Fantasy Injury Updates: Latest news on CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Antonio Brown, more affecting Week 13 WR rankings

Wideouts CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Antonio Brown, Kadarius Toney, and Sterling Shepard have some uncertainty surrounding their statuses heading into the weekend, and with the fantasy football playoffs right around the corner, their availabilities are of the utmost importance. Get the latest injury updates ahead of your Week 13 start ’em, sit ’em decisions.

For updates on more banged-up RBs Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, and D’Andre Swift, click here; for news on banged-up pass-catchers Deebo Samuel, Dan Arnold, Darren Waller, and Pat Freiermuth, go here; for the latest on Calvin Ridley, Kyler Murray, and DeAndre Hopkins, click here; for updates on injured RBs Alvin Kamara, Darrell Henderson, Mark Ingram, and Jordan Howard, click here. For all the latest fantasy news, follow us on Twitter @SN_Fantasy.

WEEK 13: Top waiver pickups

CeeDee Lamb injury update

Lamb (concussion) was a full participant in Monday’s practice and is expected to play against the Saints on Thursday Night. We’re over a week removed from the head injury he suffered against the Chiefs, so we’d be surprised if he doesn’t play, especially after there were reports he cleared the concussion protocol last week but the Cowboys were just being extra cautious with him. 

New Orleans gives up the fifth-most fantasy points per game (FFPG) to WRs, so Lamb should smash in this game. We rank him as the WR4 in standard and WR3 in PPR leagues.

WEEK 13 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Amari Cooper COVID update

UPDATE: Cooper reportedly still isn’t “feeling the best,” and is in real danger of missing Thursday’s game if he doesn’t Wednesday.

Jerry Jones said Cooper (reserve/COVID list) is fully expected to play against the Saints, so we’ll take his word for it. There’s not much to dive into here — he’ll either be ruled in or out given the circumstances of his previous absences.

Again, the Saints’ secondary is very generous to WRs, so Cooper comes in at the WR10 in standard and PPR leagues.

WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Antonio Brown injury update

Early last week, Bruce Arians said he is hopeful Brown (ankle) will return in Week 13 against the Falcons, so we’ll have to see if more updates come in early in the week. For now, we don’t have much to go on, but this would be a matchup against the eighth-weakest defense in FPPG allowed. However, we know one of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Brown are always likely to see a quiet day while the others feast, but they remain must-starts in any matchup with Tom Brady at the helm.

Brown is our WR23 in standard and PPR leagues, but again, any of the Bucs’ WRs have top-five upside any given week.

Kadarius Toney injury update

There isn’t any new information about Toney (quad), so we’ll just have to see how his updates go later in the week. The Giants square off with the Dolphins in Week 13, and while Miami has looked better on defense in recent weeks, Rashod Bateman, Elijah Moore, and D.J. Moore have all eclipsed 100 yards in the past three weeks against them, so there’s still plenty of room for WRs to produce.

Miami still ranks as a bottom-three unit against fantasy WRs, so we like Toney as the WR28 in standard and WR27 in PPR leagues.

Sterling Shepard injury update

Like Toney, there isn’t new information about Shepard (quad), either. We’ll update both of these guys later in the day if information rolls in, but the same sentiments we said about Toney go for Shepard. This is one of the best matchups for WRs, so if he plays, he’s an attractive WR2.

Ultimately, Shepard would have the safer floor, but Toney probably has the higher ceiling by virtue of his explosiveness and big-play potential. Because of his high floor, we rank Shepard as the WR22 in standard and WR21 in PPR leagues.