A.J. Brown: misses Friday practice, Sunday status in doubt
THE FACT. Patriots receiver A.J. Brown was not spotted at Friday's practice, per Evan Lazar of the team's official site as relayed by CBS Sports, a second straight absence after he was limited Wednesday. New England lists him with ankle and knee injuries, and the knee flared up this week.
THE VERDICT. Redraft: plan on being without him at Miami and move a replacement into your lineup now. A receiver who misses Thursday and Friday with a chronic knee rarely plays, and if he does suit up the snaps get managed. If he sits, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism and Kyle Williams become New England's top three targets, with Douglas the best plug-and-play option. Dynasty: this is the real concern, because a degenerative knee changes the arc of his value. Sell to a contender if the offer is still strong. DFS: fade.
The redraft call is fine, but I'd push back hard on selling him in dynasty. You're shopping a guy sitting on 9 catches, 101 yards and zero scores with a knee that just flared up, so no contender is paying a strong price for that. That's selling the absolute bottom. Look at the usage instead: 10 targets in his first game back on a bad ankle, and Romeo Doubs out at least three more weeks. The role never went anywhere. Twenty years of this has taught me you buy that discount, you don't hand it to someone else.