The NFL season starts next week, and that means everyone and their brother is trying to predict who will be this year’s breakout star. We don’t pretend to be fantasy football experts, but we do have some industry knowledge when it comes to foot and ankle injuries and how these injuries could impact some of the game’s biggest stars this year. So while we’re not saying that these players are doomed to have an injury plagued season, let’s just say we wouldn’t be surprised if they missed time due to a lower body injury.
Players With Previous Foot and Ankle Injuries
Here are five players with a history of foot or ankle problems, and our assessment as to whether or not you should avoid them on draft day if possible.
1. Saquan Barkley – Barkley is either the first or second pick in most fantasy drafts this year, and while he offers plenty of upside, he’s also coming off a season in which he missed multiple games due to a high ankle sprain on his right foot. Now, we’re not saying you should cross him off your big board, but that high ankle sprain really impacted his effectiveness, and Barkley even admitted that he wasn’t as effective as he normally was when he tried to play through the injury. A high ankle sprain is less of a concern than other lower body injuries in terms of likelihood of recurrence, but Barkley’s workload means he’s going to absorb a number of low tackles. Barkley offers more upside assuming he can stay healthy, but Christian McCaffrey offers more consistency. Barkley can still be safely taken at the top of draft boards, but if he picks up another ankle injury, don’t be surprised if he’s held out of games instead of rushing him back like they did last season.
2. Julio Jones – We’ve written about Julio Jones multiple times on the blog in the past. He is no stranger to foot injuries, as he’s dealt with ankle sprains, toe sprains and even had surgery to remove a bunion on his right foot. He does tend to play through injuries, as he hasn’t missed more than two games in any season over the last six years, but he’s another year older, and his likelihood of another injury only climbs higher. If you draft him, expect to be watching the practice reports throughout the weeks, because he’ll likely be on them at some point, even if he ends up playing on Sundays.
3. Adrian Peterson – Adrian Peterson has had some injury trouble in the past. He tore his ACL and meniscus back in 2011, and while he’s far removed from those injuries, he’s probably feeling the effects of all those hits over the years. He suffered another torn meniscus in 2016 and landed on the injury report with ankle injuries in 2018 and 2019. He’s not going to beat anyone with his speed anymore, so he’s going to have to break tackles to be effective, and that could be a recipe for injury at his age. We’d avoid relying heavily on his legs at this point in his career.
4. Davante Adams – Adams was sidelined for four games last year because of what he called a “major” turf toe injury. Turf toe involves a sprain of the plantar ligaments and tendons. Because of the way receivers twist and run during their routes, turf toe isn’t all that uncommon for receivers. He enters 2020 with a clean bill of health, but an aggravation of the injury would likely lead to missed games. We’d say he carries a little more injury risk than some big name wide receivers.
5. Dalvin Cook – Cook is expected to be the bell cow for the Vikings this season, assuming he can stay healthy. He’s had a bit of injury trouble early in his career, tearing his ACL in his rookie campaign and missing five games the following year with a hamstring injury. Last season he missed two games with a shoulder injury, so he’s only played in roughly half of the regular season games over his three years in the NFL. We don’t expect a past injury to inhibit him this season, but Cook is the definition of high-risk, high-reward given his injury history. For his sake and for the sake of the Vikings, hopefully he can stay healthy this season.
For more information, or for help with your foot or ankle injuries, reach out to Dr. Silverman’s office today.