With Josh Jacobs Set For Surgery, This Running Back Could See A Substantial Increase In Fantasy Production
In this story:
Josh Jacobs fractured his finger in Green Bay’s matchup against New England on Sunday. According to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, he will undergo surgery and miss up to three weeks.
#Packers standout running back Josh Jacobs is set to undergo surgery on his injured finger this week and is expected to miss a maximum of three weeks, sources tell @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/qE7ezuzHe2
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) November 9, 2026
The injury occurred in the first quarter when the running back attempted to stiff arm Pats’ safety Craig Woodson, but his ring finger got caught in Woodson’s helmet.
Jacobs left the game and did not return. His absence did little to impact the Packers who wound up putting on an offensive clinic, defeating the Patriots 45-27.
With the three-time Pro Bowler on the shelf, what are the resulting fantasy impacts? We’ll break them down.
RB, Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
The Packers’ training staff attempted to tape Jacobs’ hand on Sunday so that he could take the field once again. However, Packers' coach Matt LaFleur revealed that he was "having a hard time gripping the ball," which makes sense given the latest news.
Jacobs has already missed six games this season, a career high, due to domestic abuse charges that landed him on the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List. Despite returning to action in Week 7, his legal and disciplinary status remains under review.
In the two contests he’s played in, Jacobs tallied 36 carries for 80 yards and scored one touchdown. He also caught 11 passes for 68 yards. His output earned him 17.6 and 20.2 fantasy points (in half-PPR formats) in Weeks 7 and 8 respectively, seventh-most among half backs during that span.
Even with his return, the Packers maintain the weakest rushing attack in the NFL as of this writing, ranking dead-last in yards (68.2) and carries per game (22). They also run the ball at the lowest rate (35.3%) in the league.
In a largely unproductive rushing season for the Packers, there was a bright spot for the unit in Week 9.
RB Kaleb Johnson, Green Bay Packers
Johnson stepped in for Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd—who missed Week 9 due to a knee injury—and stepped up in a big way.
The 23-year-old carried the ball 14 times, nearly double his second-highest total of the season, for 68 yards, which is 4.9 yards per attempt. That included a 34-yard explosion in the fourth quarter, as well as his first-career touchdown. The performance earned him 12.8 fantasy points.
Kaleb Johnson powers in! What a first half for the @Packers
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026
GBvsNE on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/dmNuSX6KwF
Johnson leads the Packers in yards among running backs this season (172), despite being given 15 fewer tries than Lloyd, and his 4.1 yards per rush bests Jacobs, Lloyd and Pierre Strong Jr., the other top carriers on the Packers.
It is entirely possible that Johnson sees a similar level of volume and production in Week 10 against the Vikings who are middle of the pack in run defense (and absolute demons against the pass). With Jacobs out and Lloyd's status uncertain, Johnson is a highly intriguing streaming option for Week 10.
RB MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers
Lloyd has played the most snaps by far (186) of any Packers halfback, but those numbers steadily declined between Weeks 4 and 8.
The former third round pick, who missed all of last season and nearly all of 2024 due to a plethora of lower-body injuries, has taken on a pretty substantial load in 2026. He’s posted 57 carries for 149 yards, along with two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown.
Lloyd has been the Packers’ most consistent fantasy points getter, but he did miss Week 9 with a knee injury. It’s unclear if he’ll suit up in Week 10, but given his history, we wouldn’t be surprised if the team gave him some additional rest.
RB Pierre Strong Jr., Green Bay Packers
In roughly two-and-a-fourth games, LaFleur turned to Jacobs 17 times in the red-zone. That figure leads all skill position players on the Packers outside of Jordan Love.
Aside from Lloyd, the team has also turned to Strong in a number of those situations (eight). He doesn’t profile as a power back—in fact he’s much more of a speedy, elusive, change-of-direction guy—but clearly Green Bay views him as a capable short yardage scorer.
He only averages about five carries and 12 yards per game, but if you’re looking to take a flier on Strong, a lineup that’s missing Jacobs and Lloyd could present the right time to do so.
RB Chris Brooks, Green Bay Packers
Brooks was placed on IR after injuring his ankle in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but practiced for the first time last week. He could be ready in time for Sunday’s divisional showdown with the Vikings.
Although he’s averaging an impressive 4.7 yards per rush (across only four games), he carries at a very low volume, and we don’t see him commanding enough touches to be worth adding.
Green Bay’s High-Powered Offense
It’s no secret that the Packers’ bread and butter is their passing attack. Love has been a top-five fantasy quarterback this season, with the third-most points (191) and fourth-highest per game average (21.2).
Meanwhile, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden have constituted the most formidable one-two punch at wide receiver this season, earning 152.4 and 137.4 fantasy points, respectively. That’s good for third and fifth at their position.
LaFleur and co. have leaned heavily on the pass, unleashing it at a 64.7% (compared to 35.3% on the ground), which is the largest discrepancy in the NFL.
Should Jacobs miss more time, expect defenses—and fantasy managers—to experience even higher doses of Love, Watson, and Golden.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Macklin is a Brooklyn-based writer who’s covered the NBA, NFL, WWE, Disney Channel Original movies and everything in between. All of his wildest dreams came true the day Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to an NBA Championship.
Follow MackStern24