Bengals-Browns DFS Showdown: Injury and Depth Analysis

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Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals travel to face their cross-state rivals the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football. Burrow has been cooking as his squad has won four of their past five, with him throwing for 481 yards last week. Cleveland has dropped four straight contests with a margin of victory of three points or less in three of those defeats, but Jacoby Brissett has salvaged some fantasy value, passing for at least 230 yards in each outing.

Joe Mixon will be the workhorse back for the Bengals, ranking fourth with 121 rushing attempts (17.3 per game) while consistently seeing about three to four receptions. While the desired endzone production has not been there, it is safe to assume that it is on the way, as Mixon ranks first among all NFL running backs in red zone touches with 27. Samaje Perine will rotate in and be a factor for a couple of carries and a few targets with a touch ceiling of five or six, barring injury. 

The two-headed monster of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt features one of football’s best rushing attacks and is a headache for any defense. Chubb ranks ahead of Mixon as third in the league in rushing attempts with 126 (18 per game) while ranking first among running backs with eight touchdowns and 740 rushing yards. Hunt has regressed over the past two weeks, combining for only ten touches after averaging 14.2 over the first five weeks. 

Ja’Marr Chase has been ruled out for tonight, which will slot Tee Higgins into the WR1 role. He has seen at least seven targets in each of his last five games, where he saw his normal workload and only will be in line for more. Tyler Boyd will elevate to the WR2 role and can likely expect to see about 6-7 targets on the safe end with an added red-zone upside. Mike Thomas looks to be the biggest beneficiary of Chase’s absence, as he’ll primarily play on the outside opposite Higgins. Trent Taylor will see some rotational work additionally and could eat away some of the workload we anticipate to go to Thomas. 

Amari Cooper will be Brissett’s top pass-catching option after seeing double-digit targets in four of seven games. He’s found the endzone in each of those outings, which would produce optimal potential value if repeated. Donovan Peoples-Jones has been targetted 27 times over the past four weeks as he has emerged as a strong threat as the WR2. David Bell has a relatively small upside as the WR3, with Michael Woods II rotating in for a target or two if he’s lucky. 

Hayden Hurst benefitted nicely when Higgins barely played in Week 5, so we’re hopeful that he’ll see an increased role once again. A five-target workload looks to be his floor with a clear upside, especially if Thomas and Taylor struggle in their increased roles.

David Njoku has been ruled out for tonight, which will elevate Harrison Bryant to TE1, with Miller Forristall rotating in. Njoku has seen 36 targets over the past five weeks (7.2 per game), which gives us hope for his potential upside.