Fantasy Football Player Notes

After playing through a groin injury last year, and in Freddie Kitchens' offense, many are worried about Beckham in fantasy. Guys, he's posted at least 1,035 yards in 5-of-6 seasons despite playing 16 games just twice. However, this week does present some real concern. It's the Browns' first game under the expected run-heavy approach of Kevin Stefanski, and the Ravens just happen to have one of the best cornerback units in all of football. Despite them facing the third-most targets to wide receivers, they allowed the 14th-fewest points to them. It's not to say they can't be beat - they can. It's just understanding expectations. There were just three receivers who finished top-12 against them last year, and all of them were slot-heavy receivers (Jamison Crowder, Jarvis Landry, and Mohamed Sanu). There were another nine wide receivers who finished in the WR2 range, and though many of them were also slot options, there were some perimeter receivers. This is not a week to get excited about Beckham in such a tough matchup but know that there will be better days. He should still be locked into six-plus targets and considered a low-end WR2.

He's coming off hip surgery and was just cleared to come off the PUP list a few weeks ago, so there could be a slow start to his season. That's the concern. The reason for optimism is that he played extremely well against this tough defense last year. In two games, he piled up 15 receptions for 241 yards, finishing as the WR5 and WR27 in those games. That was under the previous coaching staff and if the Browns are moving towards more 12 personnel (1 running back, 2 tight ends) under Stefanski, it would mean less slot duties for Landry. That means he'll see one of Marcus Peters or Marlon Humphrey in coverage, which is not ideal. The two of them combined to allow just 1,075 yards on 165 targets in coverage, which amounts to just 6.5 yards per target. I'd like Landry more if he weren't coming off the hip injury, as he'll still play inside the slot more than Beckham and get away from Peters/Humphrey, but given the nature of the injury and the run-heavy offense, I'm a bit more cautious. I'd say he's a WR3 this week who has a wide range of outcomes, though I don't see a much of a ceiling here.