Mohamed Sanu Must Be Owned in All Fantasy Leagues After Injury to A.J. Green

Despite a wealth of injuries, a deep and potent Cincinnati Bengals offense is set to make a fantasy star out of wide receiver Mohamed Sanu.

Owners both in need and comfortable at the position will want to hop on board for the ride.

The Cincinnati wideout corps has always given owners pause. After A.J. Green's surefire elite production, a hodgepodge of names, including Sanu, Marvin Jones, and even tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert, make it hard to nail down who will actually produce well on a week-to-week basis. 

That is in no way an issue in Week 6 when the Bengals welcome the Carolina Panthers to town. As ESPN.com's Coley Harvey notes, Green is a scratch from the contest, and Jones will not make his 2014 debut after reaggravating an injury in practice. Remember that Eifert also remains on the shelf thanks to his status as an injured reserve player with designated to return status.

Still, Sanu is only owned in 30.8 percent of leagues as most expected Jones back by now and his role to subside. So far, though, the Rutgers University product has quietly been reliable:

WK	OPP	REC	YDS	TD	PTS
1	@Bal	4	36	0	5
2	Atl	3	84	1	16
3	Ten	5	44	0	8
4	BYE	-	-	-	-
5	@NE	5	70	1	13

The rapport between quarterback Andy Dalton and Sanu that has steadily developed this season as weapons continue to succumb to injury will prove productive against a Carolina defense that allows the 23rd-most points to wideouts this season.

Sunday, targets and production are a sure thing for Sanu when the only other healthy receivers are James Wright (a seventh-round rookie), Brandon Tate (kick-return specialist) and Dane Sanzenbacher (career backup).

Sanu has already taken a leadership role atop the hobbled wideout corps, too.

"They're huge voids, but we've got guys that can play," Sanu said, per Harvey. "We're going to need everybody. We're going to need Brandon, we're going to need Gio, we're going to need Dane and James Wright."

In this scenario, what once made owners shy away from wideouts who play in the Queen City now makes Sanu a strength—offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is not afraid of getting less common names involved, as captured by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Richard Skinner:

"

[The injury is] why I never put together a game plan based on one guy. We're not going to crash our game plan. As a coordinator, you just have to adapt. You never know what might happen. When we started the Atlanta game, I thought [Green] was playing. We kept playing. We want to have all of our guys out there, and if they are they are, if they're not they're not. They're not going to cancel the game. We have to go play.

"

For those worried that Sanu is going to be a one-hit wonder, his value certainly has longevity regardless of who returns and when. This is a stark realization when one takes into account an eye-popping remaining schedule:

WK	OPP	Rank vs. WRs (Avg. points surrendered)
6	Car	23-T (22.4)
7	@Ind	2 (12.4)
8	Bal	23-T (22.4)
9	Jac	28 (24.2)
10	Cle	25 (23.0)
11	@NO	29 (25.6)
12	@Hou	20 (22.2)
13	@TB	30 (27.2)
14	Pit	11 (19.2)
15	@Cle	25 (23.0)
16	Den	5 (14.3)
17	@Pit	11 (19.2)

Now is the right time to grab Sanu. He seems poised for a big performance Sunday, and one would have great difficulty finding a better schedule for wideouts the rest of the way. 

Nobody would suggest to expect Green-esque numbers this week. When Green missed most of Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, the Bengals ran it 45 times and threw it 24 times. Of course, Sanu as the No. 1 wideout caught three passes for 84 yards and a score.

Something in that range is not outlandish at all for a budding talent who just needed the depth chart to shake out a bit so he could blossom. Sanu is a solid No. 2 with great upside, especially if the Bengals fall behind and need to take to the air.

There is no excuse for Sanu to not be owned in all leagues by Sunday morning.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.