Ask any Cleveland Browns fan, and they’ll tell you that life without Odell Beckham Jr. is beautiful. After finally agreeing to part ways with the cantankerous wideout, the Browns went out and destroyed division-rival Cincinnati, and with that annihilation came the emergence of new offensive weapons who warrant the attention of all fantasy football managers.
Cleveland will still be a run-first offense led by the incomparable Nick Chubb, but the new focal points of the passing attack are likely still sitting on your waiver wire.
When arranging your priorities for waiver pick-ups, you should start with Donovan Peoples-Jones. The second-year wideout out of Michigan has been buried on the Browns’ depth chart during his tenure, but his time to shine is imminent. Fully recovered from a groin issue that sidelined him for two games, Peoples-Jones turned his three targets on Sunday into two catches for 86 yards and one touchdown, giving him a total of six catches for 187 yards and three scores over his past two games. He’s got both size and speed, and he has shown the ability to go across the middle as well as run a deep post down the sideline. If anyone is going to be able to fill the Beckham role, it will be him.
Also stepping up will be rookie receiver Anthony Schwartz. He profiles more as a boom-or-bust player for fantasy right now, but as he starts taking more snaps and continues working with the first team, his on-field rapport with Baker Mayfield will develop. Schwartz should have no problem leapfrogging Rashard Higgins on the depth chart, and veteran Jarvis Landry, who continues to nurse a bum knee, continues to profile more as a possession receiver used to help move the chains.
With Peoples-Jones on one side and Schwartz on the other in three-receiver sets, defenses are going to have a ton of trouble once the Browns open up the play-action.
We also don’t want to forget about the Browns’ tight ends. Austin Hooper has been on the field most often, but the Browns run enough 12-personnel packages that David Njoku and Harrison Bryant have seen a major increase in snaps and, subsequently, an increase in targets. Hooper and Njoku lead the way, but Bryant isn’t too far behind.
With the departure of Beckham and coach Kevin Stefanski’s re-commitment to the run, this offense is primed to score a lot of points in the second half of the season. Players like Chubb, Kareem Hunt and Landry are likely rostered at this point, but if you can grab anyone remaining from this group, your fantasy team will be much better off.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football advice.
