David Johnson Injury Update Improves Kenyan Drake Week 9 Fantasy Outlook for Thursday Night Football

David Johnson is set to miss what is essentially his third straight game as the Arizona Cardinals take on the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night. He joins Chase Edmonds, who has already been ruled out, and clears a path for newly-acquired Kenyan Drake to make an impact in fantasy football.

Is David Johnson Playing This Week?

BREAKING NFL: Johnson (ankle) is not expected to play Thursday against the 49ers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Fantasy Analysis Here: https://t.co/wdHYQQhxvq
— Fantasy Alarm (@FantasyAlarm) October 31, 2019

Johnson sat out Week 8, and only managed to play three snaps in Week 7 despite officially being listed as active in that game. His workload was strong through six full contests though, averaging 19.5 opportunities (12.7 carries plus 6.8 targets) per game.

Chase Edmonds Injury Update

Edmonds inherited that workload with 27 carries and four targets in Week 7 before making an early exit himself in Week 8. Acquiring Drake in a trade from the Miami Dolphins is a good sign that they will be happy to let him step up in a lead role like DJ and Edmonds had while they are sidelined.

Drake also projects as a good fit in the Cardinals' offense. Like Johnson, Drake is a receiving threat out of the backfield with an average of 5.5 targets and 3.7 receptions per game in 2019 after averaging 4.6 targets and 3.3 receptions in 2018.

Despite being listed as questionable for tonight’s game vs the 49ers with an ankle injury, Cardinals’ RB David Johnson is not expected to play, per source.

With Johnson and Chase Edmonds out tonight, opportunity awaits new Cardinals’ RB Kenyan Drake.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 31, 2019

Drake doesn't find himself in the easiest situation for his debut, however. Playing on Thursday night means he's only had a short week to try to pick up the new offense, and the 49ers' defense is one of the best in the NFL, grading out as the second-best unit in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA rankings.

Still, with only Zach Zenner threatening his workload, Drake should be in for plenty of volume in his first game as a Cardinal. He sits at RB20 in our Week 9 PPR fantasy football rankings and is a fantasy player to start for Thursday Night Football.

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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.