The Cleveland Browns take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season. QB Deshaun Watson is off the injury report and expected to start for the Browns, who sit at 4-3 on the season. The Browns have used defense and the run game to win games so far this season. The passing game hasn’t quite gotten it going yet. WR Elijah Moore was brought in from the New York Jets to provide a second weapon for Watson opposite WR Amari Cooper. Moore hasn’t quite lived up to the hype in fantasy football. Let’s look at whether or not you should play Moore this week.
Fantasy Football analysis: Browns WR Elijah Moore
Moore had two catches on five targets for 30 yards in Week 8 vs. the Seahawks. He has just 27 catches for 256 yards on the season.
Start or sit in Week 9 PPR leagues?
This is a tough call. If you need to play Moore in deeper PPR formats, there are worse plays. The matchup vs. the Cardinals is also decent. Arizona has allowed over 30 points four times this season. Moore should have a chance to break a few big plays. The Browns also traded away WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, so that should give Moore more targets alongside Cooper. So in PPR, as a FLEX play, sure, you can play Moore.
Start or sit in Week 9 standard leagues?
Standard is murkier for Moore. His target share should go up a bit since DPJ was seeing around three targets per game. Still, that’s not much of a bump and Moore was still seeing plenty of snaps before the trade. Watson being back helps but he wasn’t very good before the shoulder injury. Moore hasn’t sniffed the end zone this season. He’d be a very risky FLEX for standard. The lean would be benching him.