Luke Wilson answers your fantasy football questions. Revisiting the outlook for a buzzy Bolts running back three weeks in, assessing the league's best injured reserve holds, considering the outlook for one of the league's premier playmakers as he attempts to return to form, and more.
Question 1
Fifteen-year subscriber, I appreciate your help and service all these years. I am puzzled on the low ranking on Hampton this year. I understand the recent injury to the line, but to me he seems primed to take the next step this year into something like James Cook-type production. Mitchell is an oft-injured change of pace back who has in fact already been injured, and I feel like you guys are putting too much stock into the ranking. [Mike] McDaniel churns out top 10 RBs year after year. Tell me what I'm missing.
Ryan Klein (Tinley Park, IL)
It made all the sense in the world, didn't it? First round running back going into Year 2; exciting new offensive coordinator hire with a strong track record for running the ball; a head coach who would probably give up milk and Dockers slacks for the rest of the season in exchange for a strong run game; Justin Herbert ready to finally 'take the next step'. There were simply too many ways for this to go right — Hampton had to be the 'easy button' pick in the 2nd rounds of fantasy drafts.
But as the Chargers fell to 0-3 after a strong opening salvo nearly knocked Buffalo off of their feet last weekend, we can safely say there was validity to the concerns. Hampton's 23-carry day in Week 2 masks the fact that he has not played more than 65 percent of L.A.'s snaps in any of their first three games. Even more troubling: Despite the Bolts leading or tying Buffalo for all of last week's first 52 minutes of elapsed gametime, Hampton's snap percentage actually plunged to 42 percent, by far his lowest involvement of the young season. He's averaging 3.9 yards per carry and has drawn just three targets in the passing game (the same as Kimani Vidal).
So, what gives? Probably a few things: For one, McDaniel runs a zone blocking scheme, not the gap/power that Greg Roman took with him to work for the other Harbaugh this year. Hampton, 23, had 9 games of NFL experience to his name prior to McDaniel's arrival, a few of which came while playing limited snaps as he eased back into the rotation while returning from injury. Prior to that he was galloping through F-150 sized running lanes in the ACC. Simply put, Hampton doesn't have much experience running through holes that offensive linemen are pulling and running to create for him; at 220 pounds with 4.4 speed, to this point a 'see it and hit it' mindset had served him just fine. It's a skill that can be developed, but that's not something many Hampton drafters were expecting to need to be developed beyond... y'know, Week 1.
The other issue is that Hampton is young and inexperienced, not something that Harbaugh has a great track record for embracing when it can be helped. Again, Hampton is 23 and still only a few games into his NFL career - in an offense not lacking for talent, does this coaching staff really want to put more on Hampton's plate than they already are? On a team that was (and still is) trying to make a deep postseason run, experience absolutely does matter. With other capable running backs around him and as perhaps a slight square peg-round hole fit in the McDaniel scheme, this wobbly start sure looks like it would have been a possibility even if the team were 2-1 instead of winless.
That said, all is not lost for those currently holding the bag on their Hampton picks. 'Young player starts Year 2 very slow despite all the hype' isn't anything new, and the offense looks primed for some positive regression: Despite being 20th in total offense and 12th in rushing through three games, L.A. sits all the way down at 29th in scoring. Bad luck, opposition better than advertised, not playing especially well, all of the above; call it what you want, but this is an offense that has not been as lifeless as has their win column, and buzzing gnat Keaton Mitchell is already banged up again. The ceiling may not be as vaulted as was promised (by others — not us), but with a little more time Hampton should still be able to give his owners better than what we have seen thus far.
Probably.
Question 2
Is Tyreek Hill going to play this season?
Al Jiacomin (Fort Wayne, IN)
We all see it, don't we? That familiar name on the waiver wire, calling out to us like a siren in a churning sea, even without a team abbreviation next to his name: Hill, Tyreek (WR - ).
And our hearts fill with lust. Covetous lust!
Hill has played his rehab pretty smart on the social media front: Periodic videos of him first walking, then a few months later doing some light work in the pool. Then came the first video of him actually running and catching footballs, with this latest video of him running and cutting on some sandy beach somewhere being the latest 'teaser trailer' of intrigue Hill is clearly trying to parlay into his next NFL contract. I'm intrigued just watching it, and I'm not an NFL GM with several million in cash to spend and a need for a real playmaker.
But this is where it bears reminding ourselves just how serious the injury is from which Hill is attempting to return: Hill's left kneecap dislocation included tears to his ACL, LCL, and damage to "multiple supporting structures". He was rushed for surgery that very night; not because he wanted to get his reconstructions done and be sure he got back on an NFL field as soon as possible, but because his surgical team had to make sure blood flow hadn't been affected, lest he risk losing his lower leg. This was absolutely an injury on par with the one suffered by Tank Dell in 2024, from which Dell has still yet to make his return.
Of course, it's also comparable to the one that ended Nick Chubb's 2023 all too abruptly, and that example is the one that Hill is hoping to replicate: Against all odds, Chubb made his return in Week 7 of 2024, just 13 months removed from a second catastrophic injury to the same knee. A truly remarkable recovery. Remarkable, but not especially productive: Chubb turned 11 carries into just 22 yards that night, and his 3.3 yards per carry over 102 carries to close out his tenure with the Browns was well off of his career clip. He had zero plays go for longer than 20 yards; he had at least one rush and one reception go for 20-plus in each of his first five seasons.
