Injuries are the great equalizer in sports.
They can prove especially devastating in fantasy football knockout leagues.
On Monday night, New York Giants QB Jaxson Dart became the second quarterback in as many weeks to suffer a game-ending injury within the first 11 snaps while scoring fewer than one fantasy point (0.80), joining Kyler Murray (Week 1). Unsurprisingly -- though it's worth pointing out that he was facing a difficult matchup against the Los Angeles Rams -- Dart resided on the largest percentage of teams knocked out for Week 2, with an even higher rate than anyone had the week before (19.6%).
Dart wasn't alone. Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley, who played only 10 snaps (14% of the Eagles' total on offense) and 3.0 fantasy points, was the most commonly knocked out running back for the second consecutive week. Along with those two, the top 10 names on this week's list also included Caleb Williams and DJ Moore, who left their respective contests early due to injuries, as well as Nico Collins (hamstring), Puka Nacua (hip), Brock Bowers (knee) and A.J. Brown (ankle), all of whom were ruled out in advance of their respective games.
It's a factor in the knockout format that'll ring louder with each passing week.
As teams get eliminated and your active managerial pool shrinks, rosters strengthen and injury-influenced lineup holes increasingly sink your team in the standings. It's something to keep in mind as you evaluate the downside risk of your weekly lineup.
Yes, some injuries can be chalked up to bum luck -- for a great historical example, no one could've foreseen Tom Brady tearing his ACL in 2008's opening week -- but others can be reasonably forecasted. In Dart's case, we warned you about his downside risks, which made him a disadvantageous pick in the knockout format.
Dart's injury underscores another critical factor for knockout play: Stacking, as his top wide receiver, Malik Nabers, scored only 1.1 fantasy points while working most of the day with backup Jameis Winston. It's the second time in Nabers' past four games played that he has delivered a miserable, sub-four-point score terribly sunk by poor quarterback play (3.3 in Week 3 of 2025, with Russell Wilson as his quarterback). And with Tuesday's report that Dart might miss the remainder of the season, Nabers is probably looking at more low-floor scores like those.
Tying your wide receiver's result to your quarterback's can prove dangerous, especially if either -- and in this case both -- carries an injury question.
That's not to say that you cannot stack! Outcomes like Dak Prescott's 29.76 and CeeDee Lamb's 35.3 fantasy point Week 2 working together are plenty welcome across all fantasy leagues, but remember, it's floor, not ceiling, that's the goal in knockout play.
To that end, in the Fantasy Focus Podcast Knockout league, this week's knocked out team started both Dart and Nabers. A team projected before Monday Night Football to survive by 21.5 fantasy points, this wound up 11.6 short of the cut.
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Be attentive all the way through your matchup
Back to Nacua, as his inactive status for Monday Night Football presented me -- and presumably others -- with an unusually strategic play.
In that same Fantasy Focus Podcast Knockout league, I barely survived Week 1 and was hanging on by a thread in Week 2, too -- remember, you just need to avoid finishing last -- carrying a projected 7.1 fantasy point lead over the last place team. That team, however, had Nacua as an active wide receiver, but no other Giants or Rams player to cut in order to create roster flexibility in advance of the 7 p.m. ET inactives list announcement. Nacua would get the "O" designation to open up IL eligibility for his fantasy managers to seek a replacement, but in the meantime, I had a bench Giants/Rams player (Matthew Stafford) to create a blocking opportunity.
The choice was simple: Grab Tutu Atwell, the best among the availables as the fill-in Rams wide receiver with the highest upside, to further water down the already thin pool of prospective Nacua fill-ins.
In the end, the Dart-Nabers outcome rendered the point moot, but it's a reminder to always be mindful of your Monday night lineup -- in knockout and otherwise!
