heels, and that's sent Richardson's fantasy stock into a mini-dive.

This time, it's Richardson's shin that's the issue. According to Will Burge of ESPN Cleveland, this new injury will keep the 21-year-old out until August, as the Browns fear that the injury could develop into a stress fracture.

That news is certainly cause for concern for fantasy owners, especially when combined with a report from Chris Wesseling of NFL.com that states that Richardson has lost 10 pounds due to migraines and an inability to participate in the Browns' conditioning program.

Add this news to the knee and rib injuries that held Richardson under 1,000 yards rushing last year, and it's not hard to see why Richardson is sliding down draft boards.

With that said, though, Richardson still managed double-digit touchdowns last year, and new offensive coordinator Norv Turner loves to use his top running back extensively as both a runner and receiver.

That makes Richardson a classic risk-reward fantasy pick, and one who will become all the more intriguing the farther he drops.

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

In 2011, Maurice Jones-Drew led the NFL with over 1,600 rushing yards and finished third at his position in fantasy points.

Despite a nasty contract holdout last summer, many fantasy owners were confident enough of a repeat to make Jones-Drew a first-round pick.

That was a colossal mistake.

Jones-Drew reported to the team just before the season began and proceeded to have the worst year of his career, gaining only 414 yards in six games due to a Lisfranc injury in his foot.

That disaster of a season has sent Jones-Drew tumbling in fantasy drafts. Moreover, Jones-Drew has yet to rejoin the team, choosing instead to rehab the foot in Miami.

How that rehab involves sucker-punching bouncers I'm not exactly sure.

There's no denying that there's substantial risk involved in drafting Jones-Drew as things stand today.

However, a healthy MJD is sure to receive a heavy workload in 2013, and top-10 fantasy upside from a third-round pick (his current ADP at My Fantasy League is 30th overall) is an appealing proposition, especially if you're the type of fantasy owner who considers a wide receiver in the first round.

DeMarco Murray, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Some fantasy owners stick to the "old school" method of drafting.

First, you draft a running back. Then you draft another one.

However, if you choose to select a wide receiver (or a quarterback, or a tight end, or one of each) in the first two rounds, then finding a running back with substantial upside in the third round or later becomes extremely important.

Those backs also usually carry significant risk.

Such is the case with DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys, who gained 663 yards and scored four touchdowns in 10 games last year.

Murray has shown explosive talent when he's on the field during his two NFL seasons. Unfortunately, he's also shown an inability to stay on that field, missing significant time both years.

This year will be different, at least according to Murray, who told 105.3 FM in Dallas that “I am going to play all 16 this year. It’s going to be a great year for us.”

With that said, Murray has already missed time in OTAs with a hamstring pull, so fantasy owners who roll the dice on Murray should be prepared to invest a late pick on backup Joseph Randle as well.

Pierre Garcon, WR, Washington Redskins

There's a lot fantasy reward to be had in a Washington Redskins offense that ranked fifth in the National Football League in 2012.

There's also more than a little risk, and it's not confined to Robert Griffin.

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon got off to a fantastic start with the Redskins last year, hauling in an 88-yard touchdown pass in Week 1 against the Saints. However, the sixth-year veteran battled injuries most of the season, finishing the year with 44 grabs for 633 yards and four touchdowns.

Garcon elected not to have surgery on the torn ligament in his foot, and although Garcon recently told Kevin Patra of NFL.com that his foot is "getting better," he offered no guarantees that it wouldn't be an issue in 2013.

The foot injury, combined with offseason shoulder surgery, has dropped Garcon into low-end fantasy WR2 territory, with an average draft position late in the fifth round, according to My Fantasy League.

That makes Garcon an interesting target for fantasy owners who load up on running backs early.

Not only is there an excellent chance that Garcon will outperform that draft slot if healthy, but you can expect him to perform well no matter who's under center: with Kirk Cousins filling in for a sidelined Griffin late last season, Garcon hauled in six passes for 65 yards against the Browns.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, New York Giants

In 2010 and 2011, New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks averaged nearly 80 catches a season, topped 1,000 receiving yards twice and finished as a top-12 fantasy wideout both years.

2012 was another story. Nicks broke his foot during OTAs last year, and suffered through an injury-marred season in which he missed three games and posted the lowest yardage and touchdown totals of his four-year career.

This year, Nicks has been conspicuously absent from OTAs, as he enters the last year of his rookie deal. However, that may well have as much to do with Nicks trying to avoid a repeat of last year as unhappiness over his salary.

Assuming he's fully recovered from last year's injuries and offseason knee surgery, Nicks is a prime bounce-back candidate this year.

With an average draft position of WR14 at My Fantasy League, Nicks isn't coming at a huge discount in early fantasy drafts. However, any time you can get top-10 fantasy upside at WR2 prices, it's a discount nonetheless.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

It's fitting that we close this slideshow with New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, because there may not be a bigger risk-reward selection in fantasy drafts this year.

On one hand we have a player who absolutely destroyed the competition at the tight end position in 2011. Gronkowski's 240 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues that season was 40 points more than the runner-up and over a hundred points more than the third-place player.

On the other hand, we have a tight end who missed five games last year with a broken forearm that required four operations. As if that wasn't bad enough, Gronkowski will now be sidelined for most (if not all) of training camp and the preseason due to back surgery.

Getting injury information out of the Patriots is slightly harder than pulling the front teeth from a crocodile while wearing a meat suit, but Drew Rosenhaus (Gronkowski's agent) recently told WQAM Radio (via Pro Football Talk) that Gronkowski's back injury is "minor."

Fantasy owners are apparently a tad skeptical as to the truthfulness of the man behind this little spectacle. Gronkowski is still the second tight end being taken, according to My Fantasy League, but his average draft position has already started to slip.

With every week he's sidelined, it will only slide more.

At some point, the scales are going to tip, and the risk involved with drafting Gronkowski is going to be outweighed by the reward that can potentially be had by having him on your roster.

Fantasy owners may only remember that Gronkowski wasn't available for the fantasy playoffs last year. Savvy ones will bear in mind, as his asking price drops, that Gronkowski finished the year ranked second at his position despite playing in only 11 games.