Fantasy Alert: Falcons TE Austin Hooper to Miss 'About a Month' with Knee Injury

The Atlanta Falcons and fantasy football players will reportedly be without tight end Austin Hooper for a significant amount of time. 

On Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Hooper will miss "about a month" due to an MCL sprain. Hooper has been a revelation this season with 56 catches for 608 yards and six touchdowns as one of the best tight ends in the league.

However, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn told reporters that the Falcons don't believe Hooper will need that much time to recover.

From Atlanta's perspective, this is another setback in a disappointing season. It is just 2-7 and will be without one of its premier weapons with division games against the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints in the next four weeks.

What's more, running back Devonta Freeman may not play Sunday because of a foot injury.

The Falcons will likely turn toward Luke Stocker at tight end while Hooper is sidelined. Stocker is a veteran who has been in the league since 2011 and has never finished with more than 165 receiving yards in a single season.

He has six catches for 34 yards this year, his first with the Falcons.

For fantasy players, this is not a situation where simply heading to the waiver wire and picking up Hooper's backup is an ideal move. Stocker doesn't have anything resembling a track record to trust, and the Falcons will likely just turn toward wide receivers Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage in the aerial attack even more.

While tight end is nowhere near as deep as wide receiver or even running back in fantasy leagues, it is best for players looking to replace Hooper in their lineups to turn elsewhere instead of Stocker.