Fantasy Football Player Notes

It was one of Elliott's worst games in the NFL last week when he rushed for just 34 yards against the Seahawks. That's the third-lowest total of his career, though you shouldn't get used to it. The Browns are a team that you can run the ball against. Some will say they've still yet to allow a running back more than 15.0 PPR points, but I'll remind you they've played against Mark Ingram, Joe Mixon, and Antonio Gibson, who have all struggled to start the year. It's still pretty shocking to see that the Browns haven't allowed a team of running backs more than 70 yards on the season considering their linebacker and safety issues. There are multiple avenues for Elliott, though, as they've allowed 15 receptions for 110 yards through the air to running backs over the last two weeks. The Browns have only faced 56 carries despite their opponents running 69.3 plays per game to this point. So, it's no shock to see their opponents have called a pass play on 63.5 percent of plays, which ranks as the sixth-most in the league. The Cowboys need to bring more balance to their offense, and it should start in this game. Elliott should be started as a high-end RB1 against a team that allowed seven different top-six running backs last year. I'd certainly consider him in cash games.

We're now three games in and Cooper's role only continues to shine. He's seen 35 targets in them, which puts him on pace for 186.7 targets on the season. That's not going to happen, but it's clear he's going to surpass the 119 targets he saw in 2019. He's been consistent with those targets, too, totaling at least nine catches and/or 100 yards in every game. Now coming back to Dallas where he's played his best, you should be excited. The Browns don't shadow with their cornerbacks, so Cooper will see a mixture of everyone, though about 40 percent of his snaps would be played against the Browns best cornerback, Denzel Ward, if he's available. Ward has been trying to play through an injury and it has led to two touchdowns allowed in his coverage over the last two weeks. He also had to leave the game against Washington last week after playing just 29 snaps with a groin injury. Those are not good signs when you're about to go against Cooper. If Ward sits, we'd see Kevin Johnson take his place on the perimeter. Johnson has allowed a 110.5 QB Rating in his coverage over his six-year NFL career. Start Cooper no matter what, but his matchup goes through the roof if Ward sits.

And just like that, Gallup is the No. 2 fantasy receiver on the Cowboys again. He saw a season-high nine targets in Week 3 while CeeDee Lamb conceded some snaps to Cedrick Wilson (injury related?). The Browns are a team that plays sides, so we know the matchups each receiver will have most of the time. Gallup plays most of his snaps at LWR which means he'll see a lot of Terrance Mitchell. He's not a household name, but he's been very good in a Browns uniform, allowing just a 75.0 QB Rating in his coverage since the start of 2018. He's been a bright spot in 2020, allowing just 7-of-19 passing for 94 yards, though one of those completions was for a touchdown. If there's an area Gallup can get him, it's over the top, as Mitchell's 40-time on record is 4.63 seconds, which is among the slowest cornerbacks in the league. With that being said, the Browns have allowed just one 40-plus yard passing play on the season. Gallup is back in fantasy managers good graces, though he remains a semi-risky WR3 until we see him get targets on a consistent basis.

Did Lamb suffer an injury in Week 3 that we didn't see much about? He took a hit near his knee that looked like it could be painful and played 49 snaps while Gallup played 70 and Cooper played 65. It could be nothing but why does Cedrick Wilson go from someone who played nine snaps in the first two weeks combined, to 24 snaps with a lot of opportunity in Week 3? Pay attention to the practice reports throughout the week. The Browns have used a combination of M.J. Stewart and Tavierre Thomas to cover the slot this year, and they've combined to allow 15-of-19 passing for 127 yards and a touchdown, so the matchup is a good one. If the Browns are without Denzel Ward, the matchup is also top-notch for someone like Cooper, who has been getting a lot of targets. Lamb has still seen at least six targets in every game, so his floor is in the stable WR3/4 range, though the decrease in snaps has me concerned. If he practices in full this week, I'd move him into the WR3 conversation.

Even in what's been a tough matchup for tight ends, Schultz saw six targets against the Seahawks, catching four passes for 48 yards. He's now seen a 15.4 percent target share from Prescott over the last two weeks since taking over as the starter. Considering Prescott hasn't thrown the ball fewer than 39 times, that's a good percentage for a streaming tight end. The Browns have allowed three top-16 performances against them over the first three games, but there have been four tight ends who've seen at least six targets. The 1.87 PPR points per target they've allowed is right in line with the league average, so it's not a great matchup, but also not one to avoid. Teams have averaged 41.3 pass attempts per game against the Browns, so even though this is a game where the Cowboys may employ a run-heavy attack, we should see a decent number of attempts out of Prescott. Schultz is a solid high-floor TE2 who might get outshined by the Cowboys receivers, but he's proven he'll get targeted regardless.