Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) is officially inactive for today’s game vs. the Ravens. That leaves fifth-round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center for Cleveland. DTR was an inconsistent college passer but looked OK this preseason, completing 63.8% of his passes at 7.6 yards per attempt. We’d still consider him a significant downgrade from Watson, though, and expect a run-heavy game plan from the Browns today.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson passed for 289 yards and 2 TDs in a Week 3 win over Tennessee. Watson completed 81.8% of his passes on a day that found Cleveland accomplish little on the ground. He leaned on Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore, with the duo combining for a 51.5% target share. Watson hosts the Ravens for Week 4 before entering a Week 5 bye.
Browns WR Amari Cooper hauled in 7 of 10 targets for 90 yards in Monday night’s loss vs. the Steelers. Teammate Elijah Moore saw major involvement again but was only able to turn 9 targets into 3 catches for 36 yards in Week 2. Despite Cooper dealing with a groin injury ahead of the contest, the Cleveland offense was funneled through their pair of top wideouts again for the second week in a row. TE David Njoku, who caught 4 balls on as many targets for 48 yards, was a bit of an odd man out. Both Cooper and Moore will be exciting players to start in lineups in Week 3 vs. the Titans.
On Monday, Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot tweeted that "there's some optimism" around WR Amari Cooper (groin) suiting up for Week 2 vs. the Steelers. Cabot adds that Cooper playing is "not a certainty" but that the Browns will see how the veteran feels in warmups and that "there's a chance" at a minimum. Be sure to check back before kickoff for any official word on his availability. Should Cooper not play, we expect a bump for fellow WR Elijah Moore in this primetime divisional bout.
Browns WR Amari Cooper (groin) is "considered unlikely" to play vs. the Steelers on Monday night, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. We'll see if he can make it back for Week 3, but he should be on fantasy benches for this week. Cooper's absence will leave Elijah Moore and Donovan Peoples-Jones as Cleveland's top two WRs -- and give TE David Njoku more target upside.
Browns WR Elijah Moore led the team in receiving with 43 yards on 3 catches in Week 1’s win vs. the Bengals. Teammate Amari Cooper logged 3 catches for 37 yards, and TE David Njoku hauled in just 2 of his 3 targets for 24 yards. The rain in Cleveland made for a very run-heavy approach by the Browns’ offense on Sunday, but the target distribution is rather intriguing. Both Moore and Cooper received a team-leading 7 targets apiece in the divisional upset. We identified Moore as one of our big sleepers this offseason, and his Week 1 involvement indeed showed reason to be excited moving forward. We’ll see what QB Deshaun Watson and company can conjure up in Week 2 vs. the Steelers on Monday night primetime.
Browns WR Elijah Moore (ribs) returned to practice on Tuesday. It sounds like he was limited to individual drills. But the fact that he's back on the field means that he's in no danger of missing the start of the season. Consider Moore's fantasy value unchanged.
Browns WR Elijah Moore exited Friday night's preseason game with a rib injury. X-rays came back clean, according to ESPN's Jake Trotter. We'll look for more details on his status. Moore was featured before the injury, catching a six-yard pass on Cleveland's first offensive snap and taking a carry for 18 yards.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski talked up WR Elijah Moore's versatility on Monday. "To have a player that can play outside and inside, I think, is very valuable," Stefanski said. OC Alex Van Pelt made similar comments back in June. Moore has been one of the buzzier players of the offseason so far and looks set to play a big role in the Browns offense. Read more on Moore's fantasy upside in our Sleepers article.
Zac Jackson of The Athletic believes Browns QB Deshaun Watson will be “much better” in 2023. We’re in strong agreement there. Watson struggled across six late-season games last year, tallying 6.5 yards per attempt and a 58.2% completion rate. But let’s recognize that he played his first regular season games since the 2020 season. And we’re ultimately talking about a small sample of 170 attempts. Cleveland added WRs Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman to a receiving corps already featuring Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and David Njoku. Watson sits inside the top 10 of our QB rankings.
Browns OC Alex Van Pelt gave his assessment of WR Elijah Moore at OTAs. “He has great flexibility; inside and outside flexibility,” Van Pelt said. “He can run individual routes outside and win out there. He can come into the slot and has the twitch to win in the slot as well. He has excellent hands and a good feel for the game. So, he’s really a complete receiver that can play both inside and out.” Moore’s generated buzz for his early connection with Deshaun Watson. It’s worth noting, though, that Amari Cooper has been limited in practice following offseason core muscle surgery. Still, Moore looks like a strong pick at WR48 on Underdog Fantasy. He sits higher in our WR rankings.
