Fantasy Football: Here are 2025's most important NFL injuries to monitor this offseason
Injuries happen. It's one of the things that makes fantasy football so unpredictable. One player goes down and another steps up, providing value in the short- or long-term for your lineup. One injury to your first-round draft pick and it can derail your entire season before you even settle in. That's why we need to do our homework, even in the offseason. If you know the injury history of a player or what happened last season, it can help you better prepare for your fantasy draft.
Here we're going to go over some of the most impactful injuries from the 2025 season, so you can monitor progress of players in the months ahead and be ready come next regular season.
Malik Nabers, WR, Giants (knee)Nabers was arguably the most impactful injury in the 2025 season for fantasy managers. He was a first-round pick (12 ADP) in drafts and tore his ACL and meniscus in Week 4 against the Chargers. Nabers did give us that 9-167-2 explosion against the Cowboys in Week 2 before going down. But three of his four games in 2025 were forgettable.
But the outlook for 2026 should be optimistic. Nabers will have plenty of time to heal and be ready for the start of the regular season. He'll only be 23 years old when the season starts, so there's no reason he can't bounce back from this setback and return to elite WR status. Plus, we didn't even really see Nabers operate with QB Jaxson Dart; the wideout was injured in the rookie QBs first start.
While it would be a bit risky to draft Nabers as high as the first round in 2026, he should still be a target in the second round of your draft. Monitor how he's doing this offseason and into training camp. If there aren't any setbacks or concerns, we should expect Nabers to pick up where he left off as a rookie, which we'll remind you was a 109-1,204-7 line with mostly poor QB play.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs (knee)Mahomes was having a bounce-back season in terms of fantasy production before tearing both his ACL and LCL in Week 15 against the Chargers. Despite missing Weeks 16 and 17, Mahomes still finished as a top-10 QB in total fantasy points with 296.2 on the season. A big reason he finished that high was because of a step up in his rushing upside. Mahomes finished with a career-high 422 rushing yards and five rushing TDs. It's safe to say we may not see Mahomes do much rushing in 2026 coming off major knee surgery.
Kansas City has a lot of work to do this offseason to right the ship after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014. There's also a chance Mahomes isn't ready for Week 1 next season depending on how his recovery goes. So there will be considerable risk in drafting him. He was taken around the fourth round in drafts in 12-team leagues in 2025. Expect that ADP to drop, which could make Mahomes a decent value at a deep QB position. You could draft Mahomes along with an upside QB as insurance. If Mahomes is back early in 2026 and the Chiefs shore up the offense, the pick could pay dividends.
Tucker Kraft, TE, Packers (knee)Behind Nabers, Kraft was the injury that sank lineups the most. Not because he was a high pick but because Kraft was looking like the breakout TE of the season. He sort of broke out in his second season in 2024, posting a 50-707-7 line to finish as the TE8 in fantasy scoring. But prior to going down in 2025, Kraft looked like a lock to finish as the TE2 behind Trey McBride. Despite the injury in Week 9 against the Panthers, Kraft did enough in eight games and change to finish as a top-20 TE this season. With 489 receiving yards and six TDs, he was on pace for over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns as the top option in the passing game for Jordan Love and Green Bay.
Kraft is still just 25 years old, so there's no reason he can't come back 100% healthy in 2026. Kraft is also entering a contract year, set to be a free agent after next season. He was drafted around the sixth round in 12-team leagues in 2025. His ADP should go up in 2026 drafts so long as his recovery goes well. If he's on track to play in Week 1 and isn't held back at all during training camp and preseason, Kraft should have a shot at finishing as a top-five tight end.
Travis Hunter, WR, Jaguars (knee)The Jaguars traded up to select Hunter, adding him to an already deep receiver group for Liam Coen's first campaign in Jacksonville. That campaign has worked out swimmingly, though the team has had all this success mostly without Hunter, who was shut down following the team's bye in Week 8 after the rookie suffered a knee injury. In seven games, Hunter finished with 28 catches on 45 targets for 298 yards and one touchdown. Coming into the league, the Jaguars struggled to find a suitable role for the dual-position star.
Hunter was the second rookie wide receiver taken on average in 2025 drafts at 74.8. That landed him around the sixth round in 12-team leagues. Chances are Hunter will drop down draft boards with the logjam at receiver in Jacksonville. The Jags traded for Jakobi Meyers and signed him to an extension, plus we saw a third-year breakout for WR Parker Washington. Brian Thomas Jr. is still around and TE Brenton Strange was also serviceable when healthy. So it's a lot of mouths to feed.
The good thing is Hunter will have plenty of time to get ready for 2026 and should be 100% by the start of training camp. The Jaguars also invested a lot in selecting Hunter, so Coen should be doing everything in his power to implement him back into the offense. But again, there are a lot of weapons at Trevor Lawrence's disposal and he's developed chemistry with Meyers and Washington. It's going to be difficult to trust Hunter as anything more than a WR3/FLEX or even a bench stash in 2026 drafts.
Cam Skattebo, RB, Giants (ankle)Skattebo was looking like he was going to run away with Offensive Rookie of the Year before his gruesome injury in Week 8. He had double-digit fantasy points in every game from Week 2-7 and was looking like the second-coming of Christian McCaffrey. Now, we have to hope that Skattebo can heal completely and pick up where he left off, which should be the case. Reports are already saying Skattebo will be 100% by training camp in late July.
In terms of how to approach Skattebo in 2026 drafts, it will depend on what the Giants do this offseason. Devin Singletary could be cut to open up some salary. Tyrone Tracy Jr. is still under contract and shouldn't go anywhere. It could be crowded in the Giants' backfield with Skattebo, Tracy and Dart all soaking up touches. But New York could be playing from behind often again next season, which means Skattebo's upside as a receiver will remain intact. He could up being a third- or fourth-round pick in 2026 fantasy drafts.
Quinshon Judkins, RB, Browns (ankle/leg)It was a strong rookie RB class but Skattebo wasn't the only one to suffer a major injury. Judkins was rolling to an impressive first year in the NFL before dislocating his ankle and fracturing his fibula in Week 16 against the Bills. Despite missing most of Week 16 and all of Week 17, Judkins finished as the RB24 in fantasy scoring at 156.8 points in half-PPR.
Judkins has plenty of time to recover and get ready for 2026. If he's healthy, he'll be an intriguing fourth- or fifth-round option, and even more so if his ADP drops at all because of concerns over the injury. If Judkins isn't going to be ready for the start of the season, Dylan Sampson could hold some early value as a late-round pick.
Here's a list of major injuries that impacted fantasy football in 2025:Malik Nabers, Giants (knee)
Tyreek Hill, Dolphins (knee)
Najee Harris, Chargers (Achilles)
Austin Ekeler, Commanders (Achilles)
James Conner, Cardinals (foot)
Antonio Gibson, Patriots (knee)
Miles Sanders, Cowboys (knee)
Cam Skattebo, Giants (ankle)
Tucker Kraft, Packers (knee)
Travis Hunter, Jaguars (knee)
JK Dobbins, Broncos (foot)
Calvin Ridley, Titans (fibula)
Joe Mixon, Texans (foot/ankle)
Michael Penix Jr., Falcons (knee)
Kyler Murray, Cardinals (foot)
Daniel Jones, Colts (Achilles)
Zach Ertz, Commanders (knee)
Trey Benson, Cardinals (knee)
Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers (knee)
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs (torn ACL)
Quinshon Judkins, Browns (ankle/leg)
Sam LaPorta, Lions (back)
Garrett Wilson (knee)