Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 3rd at 1:00 PM ET
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Betting Odds: Minn +2, 51.5 over/under total via Oddsshark
Network: CBS
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield (Start, QB2)
Baker Mayfield has been a good NFL quarterback, leading the Browns to a 2-1 record. He has not been a great fantasy quarterback so far this season. He hasn’t thrown for more than a touchdown in a game and has only gone over 250 yards once. He did add a rushing touchdown to go with his passing one in week 2. He has been plagued with injuries to his receiving weapons this season. Odell Beckham Jr. started the season with an injury. Now Jarvis Landry is out with an injury. The matchup against the Vikings should be a favorable one for Baker and the Browns so fantasy owners are looking for him to have a season-high game this week. If he does not, he might be headed towards a more streaming option till the wide receivers get healthy.
Running Backs
Nick Chubb (Start, RB1) Kareem Hunt (Start, RB2) Demetric Felton (Sit)
One of the best running back tandems in the league, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt look to continue their dominance against a middle-of-the-road run defense. In Week 3 Seattle’s Chris Carson rushed for 80 yards and a score against the Vikings. Chubb and Hunt are comparable if not better runners than Carson. Nick Chubb has been the primary rusher getting 47% of the team’s carries so far this season. He has also found the endzone three times. He is a must-start and returning a healthy value on his late 1st round draft price. Kareem Hunt had a great week 3. That won’t be the norm for him but with his pass-catching work, it’s hard to not start him as an RB2 with upside as we saw against Chicago. He is tied for the team lead in targets. He has picked up work with all the injuries to the wide receiver group. Both are solid plays this week against an average defense. Both a positive and negative game script has a high volume of work for the running backs. Demetric Felton caught some passes out of the backfield and looked good on kick-off returns. I only bring him up as a name to know if there were an injury to one of the main two guys.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
Odell Beckham Jr. (Start, WR1), Donovan People-Jones (Sit, WR4), Rashard Higgins (Sit), Austin Hooper (Sit, TE2) David Njoku (Sit)
Odell Beckham Jr. came back after missing the first 2 games of the season and looked like his old self. He was targeted 9 times and caught 5 of them for 77 yards. He is only getting better coming off his lingering injuries. He should be the main pass-catching option in this game. It’s projected to be a high-scoring game that should see some deep shots. Outside of Beckham, there isn’t much to be excited about. The loss of Jarvis Landry really hurts. Donovan Peoples-Jones hasn’t been consistent enough to start in fantasy despite catching all 4 of his targets and playing 72.6% of the team’s snaps through 3 weeks. Rashard Higgins is even worse. He is only playing on 43.3% of the team’s snaps. What’s even more shocking is that no wide receiver or running back has a red zone target yet for the Browns. Who does have the red zone targets are the tight ends. Austin Hooper and David Njoku have 3 and 2 respectively. Both of them are pretty similar in terms of snap numbers which makes it hard to start either. I suspect one of them will find the end zone in week 4 but it’s almost impossible to predict which one it will be. For all we know, it could be Harrison Bryant. If I had to pick one I would say Hooper but I think there are better tight end options.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Kirk Cousins (Start, QB1)
Kirk Cousins has been on a tear so far this season. So far no interceptions which is surprising to most but really shouldn’t be. He has always been a low interception quarterback. He has scored at least 2 touchdowns in every game and has been over 300 yards in two of the game. The Browns are in the bottom half in terms of defense against quarterbacks according to CBS. Cousins has all the weapons he needs to continue his success and should be in your fantasy lineup. What’s crazy is he was probably picked up off waivers or might even still be there. The Browns have a great pass rush which could cause Cousins some issue but the O-line in Minnesota should be able to hold up. I expect Cousins to be a top quarterback this week. YOU LIKE THAT!
Dalvin Cook (Start, RB2) Alexander Mattison (Sit, RB3), Ameer Abdullah (Sit)
I know what you are thinking. How can Dalvin Cook be an RB2? First, he is coming off an ankle injury and may not be 100%. The Browns have a very good defensive front that has stopped the run every week. The fact that Alexander Mattison played so well in week 3 shows me that the Vikings will rotate them more evenly as they look to get Cook fully healthy for the rest of the season. Cook could easily re-injure the ankle and miss most of the game and leave you with less than desirable points in your starting lineup. Mattison, if he was starting without Cook, would also be an RB2 but with Cook in, he can’t be trusted to get enough points. Ameer Abdullah is and was a non-factor for the team outside of a rest break for Mattison.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
Adam Thielen (Start, WR1), Justin Jefferson (Start, WR2), K.J. Osborn (Sit), Tyler Conklin (Start, TE1)
The Vikings seem to be clicking on all cylinders so far this season. Last year’s rookie breakout Justin Jefferson has continued his dominance. He is playing on 87.2% of the team’s snaps. He is averaging 10 targets a game. I have him as a WR2 because most of his passes are longer which is less predictive and makes for a higher ceiling but a lower floor. He has a 10.7 average depth of target. If he doesn’t catch those low percentage throws then he can have a bust week. Adam Thielen is much more consistent. His average depth of target is a much more manageable 6.2. He does trail Jefferson in total targets, 30 to 26 but is catching 80.8% compared to 66.7% for Jefferson. They both have 4 red-zone targets and are catching most of them. You can’t go wrong with either of them. K.J. Osborn was one of the big waiver pick-ups going into week 3. He was a disappointment in week 3. He is a sit for me this week and probably going forward unless something changes. He is only playing 67.1% of the team’s snaps. Tyler Conklin is a sneaky tight end play this week. He is playing 74% of the team snaps and has 3 red-zone targets.
– Dustin Ludke (Dunit13dl on Reddit)