Alvin Kamara Injury Update Could Boost Latavius Murray Value as Top RB Handcuff in NFL Week 6

Alvin Kamara was officially limited at the New Orleans Saints' practice due to an ankle injury on Thursday, and Friday's update wasn't encouraging. If this ends up affecting his status for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it could be a big blow to Kamara's fantasy football value. That also means it would be a boon for Latavius Murray's as a top RB handcuff for Week 6.

Saints RBs Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray were both absent from the portion of Friday’s practice open to the media - but Sean Payton clarified that Murray was not injury related. Kamara popped up on the injury report with an ankle Thursday. Payton declined to elaborate on him.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) October 11, 2019

Kamara's fantasy production took a hit when Drew Brees got injured in Week 2, but he's still put up 19.4 PPR fantasy points per game on the season, ranking sixth among all running backs. He's seen an especially large workload since Brees went down, racking up 49 carries and 20 targets over the Saints' last three games.

Murray, on the other hand, has seen his volume drop to 4.3 rush attempts and 1.0 targets per game during those contests, playing less than 25 percent of the team's offensive snaps in two of the three.

If Kamara plays, he'll be a must-start RB1, while Murray would be best left on your bench (or even the waiver wire in Week 6). If Kamara sits though, Murray becomes a virtual must-start option in what would likely be a workhorse role.

Alvin Kamara (ankle) lands on the injury report today. pic.twitter.com/LGwVnKKlLn
— Luke Johnson (@ByLukeJohnson) October 10, 2019

The Jaguars have given up the NFL's eighth-most PPR fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, making this a great matchup for either back to take advantage of. Assuming he plays, Kamara is the fifth-ranked RB in our Week 6 PPR fantasy football rankings. If Kamara sits, Murray will immediately jump up into the conversation as a strong RB2 option.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.