5 Draft-Worthy Fantasy Football Players With Injury Concerns

Before heading into Fantasy drafts, it’s important to understand which players are coming off of injury and how that will impact their return to play. As a physical therapist, here are five injury backgrounds you should evaluate before drafting.

Malik Nabers

Injury: Knee

A Week 1 return is on the cards for Malik Nabers despite undergoing two knee procedures this offseason. In late October 2025, he underwent not only an ACL reconstruction but also a lateral meniscus repair. In April, he underwent a second procedure called a “cyclops lesion excision”, likely because he had difficulty fully extending his knee, which could have been impacting his sport-specific drills. A return date following any type of major lower-extremity surgery should always be criterion-based, less about time-out to a certain extent, and more about the individual patient’s symptoms, strength, and explosiveness. With that being said, I was not expecting Malik Nabers to be on the field in Week 1, but he seems to be trending that way.

While this news is optimistic for drafters, the underlying concerns remain. In professional athletes returning from an ACL injury, research shows a significant drop-off in production at least in the first year back. Additionally, re-injury risk is heavily elevated for the first two years post-op as the new ACL graft undergoes a maturation process. Of course, there are outliers such as Keenan Allen in 2017 and Cooper Kupp in 2019, who both had productive seasons following an ACL injury.

Tucker Kraft

Injury: Knee

Historically, tight ends suffer a performance dip in at least the first season back from an ACL injury. However, elite physical outliers can break the mold. Rob Gronkowski was an athletic freak at 6’6”, 265 pounds, and a relative athletic score (RAS) of 9.31, and returned in the 2014 season to dominate, earning Comeback Player of the Year and missing no games. Tucker Kraft, 6’ 5”, 259 lbs, 9.68 RAS score, has established previous production and similar rare freak athleticism.

While Gronkowski was clearly a more established star at the time of his injury, Kraft’s athletic ability and pre-injury production make a compelling case for a seamless return.

Kraft will be ten months post-op for Week 1, expected to be a full go. Kraft himself recently revealed he will not be on any rep counts, which is a fantastic sign given the Packers’ typical conservative approach.

Ashton Jeanty

Injury: Ankle

Ashton Jeanty suffered a lateral (low) ankle sprain on August 23rd, leaving fantasy managers questioning his availability for the season opener. The Las Vegas Raiders chose not to put Jeanty on injured reserve, showing they are confident he will not miss the first four games.

Research on lower-grade lateral ankle sprains in elite soccer players shows about 16 days missed.(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sms.14217) The Raiders play September 13th, which is 21 days post-injury for Jeanty, meaning he has a good chance to return for Week 1. While residual symptoms may persist shortly after returning, a lower-grade sprain should not pose a significant long-term threat to Jeanty’s health or performance.

Makai Lemon

Injury: Hamstring

Makai Lemon missed a significant amount of practice in the pre-season, dealing with a recurrent hamstring issue. He originally injured his hamstring in late May and re-injured the hamstring in early August. Hamstring injuries are notorious for being recurrent; just ask Jordyn Tyson. In fact, one study showed that even low-grade hamstring strains can elevate re-injury risk for up to 15 weeks upon competitive return to play.

Lemon has the upside to be an elite draft pick, but recognize that with his injury profile, it is wise to be cautious.

Bucky Irving

Injury: Shoulder

Bucky Irving had a shoulder subluxation last season undergoing labral repair surgery in February. He likely underwent what's called a Bankart Repair. His six-month rehab process seems to have gone well, as he made a successful return for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ pre-season games.

A study of NCAA and NFL football players in 2021 showed that about 93% of players returning from a shoulder labral repair were able to return to play at the same level or higher. Bucky should have no restrictions in Week 1, the only concern being repetitive trauma to the shoulder throughout the season, which could cause re-injury.