The 20 most-knocked-out players exiting Week 2
Note that FAB recommendations are in three tiers: "% OF FAB TO BID (ENFORCE)" is a low-end recommendation, if you don't necessarily need the player but don't want him gifted to the competition. "% OF FAB TO BID (MEDIAN)" is the recommended bid for a team with average needs at that position. "% OF FAB TO BID (AGGRESSIVE)" is advised for teams thin at that specific spot.
My favorite pickup of the week
Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams (15.4% Knocked out, 3rd overall, WR2): I'm not concerned in the slightest about his hip injury. It popped up on Friday, but he did manage a brief pregame workout in an attempt to beat the odds and play on Monday night, a signal that he could be ready for Week 3. If there are negatives with Nacua, they're almost entirely centered upon his challenging schedule the next three weeks (@DEN, @PHI, BUF) and the possibility his healthy return could include a small limitation on his snaps/routes. But this is a first-round draft pick, and one of the most consistent players in football. Recommended bid: 21-42% of your full-season FAB budget.
It's conceivable that Nacua won't be the only first-round pick available to you, as No. 2 overall pick Bijan Robinson was on 7.2% of knocked out teams. I'll be increasingly bullish on going all-in on a top-tier/first-round talent with each passing week, so a 30-45% bid (with a higher need-based bid) is reasonable for a blue-chipper.
Go get 'em
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders (13.6% Knocked out, sixth overall, TE6): He's due to resume practicing this week, a signal that he might be ready to play Sunday in New Orleans. With his Raiders showing decent life on offense, and their bye all the way in Week 13, he's looking like a great target at this tough-to-fill position. Recommended bid: 12-29%.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears (10.0% Knocked out, 13th overall, TE4): What in the name of Emery Moorehead is going on here?! Loveland has played two games, played 86.5% of the offensive snaps and run 51 routes -- both the most among Bears receivers -- but has five targets and 1.3 fantasy points combined to show for it. At some point, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is going to realize that Loveland (and Luther Burden III) need to be greater centerpieces than Kalif Raymond. There's more risk here this week than last -- due primarily to Williams' hamstring injury and the Week 3 Eagles matchup -- but I'm still close to being all-in on Loveland. Recommended bid: 9-21%.
Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons (10.1% Knocked out, 11th overall, WR6): Injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. devastated the Falcons' offense, but with at least Penix expected to be ready for the team's Thursday Night Football assignment, things should get better from here for London. Regardless of your opinion of Penix, bear in mind that London averaged 19.7 fantasy points in their nine games working together in 2025. Recommended bid: 11-28%.
Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles (14.1% Knocked out, fourth overall, RB1): He's a tough read due to the injury, which might thrust fellow waiver target Tank Bigsby into Week 3 starter status, but it's not often you can get a clear starter (when healthy) at the position. Barkley fits the "price enforce" category because of his uncertain short-term utility, and I'd be going after him harder if I felt good in the positional depth I had already. Recommended bid: 10-24%.
Worthy, with worries
Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans (16.3% Knocked out, second overall, WR1): The probability that he'll also miss Week 3 with his hamstring injury is the No. 1 thing keeping him in this group, though I rotated him and Barkley for these two spots multiple times before publishing. The Texans' offense doesn't look nearly as good when Collins sits -- C.J. Stroud's completion percentage is 5% lower in Collins' absences in their careers, and he should immediately recapture WR1 status once cleared to play. Recommended bid: 10-25%.
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots (8.9% Knocked out, 22nd overall, QB5): Things are bound to get better for last year's completion percentage leader, especially after A.J. Brown's healthy return. That said, Maye has to get your knockout team there and he's now a clear matchups play; although he faces one of the league's toughest schedules. Recommended bid: 5-12%.
No thanks
Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles (10.1% Knocked out, 12th overall, TE3): Another case of the injury history raising too many questions now that he'll miss additional time with a sprained MCL. I know, I know, it's tough to fill a tight end spot today, but by the time he returns, his value might well reside near the starting lineup cut-off for knockout leagues. Recommended bid: 0-2%.
