This is our fifth week of running through the injuries and I'm not sure we've ever had quite so many significant question marks on Thursday afternoon. I always like to make the point that if you have guys that are real question marks, you need to do a thorough check of your lineups before the Thursday night game. While George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and Javonte Williams are all must-starts, Fantasy managers may have some very tough decisions when it comes to Bucky Irving and Emeka Egbuka vs. injured players that we like more than them.
If it is a truly 50/50 question of whether that star will play, I always like to look at my backup play. In other words, if you have Ja'Marr Chase and Emeka Egbuka, who is the guy you would play if you sit Egbuka and roll the dice and Chase is ruled out? If the difference between Chase and Egbuka is greater than the difference between Egbuka and your backup plan, then wait it out.
We may have this one backward. Because the Bengals said Higgins was day-to-day, we have him in our rankings and we have Chase out because we don't rank players in the concussion protocol. Chase's return to limited on Thursday is a positive sign, but no guarantee he'll complete all the steps needed to play by Saturday.
We'll feel much better about Chase if he's a full go on Friday. As for Higgins, let's hope he at least gets in a limited session on Friday. Joe Burrow is a low-end starter as long as one of these guys start with a great matchup against the Dolphins.
If both of the Bengals' starting wide receivers miss, then Dohnte Meyers and Mike Gesicki might both be must-start options at their respective positions. We are more optimistic about Addison than Jefferson as of Thursday afternoon, but there are a lot of moving parts here. Let's start with the easy one: If Jefferson plays, start him and maybe only him in the Vikings passing game.
If Jefferson or Addison misses Week 5, then T.J. Hockenson is a must-start tight end. If Jefferson is out, then Addison is a borderline WR2.
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