James Conner Injury Update Gives Him Elite Fantasy Outlook Against Miami in Week 8

The Pittsburgh Steelers were on bye in Week 7, and that seems to have been perfect timing for James Conner.

The running back got banged up in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers which clouded his fantasy football outlook, but he appears set to play in Week 8, making him a top RB option against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.

RB James Conner injured his quad against the Chargers, but said Wednesday he expects to play Monday night. He also said he feels healthy, which he backed up earlier this week with an exuberant run around the locker room to celebrate a gaming headset... https://t.co/wMPcob6FVa
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 23, 2019

The Miami Dolphins make for one of the best fantasy matchups in the league, and they sit dead last in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA rankings. They don't excel anywhere, sitting 32nd for both run defense and pass defense. Predictably, this has them giving up huge fantasy numbers to opponents, including the league's most points per game at the RB position.

Despite being held back some by the Pittsburgh Steelers' tumultuous QB situation, Conner still ranks 10th among all running backs in PPR points per game with 16.8 on the season. His volume has held strong, averaging 16.8 opportunities (12.3 rushes plus 4.5 targets) per game despite playing fewer than 50 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 1 (a blowout loss with garbage time) and Week 6 (when he got hurt).

.@JamesConner_ putting on a show ? pic.twitter.com/tHWODw0nnV
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 17, 2019

Already producing as a top-10 fantasy back and drawing the best matchup you could ask for, there's a lot working in Conner's favor as he returns from what doesn't seem to have been a particularly serious injury. He can be started as an RB1 with confidence this week, and he sits fourth at the position in our Week 8 PPR fantasy football rankings.

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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.