The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key Cleveland Browns players heading into their matchup with the San Francisco 49ers to help you craft a winning lineup.
Shedeur Sanders, QB
There are some signs of viability in Shedeur Sanders up to this point, but he’s not close to fantasy-relevant right now, and I’m not sure the roster around him, as it currently stands, gives him much of a chance.
The 52-yard completion to Isaiah Bond was a nice peek into what is possible, and his first touchdown pass (the screen that Dylan Sampson took to the house) at least showed the ability to be on time at this level.
Use this final month as an excuse to scout him for next season, but I’d be surprised if he is close to viable in one QB leagues in 2026 due to a lack of mobility and a below-average supporting cast.
Dylan Sampson, RB
Dylan Sampson’s speed was on full display as he took a screen pass 66 yards to the house against the Raiders week, making him the answer to an inevitable trivia question at some point as to who was the recipient of Sanders’ first touchdown pass.
The agility is nothing new and was something we saw before Quinshon Judkins got his contract situation resolved early in this season.
That said, just because he scored and picked up usage after Judkins got dinged up last week doesn’t mean he’s ready to carve out a niche in this offense, provided that their RB1 is healthy.
Before last week, he hadn’t reached four carries in a game with Judkins active and was spotty at best with the passing game usage (no more than one target five times in an eight-game stretch).
There is some contingent work to chase here if Judkins were to be sidelined, but without that knowledge, Sampson isn’t a top 40 running back for me. This offense is struggling to move the ball, which makes a gadget-type player like this a long shot to deliver any level of value.
Quinshon Judkins, RB
There are 34 running backs with at least 100 carries this season, and 32 of them are at least league average on a higher percentage of carries before contact than Quinshon Judkins.
The only RB worse in this category is Ashton Jeanty, his opponent last week in the thrilling 24-10 win at Vegas.
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The two of them, two well-thought-of rookies, rushed 33 times for 97 yards. Neither had anywhere to run for most of the day, but because Judkins happened to get a pair of Wild Cat snaps on the doorstep, he scored twice and gave you enough to justify starting him.
I’m not at all comfortable in banking on this offense, and that has Judkins sitting outside of my top 20 for the week. I can’t go much lower than that based on the volume (16+ carries in three straight and seven of his past nine), but relying on touchdowns is dangerous at best when tethered to this offense. With zero catches in consecutive games, there aren’t many ways for Cleveland’s bellcow to post a considerable number.
Cedric Tillman, WR
The Browns’ passing attack wasn’t exactly impressive in Vegas over the weekend, as three long plays, one on a screen pass, accounted for 75.1% of their passing yards.
A stat like that typically includes a Cedric Tillman splash play, but it didn’t this time around, and that left those who tried to get cute with him in DFS or otherwise holding the bag.
You simply can’t go to this passing game. No exceptions.
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In a great matchup, Cleveland converted just one-quarter of their third downs and stayed on the field for under 24 minutes. Tillman’s skill set is the type we target for streaming purposes, and this matchup isn’t an issue, but this offense isn’t built to put points on the board.
Feel free to cut ties here in favor of any secondary option on an above-average offense. Don’t overthink it.
Jerry Jeudy, WR
Jerry Jeudy had the explosive Week 10 game, with a dozen targets against a depleted Jets unit, but he has just 60 yards on 10 targets since.
In Shedeur Sanders’ first start, Harold Fannin was the primary target (33.3% target share) with a pair of fellow rookies leading the way in receiving yards (Dylan Sampson and Isaiah Bond).
I’m not sure that any of that is sticky. Still, the fact that the target/yardage distribution can look like that in any given week is why I’m making every excuse I can to avoid rostering, never mind starting, any of these pass catchers.
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The quarterback change can’t be a bad thing (Jeudy this season has produced 40.8% below expectations), but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.
I’m benching Jeudy until I have a reason not to, and if you had to cut ties, I don’t think making a move is off the board.
David Njoku, TE
This offense leaves a lot to be desired.
That’s fair, but I also think it’s fair that they probably aren’t working with as positive a game script as they were on Sunday in Vegas again this season.
David Njoku and Harold Fannin combined to run just 26 routes, a low number regardless of the split.
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That said, it was Fannin that saw the only tight end targets from Shedeur Sanders (six of them, catching five), and that’s the concerning part. The Browns aren’t going to be in scoring position on any kind of regular basis, and that makes volume non-negotiable, something that is heavily leaning in the direction of the rookie at this point.
I’d caution against crossing Njoku off of your streaming radar altogether. We still don’t really know what this Sanders-led offense is going to be, but he’s off of it for now and needs to show me some target-earning tendencies before I reconsider.
All reports have him as healthy from the knee injury that was bugging him, and that has me thinking that his 47.9% snap share (Fannin: 89.6%) is what we can/should expect over the final month.
Harold Fannin Jr., TE
If you’re betting on the Browns’ passing game, my thoughts are with you.
That said, Harold Fannin certainly seems like the right way to do so. None of the receivers is separating from one another in a meaningful way. While David Njoku theoretically offers competition to the rookie at the position, he was held without a target on Sunday in Vegas.
I’m not 100% committed to Fannin, and maybe that’s my problem. His role is trending in the right direction, but with Njoku still out there (47.9% snap share) and my lack of confidence in this offense to consistently clear 20 points, I do think the upside is awfully low.
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That said, a first-year player moving in the right direction who has a 17+ yard catch in six straight is a convincing profile. Fannin is to be considered a top streaming candidate against a banged-up 49ers team that is on short rest, though I’m not saying you have a lineup lock for the remainder of the season.