Saquon Barkley, Austin Ekeler, NFL Injury Statuses and Fantasy Impact for Week 1

Saquon Barkley and Austin Ekeler are progressing toward playing in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season. 

The fate of both running backs came into question in different injury situations. Barkley is working back from a torn ACL suffered last season, while Ekeler dealt with a hamstring issue that flared up earlier in the week that caused him to miss some practice time.

The positive injury news regarding Barkley and Ekeler is a major boost to fantasy football players that have one or both of the players on their rosters. 

Barkley and Ekeler are expected to be in the upper echelon of running back production all season. With both running backs available on Sunday, there is no need to do a panic dive into the waiver wire. 

However, if you have Barkley's New York Giants teammate Evan Engram at tight end, you may need to scour the waiver wire in the next 48 hours. Engram was ruled out of the opening clash with the Denver Broncos on Friday. 

Here are the latest updates on the top players dealing with injury issues as of Friday afternoon: 

• Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG: Questionable (knee), per ESPN's Jordan Raanan.
• Evan Engram, TE, NYG: Out (Calf), per Raanan. 
• Austin Ekeler, RB, LAC: Practicing on Friday (Hamstring), per The Athletic's Daniel Popper.
• Odell Beckham Jr., WR, CLE: Limited in practice on Friday (knee), per ESPN's Adam Schefter. 
• Chase McLaughlin, K, CLE: Questionable (hamstring), per team injury report
• Jadeveon Clowney, DE, CLE: Questionable (illness), per team injury report.
• Ronnie Harrison, S, CLE: Questionable (ankle), per team injury report.
• Tony Fields, LB, CLE: Out (illness), per team injury report.
• Michael Dunn, G, CLE: Out (back), per team injury report.
• Tashaun Gipson, S, CHI: Questionable (back, per team injury report.
• Darnell Mooney, WR, CHI: Questionable (back); full participant in Friday's practice
• Khalil Mack, LB, CHI: Questionable (groin), per team injury report.
• Eddie Jackson, S, CHI: Questionable (wrist), per team injury report. 
• Eddie Goldman, DT, CHI: Questionable (knee); did not practice on Friday.
• Alex Highsmith, LB, PIT: Questionable (groin), per team injury report. 
• Landon Dickerson, C, PHI: Out (knee), per team injury report. 
• Rodney McLeod, S, PHI: Out (knee), per team injury report. 
• Eric Fisher, OT, IND: Out (Achilles/illness), per team injury report. 
• Xavier Rhodes, CB, IND: Out (calf), per team injury report.
• Kemoko Turay, DE, IND: Out (groin), per team injury report. 
• Anthony Barr, LB, MIN: Out (knee), per team injury report. 
• Christian Darrisaw, OT, MIN: Out (groin), per team injury report. 
• Shi Smith, WR, CAR: Out (shoulder), per team injury report. 
• Dennis Gardeck, LB, ARI: Out (knee), per team injury report. 

The prognosis on Barkley's ACL is promising for the individual, the Giants and fantasy players that took him in the first round over the last month. 

Barkley last took the field in Week 2 of the 2020 season against the Chicago Bears. The Giants may be cautious with how much they feed their star running back off the bat. 

Barkley is not expected to go off for 100 rushing yards and a few touchdowns right away, but being available for a game is a major step in the right direction.

New York should use him in moderation and he could be called upon more in red-zone situations to finish off drives with touchdowns. 

Barkley is going up against a Denver rushing defense that allowed the eighth-most rushing yards in the NFL last season. The Broncos allowed the fifth-most rushing touchdowns with 22. 

That is a promising sign for Barkley and potentially Daniel Jones, who has shown a willingness to move out of the pocket during his time in New York.

Jones should look to his wide receivers for a majority of the passing production with Engram out. Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton may see some extra targets with the starting tight end out. Kyle Rudolph is Engram's back, but he should only be added if you desperately need a tight end for Week 1. 

As for Ekeler, he should receive more volume than Barkley because he is not coming off a significant long-term injury.

Ekeler was held out of practice this week with a hamstring injury. His participation in Friday's practice is a positive development toward him being at full strength. 

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley told reporters on Friday that Ekeler "looked good out there" during practice. 

Ekeler and the Chargers face a tough Week 1 assignment against Chase Young and the Washington Football Team. Washington conceded 14 rushing scores in 2020. That total ranked 22nd in the NFL among rushing defenses. The NFC East side gave up 4.2 yards per attempt, which was the 10th lowest total in the league. 

Ekeler is typically a star in points-per-reception leagues, but his Week 1 production could be limited through the air. Washington allowed the fifth-fewest receiving yards to opposing running backs last season.

The Chargers running back should still be targeted at a decent rate by Justin Herbert, but the yardage totals may not be there in Week 1 because of Washington's strong defense. 

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.