The Jets are trading WR Elijah Moore and a third-round pick to the Browns for a second-rounder. The move confirms what the Jets' usage told us last year: They've already fallen out of love with the 2021 early-second-round pick. We loved Moore as a prospect, and he supplied a promising rookie-year stretch when healthy. He joins a Cleveland team with Amari Cooper in place as the top WR. But Moore could push Donovan Peoples-Jones for the No. 2 spot. And the trio makes a high-upside corps for QB Deshaun Watson. The Jets, meanwhile, might now be more incentivized to keep WR Corey Davis. We'll see if the team adds any notable wideouts in the draft, as well as how many more ex-teammates Aaron Rodgers demands the Jets acquire. The landing spot doesn't immediately boost Moore's fantasy outlook. But getting to a team that wants him more can only help his upside.
The Jets are hiring Nathaniel Hackett as their new OC, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Hackett was a disaster as Denver's HC this past season but had a successful stint as Green Bay's OC the previous 3 years. The Packers finished middle of the pack in total yards and points in Hackett's 1st season but climbed into the top 10 in both categories in 2020 and 2021. Those teams, of course, were quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers, who's a big fan of Hackett. This move was presumably made by the Jets at least in part to help their chances of luring Rodgers to New York.
The Seahawks haven't played particularly well overall on defense this season, but they have given WRs difficulty in fantasy football. Seattle stands as the worst matchup for the position by adjusted fantasy points allowed. No WR has reached 10 PPR points against the Seahawks since Week 13. No WR has reached 75 yards receiving against them since Week 7, and just 3 have gotten there all season. Rookie CB Tariq Woolen has been the biggest factor, limiting players to a 56.4% catch rate and 74.6 passer rating on balls thrown into his coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. The matchup doesn't come close to knocking Jets lead WR Garrett Wilson out of starter range in our Week 17 fantasy football rankings. But it's well worth noting for DFS lineup-building. And we wouldn't go chasing any other Jets wideouts. The difficult matchup for WRs combined with the league-best scoring matchup for TEs could also turn Jets TE Tyler Conklin into a Week 17 sleeper.
Jets QB Mike White (ribs) has been medically cleared and will start this weekend's game vs. the Seahawks, insider Brian Costello reports. White's return comes after QB Zach Wilson was so bad in Thursday night's loss to the Jaguars that he was benched for QB Chris Streveler. The news is a boost for all of New York's skill-position guys, particularly WR Garrett Wilson.
The forecast for tonight’s Jaguars-Jets game calls for light rain early, potentially getting heavier throughout the night. The bigger concern is the wind. We’re looking at sustained 15-20 mph winds with gusts of 30+ mph. It's ugly weather that figures to impact the passing and kicking games — while also possibly pushing both teams to run more than they would in better conditions. We’ve updated our Jaguars and Jets projections for the forecast.
Jets HC Robert Saleh confirmed on Tuesday that QB Zach Wilson will start Thursday night's game vs. the Jaguars. QB Mike White (ribs) has still not been medically cleared. Wilson wound up compiling 317 yards and 2 TDs in last week's loss to the Lions -- but he completed just 51% of his passes, threw 1 INT and could have been picked off a few more times. Wilson remains a detriment to New York's offense. See where he and the Jets skill-position guys land in the Week 16 Rankings.
Jets QB Zach Wilson threw for 317 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday's loss to the Lions. He completed just 18 of his 35 pass attempts (51.4%) and threw an INT. WR Garrett Wilson led the way with 9 targets, catching 4 for 98 yards. WR Elijah Moore finished 2nd in targets (7), catching 4 for 51 yards. WR Jeff Smith went 4-77 receiving on 5 targets. TE C.J. Uzomah snagged both of the team's TDs as his only 2 catches (on 2 targets). The Jets get upside matchups with the Jaguars and Seahawks the next 2 weeks. We'd still prefer not to trust Zach Wilson in fantasy football lineups, but they'll at least be good spots for his WRs.
Jets WR Corey Davis (concussion) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Lions. We'll see if he can get cleared for Week 16. Davis figures to be replaced on the outside by WR Denzel Mims, who isn't a viable fantasy play. WRs Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore have more target upside without Davis -- although both guys take a hit with Zach Wilson under center.
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