Fantasy Football Impact: Arian Foster groin surgery

With Arian Foster and the always sensitive - in more ways than one - groin injury dominating my Twitter timeline today, it's apropos for Jim Breuer’s classic Maguire drop:

I’m not freaking out, but those high on DeAndre Hopkins should be worried. More on that fantasy football impact below. Several reports and sources suggested Foster’s injury would require surgery, Houston Chronicle’s John McClain confirmed it, but noted the running back should be able to return at some point in-season.

The FOX Fantasy department had Foster ranked sixth among running backs and ninth overall. I had him ranked 10th and 12th, respectively. Let’s assume Foster misses half the season. Are you in the market to rent a (recovering stud) player for Weeks 9-16? Keep in mind Foster – 1,573 total yards with 11 total TDs in 2014 – also missed three games last season and eight games in 2013. He’s one of the few double-threat fantasy football players prone to awesome as well as injury. With that known, I wouldn’t be shocked to see those owners bullish on Foster’s return to buy stock in the eighth or ninth round, but I won’t be targeting him unless a more stable timetable of return is known.

Chris Polk is another option to keep an eye on. The fourth-year pro made some waves inside the red zone last season for the Eagles. Chip Kelly frustrated LeSean McCoy owners by calling Polk’s number four times to finish drives in 2014.

That brings us back to DeAndre Hopkins. Will the receiver see more targets with the injury to Foster? Probably. Do I gain any added trust in Brian Hoyer and/or Ryan Mallett with Foster OUT half the season. Nope. If anything, Foster’s presence on the field helped Hopkins’ fantasy value as secondaries couldn’t cheat back to cover the deep threat. Hopkins was a reliable fantasy target last year, but with so much of the offense in flux, I’d have to go with the wait-and-see approach during drafts. Before the injury I had him ranked WR35, which I believed to be a little harsh before the injury to Foster. Now I’m thinking somewhere between WR24-WR30 is where I’m at because of the numerous situations behind center.