A.J. Brown Injury Update For Fantasy Football: Add Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas Value & More
Adam Pfeifer reacts to the breaking news that A.J. Brown has suffered a high ankle sprain with his timeline for return TBD.
No more Wednesday football games.
Please.
Yesterday’s game was a rough start to the season, as both Sam Darnold and A.J. Brown suffered injuries. Darnold received relatively good news, but it appears Brown is going to miss some time. After leaving with an ankle injury, Brown has reportedly suffered the dreaded high-ankle sprain, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Fantasy Football Fallout Of A.J. Brown's High Ankle Sprain - Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas & More
It remains to be seen how much time he’ll miss, but we do have a recent example to go off. Last year, Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb suffered a high-ankle sprain, forcing him to miss three games. Of course, every injury is different, but it feels like a safe projection to expect Brown to miss 2-4 weeks.
With Brown sidelined, it is likely we will see the Patriots return to the wide receiver-by-committee approach we saw a season ago. Brown exited the game in the third quarter, and for the second half, the Patriots' receiver usage looked like this:
- Romeo Doubs: 10 routes, 12 snaps
- Mack Hollins: 9 routes, 16 snaps
- DeMario Douglas: 8 routes, 11 snaps
- Kyle Williams: 2 routes, 5 snaps
Douglas ultimately led the team with seven targets, while Doubs did nothing with his three looks. Hollins was playing a lot more than Doubs in 12 personnel when Brown was healthy, hauling in four balls for 51 yards on five targets. He appeared to be Drake Maye’s favorite target when Seattle deployed zone coverage. Despite his awful debut, Doubs is still worth a look on the waiver wire for teams that need help at wide receiver. The Patriots are paying him too much money for him not to be involved, especially in Brown’s absence. We’ve also seen Douglas be a very viable PPR FLEX option when he sees consistent usage, making him someone to also consider.
Of course, no one is going to replicate Brown's production and usage, and it’s entirely possible other wideouts from the rest of the slate emerge as better waiver wire options. But if A.J. Brown is on your fantasy roster, expect to be without him for a few weeks.
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