Cleveland Browns Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones led the team in receiving yards Sunday, but it only took 44 of them to do so. DPJ did that on 3 catches, among 3 targets. That was good enough to rank 2nd on the team. Only WR Amari Cooper drew more targets (9) or caught more passes (4). Peoples-Jones made his day with a 76-yard punt return for a TD, though, saving his fantasy line in any league that credits players for return TDs.

Browns WR Amari Cooper drew 9 targets, 41% of the team's total pass attempts in QB Deshaun Watson's debut Sunday against the Texans. Cooper managed just 4 receptions for 40 yards. Watson completed only 54.5% of his throws in his 1st action since the 2020 season. We'd assume Watson will improve from here, but it'll need to happen quickly for Cooper's sake.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson completed just 12 of his 22 pass attempts for 131 yards in Sunday's win over the Texans. He threw an INT and added a mere 21 rushing yards on 7 carries in a game that found Cleveland scoring 0 offensive TDs. It was Watson's 1st game since January 2021, so we'd assume he'll settle in over the next few weeks. There will obviously be risk to playing Watson against Cincinnati in Week 14 lineups, though.

Browns RB Nick Chubb posted a relatively disappointing 80 yards on 17 carries in Sunday's win over the Texans. It obviously wasn't a terrible day, as Chubb averaged 4.7 yards per rush. But that's 0.5 short of his season per-carry average. He also fell 1.2 attempts and 14.5 yards short of his weekly averages in those categories. That hurt fantasy football lineups that were hoping for a big score against 1 of the league's worst run defenses. Chubb also failed to reach the end zone for just the 2nd time among the past 6 games. RB Kareem Hunt added 56 yards on 9 carries (6.2 per rush) and caught 2 balls for 18 yards among 3 targets. Week 14 holds a rematch with the Bengals, who allowed Chubb a 23-101-2 rushing line back in Week 8.

Browns WR David Bell suffered a hand injury in the 1st quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Texans and is questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more.

Browns TE David Njoku (knee) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Texans. He had just gotten over a high-ankle sprain and then hurt his knee in last week's win over the Bucs. We'll see if Njoku can make it back for Week 14, but he wasn't able to practice at all this week. TE Harrison Bryant will step back in as Cleveland's lead TE on Sunday but remains a shaky fantasy play. He totaled just 3 catches on 3 targets in the 2 games Njoku missed a few weeks ago.

Browns TE David Njoku (knee) missed practice again on Thursday. He's now looking unlikely to play vs. the Texans this weekend, but we'll get another update on his status tomorrow.

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that TE David Njoku is dealing with a different knee injury from the one that landed him on last week's injury report. Stefanski added that he's not ruling Njoku out for this weekend's game vs. the Texans -- which means that his availabiltiy for that one is in question. We'll keep an eye on Njoku over the next few days, but fantasy owners should have an alternative lined up.

Update: Njoku did not practice on Wednesday.

Browns WR Amari Cooper drew a target on 32.4% of QB Jacoby Brissett's dropbacks in Sunday's OT win over the Buccaneers, turning his 12 looks into 7 catches for 94 yards. Cooper could have had even more but dropped a long pass late in regulation. He made up for that with a 46-yard reception to set up the game-winning TD run in OT. For the game, Cooper accounted for 30.4% of Browns receptions and 44.8% of receiving yards. WR David Bell ranked 2nd among wideouts with 4 catches for 23 yards on 6 targets. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones contributed just 2 receptions for 16 yards among 4 targets. WR Anthony Schwartz added 1 catch but ran for a 31-yard TD on a 1st-quarter reverse. Browns receivers should have a new QB next time out, with Deshaun Watson eligible to return from suspension in Week 13.

