Fantasy Football: Emanuel Wilson Outlook Without Josh Jacobs

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs suffered a knee injury in Week 11’s win over the New York Giants, opening the door for backup Emanuel Wilson to have a week or two of fantasy football relevance. While Jacobs’ injury isn’t season-ending, he’s officially considered week-to-week and probably won’t suit up for Week 12’s battle against the division rival Minnesota Vikings.

Emanuel Wilson is one of the lesser-known handcuffs in fantasy football, but can the unheralded running back fill a spot in your lineup while Jacobs recovers from his injury?

Fantasy Football: Emanuel Wilson Outlook After Josh Jacobs Injury

The Workload

Opportunity is king in fantasy football, and you shouldn’t start Emanuel Wilson if there’s any chance he doesn’t receive the lion’s share of the carries. Fortunately, Sunday’s game proved beyond any reasonable doubt that Wilson will be the featured back in this offense if Jacobs has to miss time.

Jacobs went down midway through the Giants game, and Wilson saw essentially all of the work. In total, the former undrafted free agent finished the night with 11 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown. Aside from Jacobs himself, no other running back had more than one carry.

Emanuel Wilson won’t receive 100% of the carries moving forward (nobody does), but nobody is coming to take his starting job for fantasy football. The only player that could is former third-round pick Marshawn Lloyd, as the second-year pro is reportedly close to returning to practice. However, Lloyd’s presence shouldn’t be an issue for Wilson, at least in the short term.

The running back is currently on the injured reserve, and the team has yet to open his 21-day practice window. This means he’s probably at least a week or two away from returning, which lines up with Jacobs’ anticipated return. Even if Lloyd beats the odds and can play, it’s hard to envision head coach Matt LaFleur giving him a large workload after such an extended absence. In the unlikely event Lloyd sees the field, he will almost certainly spend Week 12 as Wilson’s primary backup.

Expected Production

Emanuel Wilson will see touches, but volume without results won’t help your fantasy football team. Wilson himself is an unremarkable talent, as evidenced by his nonexistent draft capital, longterm status as a backup, and overall tape. However, running back production has more to do with the situation than the actual player, and Wilson is in a good situation.

Head coach Matt LaFleur is one of the league’s better offensive minds, and the Green Bay Packers have a strong offensive line and a high-scoring offense. This means Emanuel Wilson should be reasonably effective with his touches .

Additionally, the Minnesota Vikings defense isn’t anything to worry about. While Brian Flores is a strong defensive mind, the unit is around league-average at stopping running backs. Per The Football Database, Minnesota allows 15.3 fantasy points per game to the running back position, the 19th-most in the league. Sure, they’re not the Cincinnati Bengals, but this isn’t the type of matchup you run from.

In short, volume alone should make Emanuel Wilson a starting asset in fantasy football, assuming Josh Jacobs misses Week 12’s action. While he’s not a long-term fix, he can help your team stay alive in the race for the fantasy playoffs.