The Cleveland Browns are in desperate need of a kick-start on offense. That means more productive efforts from wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Amari Cooper.
But which of these two wide receivers should fantasy football managers look to start in Week 2 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars?
Should You Start Jerry Jeudy or Amari Cooper This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Cooper is the player to start.
His projected 11.4 points include a projection of four receptions, and 56 receiving yards. That outperforms Jeudy’s consensus projection (7.7 points, three receptions, and 39 receiving yards).
My ranking for these two Browns wide receivers aligns with the consensus.
Although he was far from impressive in Week 1, Cooper’s good game vs. the Jaguars last season makes him a candidate to bounce back in Week 2.
Jeudy’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Jeudy, who is WR55 in the Pro Football Network’s Fantasy Rankings, could not have had a game with more mixed results than he did last week.
On the one hand, Jeudy scored his first touchdown as a member of the Browns, a 6-yard reception in the third quarter, which was Cleveland’s first touchdown of the season. That helped propel Jeudy to a fantasy point total of 11.5 vs. the Dallas Cowboys. A decent number, but hardly exceptional.
While Jeudy did have a touchdown, he also had a pretty horrible day catching the ball. He finished with only three receptions on eight targets, a catch percentage of 37.5%, tied for his lowest catch percentage ever in a game in which he received eight or more targets.
In addition, Jeudy’s 3.1 yards per target was the lowest of his career in a game in which he had eight or more targets. He finished with just 25 receiving yards.
It should be noted that Jeudy appeared on Friday’s injury report for the Browns with a knee injury. However, he was a full participant in practice all week and does not have an injury designation, so fantasy managers should expect Jeudy to get the start on Sunday.
Cooper’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
If you thought Jeudy’s catch percentage was bad in Week 1, try this one on for size.
Cooper caught just two of his team-high nine targets vs. his former team and tallied just 16 yards. That 22.2% catch percentage was the second-lowest catch rate of Cooper’s career in a game in which he was targeted eight or more times.
So why in the world should fantasy managers consider starting Cooper over Jeudy?
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For starters, Cooper has demonstrated the ability to bounce back from a disappointing performance early in a season. Just last season, Cooper had only 16 receiving yards in a Week 4 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The following week, Cooper had his first 100-yard receiving game of the season, finishing with 108 yards on only four catches against the San Francisco 49ers.
Cooper also had a decent game when the Browns faced the Jaguars last season. In that game, Cooper was targeted 14 times, finishing with seven catches for 77 yards.
While both Jeudy and Cooper were disappointments in Week 1, I’d lean on Cooper being able to bounce back this week.
Kyle Soppe’s Fantasy Outlook for Cooper and Jeudy
Amari Cooper: I think Cooper is a good player, but after seeing Watson struggle to the degree he did last weekend, what is the ceiling for any of his targets?
Against the Cowboys, Cooper turned nine targets into 16 yards. That’s embarrassing, and this Jaguars defense is better than you think. For me, Cooper projects similarly role-wise to Terry McLaurin, but the Commanders WR1 gets access to a better matchup and a quarterback with more chain-moving upside.
Cooper is currently my WR30, and I don’t even feel good about it.
Jerry Jeudy: The touchdown was good to see in his Cleveland debut, but if I’m not sold on Cooper being a locked-in starter, how can I express any optimism in a distant WR2? The projected absence of David Njoku, in theory, opens up targets; if you, like Vegas, think the Jaguars win this game, maybe you can squint and justify throwing him into a DFS lineup as a contrarian play.
I won’t be doing that. Neither will most of the field. It’s not a high-percentage play, but sometimes those are the paths to victory, especially from an underdog.