Hilliard out Week 2

The Browns have ruled RB Dontrell Hilliard out for Monday night's game against the Jets with a concussion. That should make the touch count even safer for lead RB Nick Chubb, who already looked like a strong Week 2 option.

Jim Wyatt of the team website says RB Dontrell Hilliard "has gotten a lot of work this offseason" and been impressive. Wyatt's report highlighted a pair of TD catches from QB Ryan Tannehill in 7-on-7s, which means that Hilliard is mixing in regularly with the starters. Tennessee has showed us that we shouldn't seek fantasy value from the #2 RB as long as Derrick Henry is healthy. Hilliard wound up sharing backfield work after Henry went down last year, though. He tallied a 131-yard rushing day at New England and an 8-catch outing vs. Houston. The Titans have since shed last year's backfield target leader, Jeremy McNichols, and the #2 in carries, D'Onta Foreman. Fourth-round rookie RB Hassan Haskins sits 21 spots ahead of Hilliard in positional ADP on Underdog right now. That makes Hilliard a potential differentiator at the end of best-ball tournament drafts. We'll see how his role develops through summer.

Browns RB Dontrell Hilliard (concussion) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report. He figures to step back in as Cleveland’s #2 RB but isn’t a fantasy option.

Browns RB Dontrell Hilliard exited to be checked for a concussion in the 2nd half of Sunday's game against the Titans. We'll update his status when we learn more. Hilliard was operating as Cleveland's #2 RB, carrying once for a 4-yard TD and catching 1 of 2 targets.

Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official website expects RB Dontrell Hilliard to step into RB Duke Johnson's old role as "as a pass-catching running back used mostly on third down plays." Hilliard caught 9 balls for 105 yards in 11 appearances as a rookie last year and racked up 70 grabs over 4 seasons at Tulane. “Dontrell has shown some explosion in the open field,” HC Freddie Kitchens said. “He is hard to get down. Body control is a characteristic or a skillset that running backs sometimes often get overlooked. He has great body control, change of direction and great speed. I like those skillsets.” Hilliard notably caught 2 passes on QB Baker Mayfield's lone possession in Cleveland's preseason opener. We doubt that he'll play as big a role as Duke Johnson played last season (2.5 carries and 3.9 targets per game), but any pass-catching work would put a cap on RB Nick Chubb's ceiling.