Ravens at Browns: 5 best fantasy options
By James Dudko
3. Duke Johnson
The Browns have their own threat at tight end, in the form of Gary Barnidge. He’s sure to command attention from the Baltimore linebackers.
Such attention means there’s likely to be room for running back Duke Johnson to showcase his flair as a receiver. Johnson has been named as one of the NFL‘s top-10 pass-catching backs, per Chris Wesseling of the league’s official site.
Wesseling noted how Johnson has even encouraged comparisons to former Philadelphia Eagles dual-threat ace Brian Westbrook. Those are lofty comparisons, but Cleveland’s safe pair of hands out of the backfield is surely a matchup problem.
It would make sense for the Ravens to try and blanket Barnidge. After all, he burned them for 15 catches for 230 yards in 2015.
Baltimore will also have to focus on the big-play potential of deep threats Corey Coleman and Terrelle Pryor. So there should be ample room left over for Johnson to exploit on screens and wheel routes.
McCown isn’t likely to overlook a running back in space. He played in 13 games for the Chicago Bears in 2013, the same season Matt Forte caught 74 passes.
Everything points to Johnson being a big part of the Cleveland passing game this week.
Next: 2. Breshad Perriman