Ashton Jeanty Injury Update: Where To Draft Jeanty & Mike Washington Jr. In Fantasy Football

These past two days have been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, unlike anything in recent memory.

It turns out the power of prayer works—rather than a torn ACL/PCL or a fracture, Ashton Jeanty is dealing with a sprained ankle, and it's not expected to be a long-term injury. If you drafted him in the first/second round, breathe a massive sigh of relief.

Update On Ashton Jeanty's Injury For Fantasy Football

I’ve never been more emotionally and financially invested in a single player than I am with Jeanty in 2026. This was the most excited I’ve been reading an injury update in all my years playing fantasy football ...

Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty, who had to be helped off the practice field today, is believed to have sprained his ankle, sources tell @rapsheet and me. The Raiders still are unsure how long he will be out, but it is not considered a long-term injury and the organization is breathing… pic.twitter.com/toRYADmjo1
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 24, 2026

Now, just because it’s not a ‘long-term’ injury doesn’t mean we’re entirely out of the woods. Additionally, ankle sprains tend to be accompanied by performance dips upon return to action. So while it could definitely be worse, we need to make sure we understand the full picture of the Las Vegas backfield as it currently stands.

Ashton Jeanty Is "Hopeful" To Play In Week 1

Get out the champagne bottles—this is officially the best possible outcome and one of the most surprising turns of events in fantasy football memory.

Rap: Ashton Jeanty sprained ankle believed to be "more low than high."

Raiders remain hopeful he will be available Week 1 but there's a chance he won't be ready.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) August 25, 2026

I’ve moved Jeanty down ever so slightly in my fantasy football rankings (I was extremely far ahead of him before the injury at No. 6 overall), down now to 10th overall. Still firmly a first-round pick in fantasy football, and my expectation is to see him at full strength for a majority of the season.

Mike Washington Jr. Fantasy Football Outlook After Ashton Jeanty Injury

Now … let’s talk about the RB2 in Las Vegas, Mike Washington—who I expect to slot into that low-end RB2 range as long as Jeanty is sidelined. What does his prospect profile look like? What are his biggest strengths? Could he be a true three-down workhorse as we expect from Jeanty? Let’s find out:

Washington steamed up NFL teams’ big boards after posting a 9.88 Relative Athletic Score at the Combine in February, and he ended up being selected 122nd overall by Las Vegas in the 2026 Draft.

He’s not a prospect I was super interested in, mainly because there wasn’t much to his prospect profile other than that elite athleticism:

18.25 avg receptions/season (59th percentile among all RBs going back to 2014)
11.63 avg FPPG/season (41st %)
33.2 avg breakaway % (27th %)
0.78 avg yards/route run (19th %)
Awful program strength (3rd %)

All things considered, Washington comes out with a 20th percentile Production Score in the CUPPS model—second to last in the class, only ahead of Jam Miller (drafted 245th overall by the Patriots). Funny enough, looking at Washington’s top 20 prospect comps, we see a former Raider atop the list:

I personally thought the Raiders burned a mid-round pick on fire by selecting Mike Washington at 122 overall … but hey, if Ashton Jeanty potentially is sidelined, it might not even matter how ‘good’ Washington is. All signs point to him getting a lion’s share of the workload until Jeanty returns.

If Washington is available in your redraft leagues and somehow hasn’t been picked up yet, go get him right now. Even when Jeanty returns, I’d expect Washington to hold the role of one of a valuable handcuff to an RB who’s already dealt with a relatively significant injury this season.

How To Approach Mike Washington In Fantasy Drafts and FAAB

With the good news on Jeanty, Washington has moved up slightly to RB47 overall in my draft rankings, and I think the FAAB you spend on him depends on your league format:

Small League (8-team, 16-player roster): 2-5%
Medium League (10-team, 16-player roster): 5-10%
Large League (12-team, 20-player roster): 15-25% (30-35% if you’re the Jeanty manager and have a weak RB room)

Even though Jeanty isn’t set to miss any/much time to open the season, Washington still deserves a pickup in your leagues. As mentioned earlier, I’d expect a production/workload dip for Jeanty coming back, and there’s a chance Washington plays the more valuable role over the first couple of weeks. I have him in a tier with other priority handcuffs like Tank Bigsby and MarShawn Lloyd.