Tyreek Hill clearly takes tremendous care of his body, but Nick Chubb is a weight room legend that smart youngsters across the country will be seeking to emulate for years to come. I'm not assuming even Hill manages to replicate that 13-month timeline; absolute best case, we've got to assume we're looking at a ready date of around Thanksgiving. Even then, there's no telling what Hill can or can't do for a team that is willing to go a few million to roll the dice on Hill helping them for the stretch run — best case, we're probably talking about a part-time role running a fairly narrow, vertically-based route tree. Think Rashod Bateman, rookie season Alec Pierce... perhaps even Marques Valdes-Scantling.
But to answer your question, will he play this season: I'm leaning yes, if for no other reason than because all it takes is one GM for a contending team in need of some receiver help picking up the phone (or DMing him on Instagram... or sending him a $1 million donation during his next Twitch stream, I don't know how one actually communicates with Tyreek Hill). Will it be soon enough, and on a large enough snap count to help fantasy teams? I very much doubt that.
So, I'd urge you to let not thy covetous heart deliver you into the grip of the siren. Instead, let your buddy burn a bench spot waiting for the Tyreek Hill ESPN notification that may not come until we're close to Thanksgiving.
Question 3
Who are the best IR players to stash?
Jack Craft (York, PA)
So if Tyreek Hill isn't likely to be the skeleton key IR stash that unlocks playoff runs for people, then who is that guy? The pickings are a bit slim this year; not many players were injured over the summer, and those that were (Ricky Pearsall, Jayden Higgins) unfortunately went down for the count. But we can run through a few names and pick out some of our favorites.
Zach Charbonnet will be a popular one, especially as he's now back at practice and purportedly going to play at some point in October. But he'll also already be owned in all but the very shallowest of leagues. If for some reason he's on the wire in your league, be sure to snap him up.
Some other intriguing names, along with my thoughts on each:
- Jordan Mason: Almost as appealing as Charbonnet. Minnesota is going to need to run the ball to keep this up, and Aaron Jones is already throwing off lug nuts. A wheel is sure to follow. Early indications on Demond Claiborne are that he is not ready for a major role. Mason is eligible to return as early as Week 5.
- Jordyn Tyson: My WR1 in this rookie class, Tyson unfortunately suffered another soft tissue in August and hasn't been heard from since. New Orleans says he won't practice next week, indicating his return to action is not especially close. But this is a passing offense worth staking a claim in where possible, especially a high upside one like Tyson.
- Alec Pierce: With an uncertain timetable after another setback with his troublesome left ankle, we could start to see Alec Pierce hit waiver wires for especially injury-strapped teams. Hard to muster much enthusiasm for a guy when he seems to be battling a chronic issue like this, but if your roster's been blessed with good health and you have a spot to burn, Pierce's ceiling in an offense that has remained productive despite missing its top receiver is certainly still worthwhile.
- A.J. Brown: Really doubt he's hit any waiver wires, but just in case anyone's thinking about it — stop. It's obviously been a real rough start for what was supposed to be a high-octane New England offense this year, but the schedule thus far has been a brute. Better days lie ahead, especially once Brown comes off the shelf.
- Jonah Coleman: The waiver wire hero that wasn't, Coleman burned a lot of claimants by hitting injured reserve shortly after many fantasy leaguers spent their precious waiver priority and/or FAAB getting him on their rosters last week. We won't see him for a few more weeks, but his IR eligibility is well worth utilizing where possible. Only the brittle J.K. Dobbins stands between Coleman and fantasy lineups.
- James Conner: Conner's a familiar name, but this one feels like a bit of a deep cut. 'Really, Conner? Buried behind Love and Allgeier?' It's true, Conner's path to work even when/if he's ready to suit up again is murky, but I'm a big believer in 'good players play', something Conner has proven time and again. Between the possibility of one of the guys ahead of him missing time and an RB-needy team coming calling for the veteran in trade, Conner strikes me as an intriguing stash in certain, deeper formats.
- Tyreek Hill: I know I just shoveled a bunch of skepticism dirt on his head, but in leagues that afford more than 2 IR spots he's certainly worth throwing on the shelf and seeing what happens. You don't get nicknamed The Cheetah for nothing! (And besides, if we do get that "REUNITED: Hill, KC agree to terms..." headline, I think a lot of us know a guy in our league that will immediately be real interested in trading for him.)
- Josh Jacobs: In some leagues his exempt status will grant him IR eligibility. This is more of a roster optimization note than anything; he's certainly owned everywhere, but for some of his owners it will be worth clicking on his "Bench" icon and seeing if the option to move to IR magically appears. You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take, or something.
Question 4
The more football I watch, the more I make player comparisons. Does Greg Rousseau look like a Chris Doleman clone? He looks like a guy who has come of age. And oh yeah, GO BILLS!
David Kennedy (Steamburg, NY)
Chris Doleman is a quality name pull sir, nicely done. Rousseau is certainly filling up the box score like the former Vikings' Hall of Famer, registering 2.0 sacks in each of Buffalo's first three games and adding three forced fumbles and a couple more TFLs for good measure. Like Doleman, Rousseau was a perfectly good player in his first few seasons that had yet to really make good on his pedigree as a 1st round pick. Like Doleman in '89 (21.0 sacks; just 22.5 across 60 NFL games prior to that year), Rousseau also seems to have found another gear in the shift to new DC Jim Leonhard's attacking, more personnel-fluid system. If Buffalo finally gets over the hump and makes a push to the conference championship game or beyond, good bet a career year from Rousseau will have played a big part.
And a big shoutout to the late Chris Doleman, whose name still fills the record books for both the Minnesota Vikings and the University of Pittsburgh. One of the greatest to ever do it.
