NFL News: Updated projections following Julian Edelman's injury
Julian Edelman went down in the Pats' third preseason game on Friday and is feared to be lost for the year. Here's how it affects the Pats and fantasy projections.
Preseason football reared its ugly head on Friday evening for the New England Patriots.
The defending champs lost receiver Julian Edelman to a knee injury -- one they reportedly fear could be a torn ACL that might end his season before it gets started.
And while no team can completely shrug off the loss of a receiver coming off a season in which he had 98 catches for 1,106 yards, the Patriots are loaded with weapons for Tom Brady and should be as equipped as possible to deal with it.
SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh says there's no difference in the Patriots' projections in 2017 if Edelman is indeed lost for the season.
"Even though he's a very good player, their depth at WR leaves them in good shape," Oh said.
That depth got a significant boost when the Patriots acquired Brandin Cooks from the Saints this offseason. Cooks will now team up with Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Matthew Slater and Malcolm Mitchell at receiver. The Pats also have an elite tight end duo with Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen, and more than enough receiving options out of the backfield.
It's certainly not the development the Patriots were hoping for, but New England should be fine.
Edelman's injury does, however, shake up the fantasy world.
SportsLine's Optimal Rankings Cheat Sheets, developed by Stephen Oh, have come out with updated projections following Edelman's injury, and there's been plenty of movement among the Pats' targets.
Edelman was WR26 on the cheat sheet rankings when launched earlier in August. Hogan was WR76, while Cooks was WR20.
As of early Saturday morning, Cooks is now WR13, Hogan jumps up to WR69, while Edelman is essentially off the board.
Cooks -- coming off a 1,178-yard season in New Orleans -- will likely be the biggest beneficiary in terms of targets and production.
New England's quality and quantity of targets on offense makes it difficult to project exactly who will put up the biggest numbers, but after giving up a first-round pick for the 5-foot-10 speedster this offseason, it's safer to move Cooks up closer to the elite receivers available this year.
Which receivers should you have on your “must-draft” list -- and where should you draft them for a value? Visit SportsLine's cheat sheets to get rankings from the same model that powered all three fantasy sites and find out.