Browns TE David Njoku returned to the top of the depth chart in Sunday's win over the Buccaneers and found the end zone. He ranked 2nd on the team in targets (7), receptions (5) and receiving yards (29) -- including a 12-yard TD late in the 4th quarter to send the game to OT. Pro Football Focus credited Njoku with the 3rd most routes run among Browns, 3 times as many as #2 TE Harrison Bryant. That marked a big rebound for Njoku vs. his Week 11 return from injury. He ran a route on 76.7% of Jacoby Brissett's 43 dropbacks. With Deshaun Watson back next week, Njoku looks like a weekly top-10 option the rest of the way.

Browns RB Nick Chubb delivered 116 yards and the game-winning TD on 26 carries Sunday against the Buccaneers. RB Kareem Hunt added just 15 yards on 5 carries plus a single catch for 6 yards. It was just the 2nd game with more than 16 carries for Chubb since Week 3 and his 2nd game of 100+ yards among the past 6. Next comes a high-ceiling rushing matchup with the Texans' league-worst run defense.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson has complied with the terms of his suspension and is on track to start Week 13's game against the Texans, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Next Sunday will mark exactly 700 days since Watson's last NFL game. He was allowed to return to the team facility on October 10 and has been allowed to practice for the past 2 weeks. Watson has been getting "a few reps" with the 1st-team offense but taking most of his snaps with the scout team, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Watson would be a risky Week 13 fantasy play considering how long he's been out. But he's worth rostering in fantasy leagues of 10+ teams and could be a recommended starter as early as Week 14. Watson has a neutral schedule from Weeks 14 through 17: at Bengals, vs. Ravens, vs. Saints, at Commanders.

Browns TE David Njoku (ankle, knee) is not listed on the final Week 12 injury report. He got in just limited practices on Thursday and Friday, though, and HC Kevin Stefanski said Friday that he wasn’t sure if Njoku would be ready for an increased workload vs. the Bucs on Sunday after playing just 37% of the snaps last week. Try not to use Njoku in Week 12 fantasy lineups.

Browns WR David Bell (concussion) is not listed on the final injury report after putting in a full practice on Friday. The rookie will continue operating as Cleveland’s #3 WR vs. the Bucs this weekend.

Browns TE David Njoku (ankle, knee) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. That gives him a chance to play vs. the Bucs this weekend, but it's clear that Njoku won't be at 100% if he does suit up.

Browns TE David Njoku (ankle, knee) did not practice on Wednesday. He returned from his high-ankle sprain last week but is now also listed with a knee injury. We'll track Njoku's status over the next few days, but you should look elsewhere for Week 12 fantasy lineups.

Browns WR David Bell (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday, putting his status in doubt for this weekend's game vs. the Bucs. The rookie has emerged as Cleveland's #3 WR but is still on the redraft radar.

Browns QB Jacoby Brissett threw for 324 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday's loss to the Bills in Detroit. It was his 1st 300-yard game of the season and just his 2nd with multiple TD passes. WR Amari Cooper led the way with 8 catches for 113 yards and 2 TDs on 12 targets. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones snagged the other TD among 5 receptions for 61 yards. Brissett gets 1 more start -- at home against the Buccaneers -- before Deshaun Watson becomes available in Week 13.

Browns TE David Njoku was active and starting against the Bills for the 1st time since a knee injury knocked him out of Week 7. But he played about half as many snaps as TE Harrison Bryant and trailed the position leader by 10 routes and 4 targets. Njoku managed 2 catches for 17 yards among 3 looks. We'd bet on his playing time improving for a Week 12 date with the Buccaneers. Bryant caught 4 balls for 41 yards against the Bills on 7 targets, which ranked 2nd on the team.

Browns RB Nick Chubb got loose for a 26-yard gain on a screen pass but didn't find much else in Sunday's loss to the Bills. He managed only 19 yards on 14 carries, with 48 total receiving yards on 3 receptions. Kareem Hunt led the team with 32 yards on 5 rushes (6.4 per carry). Hunt also caught his 2 targets for 22 yards. Next comes a home date with the Bucs before a visit to the league's worst run defense in Houston.