The Browns wrap up their regular season on Saturday in a featured matchup against the Ravens, who can wrap up the AFC North with a win. The Browns are massive underdogs, and things got even tougher for them on Friday, when they placed running backs Jerome Ford (ankle) and Pierre Strong Jr. (concussion) on injured reserve along with star tight end David Njoku (knee). Without Ford or Strong, D’Onta Foreman ($4,900) is lined up to lead the backfield and he brings interesting upside as a fantasy football sleeper in his expanded role.
Let’s take a look at what to expect from Foreman this week.
The banged-up Browns’ Backfield
Ford and Strong were both ruled out Thursday, while Nick Chubb (foot) was already on IR after breaking his foot in Week 15 against the Chiefs.
After Chubb’s injury, Ford was able to find some success. He ran for 84 yards, a touchdown and 18.4 fantasy points against the Chiefs and then followed that up with 92 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries for 24.1 fantasy points against the Bengals.
In Week 17, though, Ford left the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter and, though he returned briefly in the third quarter, he only finished with six carries for 22 yards. Strong was also in the mix, taking five carries for 33 yards and catching three passes for 15 yards. However, he suffered a concussion in the final minutes of the game and won’t play this week.
After Ford left, Foreman had 13 carries for 49 yards, although he failed to catch either of his targets.
Despite all the injuries in the backfield and their woeful 3-13 record, the Browns have actually run the ball effectively with whoever is available and have typically remained fairly committed to staying balanced on offense.
Foreman’s potential upside
Foreman was very productive in 2022 as the primary running back for the Panthers, totaling 914 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 203 carries. He was limited to just nine games with the Bears last season while playing on a one-year contract, finishing with 425 rushing yards and still scoring four touchdowns.
This year, he signed another one-year deal with the Browns and was expected to rotate with Ford while Chubb was out early in the season. However, he had a neck injury and was ultimately released at the end of training camp before re-signing with the team after initial rosters were set. Foreman flashed a few times early in the season before Chubb’s return and has 40+ rushing yards in three games this season. Overall, he has 205 rushing yards on 61 carries and is still looking for his first touchdown.
With Bailey Zappe ($4,500) getting his first start of the season, the Browns could rely heavily on the run game to try and keep the ball away from the Ravens. The offense is likely to be fairly conservative, which could put the ball in Foreman’s hands early and often.
Foreman isn’t known as a great pass-catcher, though, so there’s also a possibility that the Browns mix in John Kelly Jr. ($4,000) or even Jacob Kibodi ($4,000) from the practice squad. Kelly and Kibodi have not had a carry or a catch this season.
The Bottom Line
Based on his workload, Foreman is a value DFS play to consider in Saturday contests like the NFL $1.2M Saturday Special [$300K to 1st] (Sat).
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