Fantasy football superstar Dez Bryant broke his foot during the week one match up of the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. Cries of agony could be heard across the land of fantasy as countless owners around the planet grieved with shock and sorrow. Bryant, a first round pick in nearly every fantasy league in existence, will end up missing anywhere between 6-12 weeks after having surgery on a bone in his foot. Completely destroying many owners’ chances of bringing home a championship this year.
So what can owners do to try and salvage their seasons? Replacing a number one receiver is no easy task, but there are moves that can be made to improve your team to remain in contention. It is really important to be on the look out for future injuries to other starting wide receivers. Often times, when a starter goes down, a back-up comes in and produces pretty well. This happened last year when A.J. Green went down and Mohamed Sanu was moved to the number one receiver position for the Bengals. Sanu’s production was great while he was filling in and was a legit player for fantasy. If a starter goes down, be sure to put your waiver request in and snatch up their replacement before anyone else. There are also some hidden gems that can still be found on the waiver wire in a lot of leagues. UCF’s own Breshad Permian is now a rookie for the Baltimore Ravens but has been unable to participate in games due to injury. He is expected back within a few weeks and is poised to make a big impact on an offense that is struggling for targets downfield. His injury caused him to go undrafted in many leagues so he is likely to still be available in a lot of 10-12 team leagues.
Finally, if all else fails, you can always attempt the dreaded trade. Trades can be difficult to pull off but if you find the right situation they can be possible. It is important to assess your roster and determine if you have any positions of strength. A lot of owners are sitting on injured prospects like Todd Gurley and Arian Foster. Both are projected to have RB1 value when they make their season debuts. But both players are also not gaurantees to be completely reliable once they return. It could prove wise to try and trade them now while their value is still high and receive legit compensation at the wide receiver position.
If you are a Bryant owner, not all is lost. There are still moves to be made and anything can happen on any given Sunday. I drafted Calvin Johnson in the first round last year and he ended up missing over half the season. Through diligent workings of the waiver wire and a little luck, I still finished third in my league and got my money back.