Fantasy Football Impact of A.J. Green's Injury
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The Arizona Cardinals are missing quite the amount of receivers.
DeAndre Hopkins is already halfway through his six-game suspension for PED use. Rondale Moore continues to miss time with a hamstring injury, and head coach Kliff Kingsbury isn't quite sure when he'll return but is hopeful it's within the next couple weeks.
Antoine Wesley has been out on Injured Reserve, and now A.J. Green finds himself out indefinitely with a bone bruise.
That's a lot of weapons to miss, but the Cardinals have seen a few players rise to the occasion.
Marquise Brown's big 14/140 day put him on the map across the league, while Greg Dortch's nine receptions for 80 yards was quietly impactful.
Green has been relatively quiet on the field, amassing just five catches through three games. In the two full games he played prior to Sunday, Green has averaged about 80% of snaps played.
Here's how Green's potential absence on Sunday impacts everybody on Arizona's offense:
Kyler Murray- Murray has targeted Green just 13 times through three games, ranking fifth on the team. Green has been most impactful near the red zone through his time with Arizona, and with that out of the picture, Murray could potentially target one his tight ends or even utilize his legs more near scoring position. Due to Green's limited role, there's not a tremendous amount of adjustments needed with Murray.
James Conner- To this point, Conner (15) has actually seen more targets than Green. Not much will change for the running back except maybe an extra goal line look. Maybe Eno Benjamin, who has impressed thus far, can see more catches?
Marquise Brown- Brown was poised to have a breakout game at some point. Did it come at the expense of Green's absence? While the lack of weapons surely helped, Green's role was never going to noticeably eat into Brown's target share. However, Brown now has even more separation between him and the next established receiver, which is only good news for his owners.
Greg Dortch- Dortch has mainly filled in for the Rondale Moore role, so Green's presence hasn't truly impacted his ability to produce. Has Dortch benefited from Green's absence? Surely. Yet Dortch's short uprising has more association with Moore than Green. Maybe an extra ball or two slide Dortch's way as the unofficial WR2 heading into Carolina.
Zach Ertz- In terms of opportunity, Zach Ertz can benefit most from Green's absence purely when factoring red zone opportunity. Ertz, should Green miss Week 4 or have a substantially reduced snap count, will be the team's biggest body near the goal line. Ertz actually sits second on the team with 25 targets but still somehow feels under utilized.
Andy Isabella/Andre Baccellia- Look, somebody will need to replace Green on the field, and it will likely boil down to these two guys. The leader is Isabella just because he's shown capable of making a big play thanks to his speed while also actually filling in his shoes after Green's departure in Week 3. You can add Isabella in most leagues but I'm not holding my breath for a respectable performance.
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