Fantasy Injury Updates: Latest news on Joe Mixon, Leonard Fournette affecting Week 16 waiver wire pickups

12/21/2021

Top fantasy running backs Joe Mixon and Leonard Fournette were banged up Sunday, and with the fantasy football playoffs rolling forward, two top-five fantasy RBs potentially being out has a huge impact on waiver wire pickups and start ’em, sit ’em decisions. We have the latest injury updates on each player below.

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WEEK 16: Top waiver pickups

Joe Mixon injury update

Mixon (leg) left Cincinnati’s Week 15 game against the Broncos multiple times, and he was especially gimpy late in the fourth quarter when he left and didn’t return. There seems to be little concern surrounding his status for Week 16 against the Ravens, but these types of lower-body injuries can worsen over time, so it’s smart to keep an eye out later in the week.

Either way, all Mixon owners should have rostered Samaje Perine by now anyway, but if you haven’t, now is the time to do so. Again, it seems as if Mixon avoided the worst for now, but things happen, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. Even people who don’t own Mixon should have Perine on their radar because he’s one of those handcuff RBs who will take on a huge workload in a starting role. All that said, there is another RB on waivers that has a better chance at immediate impact (see below).

Leonard Fournette injury update

UPDATE: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday morning that Fournette avoided “serious” injury but is expected to miss a game or two.

Fournette (ankle, hamstring) could be looking at missing some time, as he came into Week 15 with an ankle injury and suffered the hamstring ailment during the contest against the Saints. He’ll continue to be a must-start in the RB1 range of rankings if he’s active, but if things are looking down, Ronald Jones is easily the No. 1 waiver add heading into Week 16. Sure, Jones doesn’t have the PPR upside Fournette carries with him, but he’ll take on a full workload as Ke’Shawn Vaughn has proven to be unreliable and Giovani Bernard (hip, knee) is on injured reserve. Even in a tough matchup with Carolina, it would be tough to resist starting Jones in one of the best offensive behind one of the elite offensive lines in football.

While Fournette would be a top-10 play if he’s active, Jones should be viewed as a mid-level RB2 with real RB1 upside if he gets the start. If reports come out that Fournette could miss the next two weeks, Vaughn would be worth adding as a handcuff to Jones. We’ll update this post if that happens.

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