Johnny Manziel may be starting at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday against the Colts, which means he may end up impacting your fantasy football team this week.
The Cleveland Browns have an interesting decision ahead of them, as they seem in line to start rookie Johnny Manziel for the first time in his pro career. This has been one of the most followed storylines of the entire football season so far as people have been dying to see Johnny Football get his shot.
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The real question fans have is how does the emergence of Johnny Manziel help or hurt your fantasy team, especially now that we’re into the playoffs for most leagues.
Manziel is a sexy name to want to pick up, but you have to remember that fantasy points are barely awarded sometimes for passing yards and never for a guy’s name. Just look at Adrian Peterson, who was a stud fantasy option but thanks to legal issues has had his entire season wiped out.
The bottom line is you can absolutely never judge a player’s fantasy value by his name, which is what a majority of the morons in your league are going to do when they try to pick up Manziel off the waiver wire. If he’s already on your team, then you are in the camp that needs to figure out of Manziel is worth starting with your fantasy season on the line.
Indianapolis has been a so-so defense this season, allowing points to just about everyone they play. Look at Colt McCoy and the game he had on Sunday, as that’s something to expect from Manziel. One thing the Colts haven’t faced yet is a scrambling quarterback like Manziel, which could open up the offense a bit for Cleveland.
But Manziel is wildly inexperienced and is in no way promised a huge game against the Colts. He has issues with reading defenses, as made evident against the Bills, and his home run value is lessened thanks to the fact that most fantasy owners need a solid option in the playoffs if they want to win.
Manziel is a solid start in two-QB leagues, or leagues that reward quarterback rushing yards. In all other formats — which is most normal formats — you’re best off leaving Manziel be either on the bench or in free agency as the risk is much too high at a point in the season where one bad start can ruin your hopes of winning your league.
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