The Cleveland Browns will face the Denver Broncos in Week 13. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE David Njoku.
Is David Njoku Playing in Week 13?
Njoku is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Browns’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates in real time.
Should You Start or Sit David Njoku in Week 13?
The weather last Thursday night ended up hurting Njoku as much as anyone, a touch of irony for a player who insisted on warming up in the elements without a shirt on. He caught just one of five targets in the upset win over the Steelers, a level of inefficiency that included a dropped touchdown that had the potential to bail out fantasy managers from a very underwhelming performance.
I’m not reading into the bad game. Njoku caught all nine of his looks the week prior in a weather-proof game against the Saints, so the connection with Jameis Winston isn’t something I fear. It’s worth noting that his average depth of target is up 66.7% with Winston under center compared to when Deshaun Watson was calling the shots.
The schedule isn’t pretty, and nothing but potential weather spots loom. I’m still not worried.
Njoku, in my opinion, remains the most stable force in Cleveland’s passing game and is deserving of your trust for the remainder of the season.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 13 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
David Njoku’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 13
As of 8 AM ET on Sunday morning, Njoku is projected to score 12.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 4.9 receptions for 51.8 yards and 0.4 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Broncos' Defense
What a year it has been defensively for the Denver Broncos. Outside of one blip in Baltimore, this unit has been a top-15 defense every week of the season and inside the top 10 in nine out of 12 weeks. They are on a run of three straight games inside the top 10, including strong performances against both the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons.
The improvements this year are intriguing. When Vance Joseph took over the defense in 2023, he inherited the eighth-ranked unit from 2022. It was somewhat of a surprise when they finished 26th last year, but Joseph has answered any criticism this time around.
The biggest area of improvement in 2024 has come by generating more pressure without sending extra men, which has allowed them to improve their pass defense significantly. The run defense has also improved, and Denver is one of the best teams in our database in terms of red-zone efficiency.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
David Njoku’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 1. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 13 TE PPR Rankings
1) Trey McBride | ARI (at MIN)
2) Brock Bowers | LV (at KC)
3) Travis Kelce | KC (vs. LV)
4) George Kittle | SF (at BUF)
5) David Njoku | CLE (at DEN)
6) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. ARI)
7) Taysom Hill | NO (vs. LAR)
8) Evan Engram | JAX (vs. HOU)
9) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. LAC)
10) Dallas Goedert | PHI (at BAL)
11) Will Dissly | LAC (at ATL)
12) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at GB)
13) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. IND)
14) Cade Otton | TB (at CAR)
15) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. CHI)
16) Tucker Kraft | GB (vs. MIA)
17) Zach Ertz | WAS (vs. TEN)
18) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. PHI)
19) Luke Schoonmaker | DAL (vs. NYG)
20) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. SF)
21) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. PIT)
22) Dalton Schultz | HOU (at JAX)
23) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (at CIN)
24) Cole Kmet | CHI (at DET)
25) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. PHI)
26) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at WAS)
27) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. SEA)
28) Theo Johnson | MIN (vs. ARI)
29) Noah Gray | KC (vs. LV)
30) Darnell Washington | PIT (at CIN)
31) Tommy Tremble | CAR (vs. TB)
32) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. IND)
33) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LAR)
Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos Trends
Cleveland Browns
Team: Over the past month, the Browns are 2-2 with wins over the Ravens/Steelers and losses to the Chargers/Saints. Their point differential across those four games is -28.
QB: Even in the conditions and against an elite defense, Jameis Winston continued to inch up his in-pocket completion percentage (58.1% in Week 9, 61.9% in Week 11, and 63.6% in Week 12).
Offense: Cleveland picked up 53.3% of their third downs in the upset win over the Ravens in Week 8. That rate fell to 35.3% in Week 9, 23.1% in Week 11, and 10% in Week 12 (one-of-10).
Defense: In their first five games, the Browns allowed 6.2 net yards per pass attempt, a rate that has swelled to 8.3 since (up 33.9%).
Fantasy: The two touchdowns, including the game-winner, were nice to see from Nick Chubb, but be careful. This season, just 4.1% of his carries have gained 10+ yards, far below his career norm entering this season (15.8%).
Betting: The Browns have failed to cover 10 of their past 14 games played on extended rest. In 202, his boom/bust rate was 0% (he had the same number of 10+ yard runs as carries that were stopped for no gain).
Denver Broncos
Team: Could the Broncos post their first double-digit win season since 2015? They need to win three of five games to close the season. Based on lookahead lines, their average spread moving forward is +2.3 points.
QB: Bo Nix has completed 12-of-14 red zone passes (six touchdowns) over the past three weeks.
Offense: The Broncos allow pressure on just 30% of dropbacks, the sixth lowest in the NFL (they ranked 28th last season).
Defense: The Broncos were embarrassed in Baltimore, giving up 41 points during the Week 9 loss. They’ve allowed 41 points in the three weeks since.
Fantasy: Nix has three straight games with multiple passing touchdowns and 30 pass attempts with zero interceptions – no rookie has ever done it in four straight games (Daniel Jones and Lamar Jackson authored such games against the Browns this season).
Betting: The Broncos have seen eight of their past 10 home games played at home in Week 13 or later.