What is worse than having an early-round fantasy draft pick perform well below expectations? When you lose even that underwhelming production to injury. Sort of like having a shoe with a hole in it — it is still better than having no shoe at all.

Eagles running back Jay Ajayi was placed on injured reserve Monday with a season-ending knee injury. Outside of a strong opening week, he had been a huge disappointment — two games with fewer than 30 rushing yards and he missed another. His best fantasy effort the past four weeks was a 70-yard game Week 4 at Tennessee. It is hardly the RB2-type production many anticipated when they selected him the third or fourth round.

The good news is you no longer have to sweat out his poor performances. You don’t have to engage in the false hope he will finally become a consistent contributor. You don’t have to deal with the weekly crisis of confidence when putting him in your lineup. The bad news is whatever replacement you find is likely to inspire even less confidence.

The search for that replacement will not be easy. Most waiver wires are picked bare of running backs. In shallow or passive leagues, you might be able to find Aaron Jones, who the Madman still believes eventually will assume lead duties for the Packers. But good luck with that because he is long gone in most leagues. Check on Nyheim Hines. He likely is gone in PPR leagues, but he might be available in standard formats. He has a large enough role in the offense to justify such a move in such desperate times.

You could scoop up Mike Davis, hoping he gets a healthy share of the Seattle running game, but we fear Chris Carson will get too large a share to make Davis viable long term. If you have some depth to last a while, you
could grab and stash Nick Chubb, expecting him to inherit a larger dose of carries once the Browns fall out of contention — but we’re talking weeks from now, nothing immediately helpful.

On the Eagles roster are Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement, Darren Sproles and rookie Josh Adams. And remember, coach Doug Pederson loves committees. If Pederson can undermine the fantasy value of good RBs, it doesn’t bode well for less talented, oft-injured options.

Keep an eye on trade talk. There has been scuttlebutt for weeks about the Eagles possibly having interest in Le’Veon Bell, but such a trade would be complicated and seems unlikely. When your ears should perk up is if other, more realistic news surfaces — like, for example, if Ameer Abdullah’s name emerges as a possible trade target or one of the Packers backs.

None of these options is attractive, and a trade likely would yield a better option but at a higher cost. Just be mentally prepared for the fact that when replacing the cruddy Ajayi shoe, you are going to end up with one that has even more holes.

Jameis Winston QB, Buccaneers
Despite just coming off a bye, surprisingly low-owned. He doesn’t have to be Fitzmagic to be fantasy relevant.

Kyle Juszczyk RB, 49ers
Ignore Alfred Morris and go to Juszczyk for Matt Breida (ankle) insurance. The Packers are a tough matchup for fantasy RBs, but Juszczyk’s primary role is in the passing game.

Javorius Allen RB, Ravens
This unfortunate scenario just isn’t going away. Coach John Harbaugh reiterated Monday his preference for a committee. Allen isn’t any good, but he does get roster-worthy opportunities.

Christian Kirk WR, Cardinals
The Arizona offense almost looked NFL-caliber this past week, with Kirk contributing with an 85-yard TD. He is not startable outside of incredibly deep leagues, but someone to stash or have on your radar.

Marcus Mariota QB, Titans
He’s up, he’s down. He provides hope, he crushes that hope. He’s nothing but a headache, wasting a roster spot. Find the drop button. Click it.

Duke Johnson Jr. RB, Browns
Many are hanging onto Johnson in PPR leagues. He just doesn’t get enough use. It is highly annoying that we might cut this more talented RB to pick up Buck Allen.

Chris Hogan WR, Patriots
Has juicy matchup this week vs. the Chiefs. If you have held him this long, stick with it one more week. If he busts again, drop him. If he explodes, trade him. But be prepared to get rid of him next week, one way or the other.

Kenny Stills WR, Dolphins
Too big-play reliant. Upcoming schedule is not favorable. Team’s offense has hit the skids. Time to bail.