NFL Fantasy Football: 3 key injuries that could impact your Week 8 strategy

Injuries have always been a weekly killer for fantasy football lineups, and 2021 seems to be dealing them out more often.

Christian McCaffrey has basically been a bust for those who drafted him in the first round. He's only played in three games this season and now his future with the Carolina Panthers is in question. Let's not even get started on the backfield for the Baltimore Ravens.

More recently, Zach Wilson, Robert Tonyan, Corey Davis and Miles Sanders have suffered injuries that will force them to miss time, with Tonyan out for the year. Dak Prescott and Baker Mayfield will presumably start on Sunday while playing with injuries. Mayfield has a fully torn labrum and fractured humerus bone, making him a fragile starter in fantasy football.

With all these recent injuries to key players, many fantasy football rosters are going to have to scramble to piece together a winning lineup. Here are three key injuries that will impact Week 8 strategies the most.

Three key injuries to impact Fantasy Football Week 8 strategies

#1 - QB Baker Mayfield - Cleveland Browns

Baker Mayfield has been announced as the starter for Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team doctors have cleared him to do so, but his injuries could affect his play. He has a torn labrum and fractured bone in his non-throwing shoulder, which shouldn't affect his throwing motion too much. However, any hits he takes could easily worsen the shoulder and knock him out of the game with too much pain to play through. The Cleveland Browns have a better chance of winning with Mayfield on the field, but it could be a short game for him if Pittsburgh get to him earlier. In deep leagues, you may have no choice but to risk starting him.

#2 - WR Corey Davis - New York Jets

Corey Davis' injury affects many fantasy football players. For one, starting quarterback Mike White loses his top receiver and has to rely on Denzel Mims, which will hurt his fantasy value. Secondly, it forces Mims and Elijah Moore into bigger roles, which means fantasy football owners will look to add them to their FLEX. That would be a bad choice. Lastly, the Cincinnati Bengals are now a bigger streaming option. With Corey Davis out and the Jets playing their backup, the Bengals' defense should be a must-have.

#3 - TE Dawson Knox - Buffalo Bills

Dawson Knox hasn't been the most consistent tight end in fantasy football this year, but he's been explosive over the past several games and was the third-best tight end in standard leagues entering Week 8. Great tight ends are hard to come by in fantasy football, so having Dawson Knox break out was a major plus. However, hand surgery will keep him out for at least this week. Tommy Sweeney is his replacement, but that may not warrant good results for you. If you don't have a solid backup on your roster, Week 8 might be rough in a tight matchup.