Fantasy Football Injuries: Le’Veon Bell & JuJu Smith-Schuster Rankings, Backup Plans, More

It was a busy week on the injury front. We've got some marquee fantasy football injuries to monitor leading up to kickoff, but don't worry — our rankers have you covered in the event any of the players listed below are ruled out.

With this article, we'll give a brief rundown of some of the players who are entering Sunday with a questionable tag, along with where our fantasy experts — Sean Koerner, Chris Raybon and Matthew Freedman — will have each player ranked if they're active. We'll also run through which players would benefit the most if the questionable players are ruled out, and who you could pick up on waivers if you're in a pinch.

Here's a quick list of the five players we'll cover:

• Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens
• Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
• Le'Veon Bell, RB, New York Jets
• JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

Keep a close eye on our experts' real-time fantasy rankings, too, which will be continuously updated until kickoff.

Note: Beneficiaries, recommended waiver wire pickups and rankings as of 7 a.m. ET. Ownership data is via Yahoo Fantasy.

Le'Veon Bell, RB, New York Jets

Well, Bell confirmed on his Instagram on Saturday that he would be active because apparently that's a thing now.

So, it appears Bell should be all set for his matchup against the Giants on Sunday.

Fantasy Rankings If Bell Is Active:

• Koerner: RB10
• Raybon: RB11
• Freedman: RB11

Biggest Beneficiary + Ranking If Thielen Is Inactive: Bilal Powell (Koerner RB29), Josh Adams (Raybon RB36), Ty Montgomery (Freedman RB32)

See rankings for potential waiver wire options

Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Brown practiced in full all week then was downgraded to limited on Friday. However, NFL.com's Tom Pelissero reported that he's expected to play Sunday against the Bengals.

Fantasy Ranking If Brown Is Active:

• Koerner: WR34
• Raybon: W28
• Freedman: WR28

Biggest Beneficiary + Ranking With Brown Inactive: Willie Snead (Koerner WR50, Raybon WR56, Freedman WR56)

See rankings for potential waiver wire options

>> Get our experts' up-to-the-minute fantasy football rankings before lineups lock.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Stafford wanted to try to play through his back injury, but he was ultimately ruled out.

Biggest Beneficiary + Ranking With Stafford Inactive: Jeff Driskell (Koerner QB25, Raybon QB24, Freedman QB24)

Daniel Jones is Koerner's top streaming option. If he's not available in your league, make sure to check out our experts' up-to-the-minute fantasy football rankings before lineups lock

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

JuJu was a late addition to the injury report on Friday with a toe injury. The late addition is concerning, especially since he was battling a toe issue back in September and October.

Sadly, there was no late-night news on his status, so we'll need to wait till inactives roll in.

Fantasy Ranking If Smith-Schuster Is Active:

• Koerner: WR18
• Raybon: WR19
• Freedman: WR19

Biggest Beneficiary + Ranking With Smith-Schuster Inactive: Dionte Johnson (Koerner WR34, Raybon WR33, Freedman WR32)

See rankings for potential waiver wire options

Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Cooper missed some practice time this week a knee injury, but his MRI revealed it was just a bruised knee. Additionally, we got the word from Schefty that Cooper is expected to play on Sunday night against Minnesota.

Fantasy Ranking If Cooper Is Active:

• Koerner: WR11
• Raybon: WR8
• Freedman: WR8

Biggest Beneficiary + Ranking With Cooper Inactive: Randall Cobb (Koerner WR41, Raybon WR48, Freedman WR48)

See rankings for potential waiver wire options

Quick Hits

• George Kittle (knee) is doubtful for Monday night.
• Corey Davis (hip) is listed as doubtful Sunday. Players listed as doubtful rarely play.
• Lamar Jackson (Illness) is fully expected to play.