Cleveland

Browns

The Browns have a quick turnaround as they prepare to face the Steelers on Thursday Night Football in Week 4, making it highly unlikely that Elgton Jenkins will be able to clear concussion protocol in time to suit up. That makes the practice status of Teven Jenkins of primary concern considering an absence would mean the Browns would be without two of their starting interior offensive linemen against one of the better pass rushes in the league.

With the Panthers working overtime to keep Deshaun Watson underneath and the washed quarterback happily obliging, Fannin doubled his season receptions total while scoring his first two touchdowns. Score No. 1 was a fourth down crosser where Fannin got free at the back end of the end zone. No. 2 was a scramble drill where the quarterback bought time and again found Fannin in the painted area. Although the yardage total remained modest, it was nice to see Fannin prove pop-up efforts will still be possible for him in this underpowered offense. With Watson seemingly growing more short-area focused by the day, Fannin’s target counts might start ticking back upward. He’s a credible TE1 for Week 4 against the Steelers.

Well that’s not going to cut it. As ESPN’s Mike Clay points out, rookie first-rounder Concepcion is up to 20 targets over three appearances but has just 80 yards to show for it. He is not being put in position to make explosive plays, and he is very much not doing so. With a yards per catch more befitting of a sluggish running back (6.6), Concepcion is best left outside the WR4 ranks ahead of a tough Week 4 date with the Steelers.

Boston’s 41 yards were his fewest in three games as a pro, though he has now contributed at least one 20-yard catch all three times out. On the rare occasions Deshaun Watson actually throws down-field, he’s looking only for Boston. That will lead to some spiked weeks, but Boston’s floor is too low to rank him inside the top 36 on a regular basis, including Thursday’s short-week home date with the Steelers.

Both Judkins’ carries and yards were new season highs, though so was his 3.9 yards per carry. That tells you all you need to know about his explosive-play odds in this low-ceiling attack. Judkins at least remains unchallenged for touches. Judkins’ usage gives him a low-end RB2 floor, but the same seems true of his ceiling. The Steelers are not a good Week 4 matchup for the Dawg Pound.

The multi-score start was Watson’s second straight, though his yards per attempt fell precipitously for the second consecutive week. He’s now gone from 9.3 YPA in Week 1 to 7.9 to 4.8. Absolutely everything was underneath this afternoon, though we suppose the effort did come in a win. Watson found Harold Fannin for seven catches and a pair of scores after hitting the tight end seven total times between Weeks 1 and 2. The flip side was that Watson had just one completion longer than 20 yards, a 28-yard strike to Denzel Boston. Watson also missed a snap late after taking a big hit, but ended up returning ahead of what proved to be the game-winning field goal. Watson hasn’t been quite as bad as feared, but he’s hardly silencing the critics, including Browns fans who occasionally booed Sunday. The Steelers will be a tough short-week matchup this Thursday. Watson won’t be in the superflex mix for that one.

Mekhi Blackmon, who was signed off the street in late August, will again fill in for Campbell. It’s a significant downgrade, to put it mildly. Also inactive for the Browns are QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, C Parker Brailsford and starting guard Teven Jenkins.

He did not practice at any point this week and looks to be questionable for Week 4. The Browns also listed CB Tyson Campbell (hip, ankle) and Grant Delpit (shoulder) as questionable. Browns coach Todd Monken said he’s “hopeful” Campbell and Delpit will go.

Fannin showed signs of life as Deshaun Watson played much better than he did in the season opener against the Jaguars. Running a pass route on 28 of the Browns’ 36 drop backs, Fannin was tied for second in targets among Cleveland pass catchers. Watson’s check-down tendencies — he had a 3.6 aDOT against Tampa — could keep Fannin alive for PPR purposes in Week 3 against the Panthers. He likely won’t be a top-12 option though.

After his two-catch performance in Week 1, Jeudy is off to a roaring start. Denzel Boston has established himself as Cleveland’s de facto No. 1 wideout while KC Concepcion is being force fed the ball on gadget plays near the line of scrimmage. With almost no avenue to fantasy relevance, Jeudy should remain on waiver wires.