The Las Vegas Raiders have a big week ahead, leading into their Week 1 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Along with not naming a starting quarterback yet, the status of running back Ashton Jeanty remains up in the air. Jeanty suffered a sprained ankle and was helped off the field after colliding with a teammate in practice.
While it's good news that Jeanty avoided a serious injury, his ankle injury leaves his status for Week 1 TBD, and head coach Klint Kubiak provided an update on Friday, as ESPN's Ryan McFadden reported.
"Still on the mend. Still working to get him back," Kubiak said of Jeanty. "We got another week to assess how he's going to look going into this first game, but we're counting on him."
It's a positive sign that the Raiders haven't
gone as far as ruling him out this far ahead of the September 13 opener, but there's a lot to weigh when considering this from a fantasy football perspective.
Fantasy football impact of latest Ashton Jeanty injury update
Although Kubiak's update on Jeanty isn't necessarily one that will leave fantasy football owners feeling confident about the Raiders running back's Week 1 status, it does pose an important question. How should you approach Jeanty's injury ahead of the opener?
For starters, it really depends on where you're at in terms of your fantasy football league. If you've already drafted Jeanty on your roster but don't have backup running back Mike Washington Jr., it's not an ideal spot. Washington Jr. was likely picked up on waivers, and if you didn't get him, then you may be stuck in wait-and-see mode. If you're in a PPR league and truly have no other running back options you deem worth starting on your roster as a backup plan, searching for a player who's involved in the passing game out of the backfield could help you get by the opening week, should Jeanty be ruled out.
However, in most leagues, there's a decent chance that most owners will have a running back on their bench at least capable of filling in the void for a week if need be.
If your draft is still happening this weekend, I wouldn't move Jeanty significantly from his current ADP (average draft position) just because of this injury. It doesn't sound like he'll miss much time, and unless we hear otherwise from Kubiak before the weekend, that's what we have to go on.
Depending on how much you like Jeanty in fantasy this year, don't let the potential Week 1 absence push you off him. However, it does make sense for you to jump a round or two to grab Washington as a safety net, even beyond the opener against the Dolphins. I'd keep Jeanty ranked where you have him, but bump up the interest in Washington, especially if you draft Jeanty.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fantasy football impact of Raiders' new Ashton Jeanty injury update
