Fantasy Football Week 2: Buying or Selling Top Injured Players

If you're going to be successful at fantasy football, you're going to have to get a little lucky. 

You can do hours upon hours of research, ruining relationships with those closest to you. You can nail your draft. You can make all the right pickups and start all the right people. But you have no control—at least I hope not, or that would be scary—over injuries, which have a tendency to derail otherwise perfect seasons. 

It's not just avoiding the injury bug, either. You'll surely be faced with lineup decisions featuring injured players, and there is often no real way to know how injured said player is or how he'll perform. 

Just one week into the season, many are already facing that problem. Let's take a look at some of the key offensive players on the injury report and how they'll fare in Week 2. 

Note: These are relative to player values. "Buy" suggests a player will live up to his positional ranking, via FantasyPros.com's consensus rankings, in Week 2 (12-team leagues). "Sell" suggests he'll fall short of it. Long-term value is not taken into account.

Also note: Injury reports via ESPN.com, while players who are "out," such as Ben Tate and Jordan Reed, are not listed.

Player	Injury	Rank	Buy/Sell
Andre Ellington	Foot	RB2	Buy
Roddy White	Knee	WR1	Sell
Sammy Watkins	Ribs	WR5	Buy
Cam Newton	Ribs	QB2	Buy
Alshon Jeffery	Hamstring	WR1	Sell
Brandon Marshall	Hamstring	WR1	Buy
Jordan Cameron	Shoulder	TE1	Buy
Reggie Bush	Knee	RB2	Buy
Eddie Lacy	Concussion	RB1	Sell
Toby Gerhart	Ankle	RB2	Buy
Rob Gronkowski	Knee	TE1	Buy
Maurice Jones-Drew	Hand	RB3	Sell
Doug Martin	Leg	RB2	Buy
Justin Hunter	Knee	WR3	Buy

Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals: Buy

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

For a player as blindingly fast and explosive as Andre Ellington, a foot injury seemed like the worse-case scenario. 

But fear, panic and all-out depression quickly turned into little-kid giddiness and elation Monday night, as "Juke" Ellington, who was originally feared to be out for four weeks, took 18 touches for 80 yards against the San Diego Chargers. As NFL.com's Michael Fabiano added, there was very little evidence of the injury:

Ellington will continue to sit out practices like he did Wednesday, and he may never be at 100 percent, but that hardly matters. 

"You're never going to be 100 percent until March as a running back in the National Football League," head coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday, via AZCardinals.com's Darren Urban.

We saw Monday that even a less-than-full-strength Ellington is a shifty, elusive back with the speed to break off big plays—he had three touches go for 10-plus yards. Against a less stout New York Giants defense, Arizona's feature back is a surefire RB2 with RB1 upside, especially in PPR leagues. 

You'll be seeing that evil "Q" next to his name a lot this year, but it shouldn't stop you from confidently playing him. 

Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears: Sell

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Both Brandon Marshall (ankle) and Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) missed practice Wednesday, but the latter is a little more concerning for a few reasons. 

Sunday's second half against the Buffalo Bills was especially telling. Both players were forced from the game at one point, but Marshall returned almost immediately, while Jeffery, who spent most of the second half and overtime on the sideline, didn't sound positive, per ESPN Radio's Waddle and Silvy, via Yahoo Sports' Andy Behrens:

If Jeffery was fighting to get back into the game but Chicago held him out as a precaution, that would be different. But that he wasn't confident about returning doesn't paint a pretty picture. 

Moreover, as Bleacher Report's Dave Siebert noted, hamstring injuries for wide receivers are not ideal:

The Bears passing game gets a tantalizing matchup Sunday, as San Francisco cornerbacks Tramaine Brock (sprained toe) and Chris Culliver (concussion) are both banged up. You obviously can't bench Jeffery and his big-play ability if he suits up, but don't expect WR1 numbers.