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NFL Week 3 Injury Report and Analysis

Sep 23rd 2022Sosa Kremenjas

Week 3 of the NFL season is here and this week's injury reports have dropped, with practice participation for Wednesday and Thursday available to be evaluated.

Let's dive into the most questionable players in Week 3, and who may step up for their respective teams.

All stats are sourced from PFF and Sports Info Solutions.

Baltimore Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins

Practice participation: FP, FP

Injury: knee

Just like last week, Dobbins is practicing fully and appears like he could suit up in Week 3. In terms of his health, it seems Dobbins is pretty much ready to make his return. But, with that being said, Baltimore has clearly approached this situation very cautiously and may elect to hold him back for another week.

We'll assume Dobbins will suit up in this game, but even if he does, he isn't safe to start in fantasy football leagues just yet. The Ravens have rotated their running back room through two weeks:

Week 1 and Week 2 snaps:

Mike Davis: 7, 18

Kenyan Drake: 33, 15

Justice Hill: 11, 21

It doesn't get much better looking at rushing attempts, as no player had more than six this past week and all of them ranged between three and six rushing attempts. It's a gross work split that nobody should want a part of. The sooner that Dobbins can return, the better. He certainly won't come out the gate to a workhorse role, but he should be able to work his way into a majority share in that backfield fairly quickly, pending his health.

Let's assume Dobbins does return this week. What kind of workload would he be looking at? Well, who knows. The Ravens had Marcus Peters return for the first time since tearing his ACL last year this past week and he registered 44 snaps on defense. It's not fair to expect that type of a snap count to await Dobbins in his return, but it does excite the mind to think about how much work he could get in a subpar backfield.

Las Vegas Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow

Practice participation: DNP, DNP

Injury: concussion

As of right now, Renfrow seems doubtful to play in Week 3. He hasn't even participated in a limited fashion in practice and is very likely to be ruled out ahead of Sunday because of it. Unfortunately for Renfrow, he basically lost the Raiders the game in Week 2 because of a fumble and won't be able to rectify it this week, it seems.

Oddly enough, Renfrow led the team with a 23% target share this past week. In typical Renfrow fashion, he reeled in seven of his nine targets for just 59 yards, averaging 8.4 yards per reception and lining up 91.4% of his snaps in the slot.

The Raiders will need to find a replacement. Going back to last week, Davante Adams (65 snaps) and Mack Hollins (58 snaps) were mainstays alongside Renfrow. There isn't a clear-cut replacement, though Tyron Johnson could be a guy that finds more snaps in Renfrow's place if he cannot go.

Either way, Johnson likely won't have a huge impact. Renfrow's absence could free up more targets for, you guessed it, Adams and Darren Waller.

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

Practice participation: LP, LP

Injury: ribs

Like some of the aforementioned names, Kamara could very well suit up this week. Whether he suits up or not, the Saints will operate with a committee in their backfield:

The only question is, will Kamara be a part of it, or will Mark Ingram and Tony Jones Jr. lead the way in his place again? Going back to Week 3, Jones Jr. likely out-snapped Ingram because the veteran was dealing with an ankle injury. If healthy, Ingram probably leads the way in snaps, though the snap count would likely be close to a 55/45 or 60/40 split at best. If Kamara does go, Jones Jr. likely falls out of the rotation and the Saints would rely on their star player with Ingram mixing in as he usually does.

New England Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers

Practice participation: DNP, DNP

Injury: knee

Like Renfrow, Meyers doesn't look like he's going to play in Week 3. This is unfortunate news for an already anemic Patriots passing offense. They do not look good and losing their top receiver certainly wouldn't help. Meyers has been as productive as he's been efficient — he ranks second in snaps (105), first in target share (29.2%), and first in passing snaps (66) on the team. As expected, Meyers is primarily a slot player as he lines up in that alignment on 62.1% of his snaps.

There is no doubt that the Patriots like to push the ball downfield a bit more often without Meyers on the field. When Meyers is off the field, the Patriots target the deep middle portion of the field 14% more often, and the deep left portion 7% more often. But, the offense as a whole is also more productive with Meyers on the field, too:

If Meyers can't suit up, both quarterback Mac Jones and the Patriots' offense take a hit. Those targets must funnel somewhere and based on where Meyers wins, you'd have to expect a short-to-intermediate yard player to inherit the majority of the work. Potentially, both tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry could get more work, but at the same time, the Patriots could elect to push the ball deeper downfield without Meyers, as the numbers have suggested they will. No receiver has a higher average depth of target (aDOT) on the team than DeVante Parker (19.3), though Kendrick Bourne could also play a role (16.3).

Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen

Practice participation: LP, LP

Injury: hamstring

It remains to be seen if Allen will suit up this week, but he looks to be a true questionable going into this game. If Allen plays, he'll recapture his starting spot in the slot and should play nearly every snap if able. If Allen is out, then we can expect Mike Williams and Josh Palmer to start in two-receiver sets, with DeAndre Carter filling the role of WR3.

Going back to Week 2, Palmer (68 snaps), Williams (66), and Carter (49) led the team in snaps. It's likely they recreate a similar situation if Allen can't go, but consecutive participations in practice suggest Allen could be available this week.

It could all be for naught if Justin Herbert (ribs) doesn't play. He's been limited throughout two practices this week but is moving around well and is throwing the ball without any pain.

Denver Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy

Practice participation: DNP, DNP

Injury: ribs

As it stands, Jeudy looks like he could be in danger of missing this contest. The stud receiver suffered a rib injury after just 10 snaps in Week 2 and hasn't practiced so far this week. There is no doubt the Broncos could use Jeudy's talent as the offense has looked subpar through two games.

In place of Jeudy, the Broncos elected to divvy up the snaps as such:

Courtland Sutton - 66 snaps

Kendall Hinton - 55 snaps

Tyrie Cleveland - 31 snaps

Montrell Washington - 12 snaps

There is no reason to believe the team would operate differently, though K.J. Hamler didn't participate in last week's game, and he seems like he'll be good to suit up this time around. If so, Hamler should inherit most of Hinton's snaps, with each player being knocked down a peg. With Jeudy off the field, the Broncos' aDOT increases from 7.0 to 9.1, though the team does also run the ball more often.