Rashod Bateman Injury Update Crushes Fantasy Outlook Early in 2021

The last receiver selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Baltimore Ravens rookie Rashod Bateman's fantasy football outlook includes some sky-high upside for 2021.

But that upside is suddenly being threatened by a training camp injury.

Story of today’s practice was an injury to first-round WR Rashod Bateman. Bateman pulled up while running a slant against Peters and then fell immediately to ground. Walked to building with pronounced limp. DeCosta followed him in building.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 10, 2021

Rashod Bateman Injury

There's no word yet on exactly what Bateman's injury is (or how severe), but a leg injury that has left him limping is never a good sign.

That's especially true when pulling up with a non-contact injury, which could be hamstring or ankle related. Those are the kind of issues that can linger and limit a player for an extended period, even if its not forcing them to miss games.

Rashod Bateman Fantasy Football Value

Bateman was already going to be a boom-or-bust fantasy football draft pick with sleeper upside. Playing in a run-heavy offense and competing for looks with Mark Andrews, Marquise Brown and Sammy Watkins raises volume concerns.

But with an average draft position (ADP) of 59, according to FantasyPros, Bateman's upside made him well worth the gamble.

Now adding in injury uncertainty, fantasy managers will want to wait and see how severe this issue is before drafting the rookie.

The Duel's fantasy football rankings for 2021 have Bateman checking in at WR50.

UPDATE: August 11 — A soft tissue injury has been confirmed by head coach John Harbaugh. The injury is expected to cost him "weeks," calling into question his Week 1 availability, and also setting back his progress as the rookie looks to get acclimated to the offense. At this point, Bateman should be avoided in fantasy football drafts.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman has a soft tissue leg issue, coach John Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh said Bateman will be out weeks, not months.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) August 11, 2021

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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 his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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