Fantasy Football: Week 6 Injuries and Their Fantasy Impact

Week 6 was quite a rough one. We saw a lot of marquee players go down with injuries, and legitimate top fantasy players at that. However, this is to be expected every week, as injuries are just the nature of the game. When someone goes down with an injury, though, that means that there's someone else to take his spot and fill that role for him.

The biggest injury was sustained on what was possibly the biggest hit of the year by Dunta Robinson, which is where we start out NFL Week 6 Injuries and Their Fantasy Impact.

Injured Player: DeSean Jackson (Concussion)

Player most likely to take his spot: Jason Avant

DeSean Jackson suffered an absolutely brutal shot by Dunta Robinson, which was pretty painful to watch. He remained lying on the field for a good five minutes before eventually getting helped off. After the game, Andy Reid said that he suffered a concussion. Later that night, it was found out that DeSean had suffered memory loss and it was a pretty severe concussion. Then today, Andy Reid said that DeSean could play next week, but it would be a "big reach."

Point is, it's not as serious as initially reported, but he's going to miss some time. He'll miss next week's game, and that means that Jason Avant is going to take his place, and line up as the flanker opposite of Jeremy Maclin. Avant had five catches for 62 yards in DeSean's absence, and is a receiver with amazing hands who will generally catch any ball that's thrown his way. Look for him to have a nice week against a poor Titans defense that is ranked 26th in passing yards allowed per game.

Injured Player: Malcolm Floyd (Hamstring)

Player most likely to take his spot: Patrick Crayton

Malcolm Floyd left the Rams game along with Antonio Gates with a hamstring injury. The beneficiary and replacement of this injury was Patrick Crayton. Crayton had six catches for 117 yards in Floyd's absence, which is great to see.

Unlike Antonio Gates, who is expected to play this week against the Patriots, the Chargers expect to be without Malcolm Floyd. That would mean that Crayton would be the most obvious choice to take his spot. Crayton will be going up against the 28th ranked passing defense in terms of passing yards given up per game, so he seems like a good choice this week to start.

Injured Player: Chris Cooley (Concussion)

Player most likely to take his spot: Fred Davis

Chris Cooley left the game with a concussion against the Colts, and that's nothing new for him. This is at least his third concussion since college. When players have had a history of concussions, and they have another one, it usually forces them to sit out at least a game.

With that being said, Fred Davis would be the one to take Cooley's spot. He's been his replacement before and has done a solid job. Last year when Cooley went down in Week 9, Davis had at least 24 yards every game, which shows he doesn't get completely shut down against opponents. On the flip side, he also didn't have any more then 65 yards in a game, so he's not going to be a guy that dominates the stats sheet either. However, he also added five touchdowns when Cooley went down, so that's not too shabby either.

In fantasy terms, however, Davis is simply nothing more then a potential bye week replacement at best. He goes up against a pretty average Bears secondary that is ranked 18th in terms of passing yards allowed per game, but the fact that Donovan McNabb has never been fond of throwing to his tight ends, coupled with the fact that he hasn't thrown many touchdowns this season, limits Davis' potential.

Injured Players:  Mohamed Massaquoi (Neck), Joshua Cribbs (Concussion)

Player(s) most likely to take their spots: Chansi Stuckey/Brian Robiskie

Mohamed Massaquoi left the game with a neck injury while also suffering memory loss. Not to be outdone, Joshua Cribbs also left the game with a concussion. All signs are pointing towards both players missing next week's game, and because of that, the Browns are going to need some help in the receiving department.

They're currently very thin at the receiver position, so Stuckey and Robiskie seem like the only possible options for them. The only other receiver currently on the team is Sam Aiken, who has one catch for seven yards. The Browns are going up against the Saints, who are ranked seventh in passing yards allowed per game. The Browns are not a team that is going to pass a lot, and when they do, it's never down the field.

Neither receiver has much of a fantasy impact, but if I had to pick one of them up, it'd probably be Stuckey, simply because he's been consistent. Stuckey has had four or more receptions and 46 or more yards in each of the past three games, so at least he's putting up four to five fantasy points a week, which isn't that bad.

Injured Player: Joseph Addai (shoulder)

Player most likely to take his spot: Donald Brown

Heading into the Sunday Night Football game against the Redskins, Joseph Addai was already listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. He ended up starting, and eventually leaving, with, you guessed it, a shoulder injury. Mike Hart ended up getting the rest of the carries, but that was simply because Donald Brown was still nursing his own injury and didn't travel to Washington for the game. 

In my opinion, though, the only reason why he split carries with Hart is that they didn't want to work Brown too hard coming off an injury. The Colts are currently going into a bye week, but Joseph Addai has now re-injured his shoulder, which is not good for a running back. I wouldn't be surprised to see Addai miss Week 8 against the Texans. If he does end up missing that game or more, Donald Brown is slated as the backup, and will get the bulk of the carries while starting in his place.

Houston's run defense is ranked among the middle of the pack in yards per carry and yards per game given up, but the Chiefs completely torched them in Week 6 with Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones rushing for over 200 combined yards. If Addai can't go, Donald Brown is a must-start in fantasy.

Injured Player: Shaun Hill (arm)

Player most likely to take his spot: Drew Stanton?

Just when it looked as though Shaun Hill was starting to look like a legitimate NFL QB, he breaks his arm. Against the Giants. Ouch. Drew Stanton ended up taking his place, and honestly, he played well under the circumstances against a very tough Giants defense. He threw for 222 yards, one TD and had one INT, which are not bad numbers by any standards.

However, the Lions are going to be heading into a bye week, and all indications are that Matthew Stafford is expected to play in Week 8 after the bye, so Drew Stanton starting is probably for naught. In the event that Stafford can't go and Stanton can, he would definitely be worth a look as a bye week replacement. Stanton and the Lions will be facing the Redskins coming off a bye and they'll be at home. The Redskins currently rank 31st in passing yards per game allowed, so Stanton would definitely have a very favorable matchup if given the chance to start.