Cleveland

Browns

His 21-day practice window will open up. There’s obviously no rush to promote him to the active roster with the Browns already dressing three quarterbacks every week, so this is probably just starting a ticking clock on a trade or cut from the quarterback room.

With Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion earning large roles right away, Jeudy has all but vanished from the box scores. He went two games without catching a single pass before bringing down three balls for 36 yards on Thursday night. Jeudy got pushed out of the Browns’ long-term plans on draft night and isn’t even part of the week-to-week game plan at this point.

“The MRI revealed some good news,” per Rapoport, who added that the hope is these are not long-term injuries for the second-year lineman. While Graham does have two injuries he will need to work his way back from, it’s fair to say this is an encouraging sign after he was seen on crutches and sporting a knee brace after Week 4’s win over the Steelers. If Graham is placed on injured reserve, he would be required to miss at least the next four games. He has totaled 15 tackles, six TFLs, and four sacks thus far for the Browns in what is shaping up to be a breakout season for the former No. 5 overall pick.

Graham will undergo an MRI on Friday to confirm the severity of his injury, but Rapoport reports that the Browns think Graham “dodged a bullet” here. Graham has been a stud for the suddenly 3-1 Browns in his second season, racking up 15 tackles, six TFLs, and four sacks in his four games played. We’ll see what the MRI reveals, but if Graham is able to avoid a stint on injured reserve, it would be safe to assume the team believes he could make it back in three weeks or sooner.

The score was his third trip to paint in the previous two games after Fannin notched his first two touchdowns of the young season in a Week 3 win over the Panthers. Fannin appears to be behind both Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion in the target pecking order in Cleveland, but remains well ahead of veteran Jerry Jeudy as the third target in the offense. Continued fantasy production likely hinges on the play of quarterback Deshaun Watson, but Fannin appears set to return meaningful fantasy value for managers that invested a middle-round pick on his services this summer. Fannin remains a back-end TE1 ahead of a Week 5 meeting with the Jets on the road.

Concepcion continues to operate as the primary slot receiver for a Browns team clearly looking to their youth while phasing out veteran Jerry Jeudy, the latter of whom managed three receptions on three targets for 36 yards. Concepcion has yet to lead the team in receiving while working in a short area role, with this the first game thus far which he has gained more then 43 yards. He’ll be a difficult start in fantasy circles when the Browns take on the Jets in Week 5.

Boston has now led the Browns in receiving in three of the team’s first four games, made more impressive by the fact that those were the first four contests of the youngster’s professional career. The second-round rookie continues to flash big play potential after catching his third pass of 46 yards or longer, this time unable to find the end zone after scoring twice in his first two games. Boston still has room to grow considering he has seen just 22 targets in the first month of the season, and could reward fantasy managers that invested late-round picks in his services handsomely in the second half of his rookie year. He’ll be an upside FLEX option against the Jets in Week 5.

The rushing efficiency remains a big issue for Judkins and the Cleveland ground game, this time overcoming just 3.1 yards per carry with a short touchdown plunge and significant involvement through the air. The end result was the first start-worthy fantasy line for Judkins through four games. The poor performances on the ground don’t appear to be in line for remedy ahead of a Week 5 meeting with the Jets, although Judkins could be headed for another robust workload considering the expected game environment between two teams whose identity is driven by their defense. He’ll be a volume-driven RB2 after seeing 27 of 32 available running back opportunities against the Steelers.

Watson made very few mistakes through the air against a solid Pittsburgh defense, although a third quarter fumble on a scramble attempt and a fourth quarter interception on tipped pass at the line of scrimmage allowed the Steelers the runway to make the game interesting late. Watson also badly missed a wide open Harold Fannin on a third down play that would have allowed the Browns to ice the game, instead giving the ball back to Aaron Rodgers with under four minutes to play while up eight points. Rodgers would work his late-game magic to knot the game at 24 before Watson drove the Browns into field goal range to set up the go-ahead kick with 10 seconds on the clock. Watson had a 20-yard carry wiped from his ledger due to penalty that would have padded his counting stats further. The two turnovers notwithstanding, Watson played a largely clean game that saw the Browns improve to 3-1, currently alone atop the AFC North, pending the outcomes of the Ravens and Bengals games Sunday. The Browns turn the page to a Week 5 meeting with the Jets, where Watson will remain a surprising high-end QB2 in fantasy circles.

The Browns enter Thursday Night Football without their starting center and right guard. Running the ball up the middle against the Steelers’ talented defensive tackle group could be challenging. Green will serve as the Browns’ emergency third quarterback.