The big injury news for Monday Night Football is the status of Cedric Tillman (concussion), who has been ruled out after taking a massive hit in last Thursday’s victory over the Steelers. All of the Browns’ wide receivers had been benefitting from the switch to Jameis Winston at quarterback, but none more than Tillman. In Week 8 and Week 9, Winston’s first two starts of 2024, Tillman combined for a whopping 13 catches and 174 yards on 20 targets. He also happened to score three touchdowns in that pair of games. Needless to say, there will be some volume up for grabs with Tillman now sidelined against the Broncos.
Jerry Jeudy is now the clear-cut No. 1 option for Cleveland’s aerial attack. Even with Tillman healthy, Jeudy has been seeing a ton of opportunities with Winston under center. In fact, despite a Week 10 bye, Jeudy sits 16th among all wideouts in targets (35) and 10th in receiving yards (379) dating back to the start of Week 8. He’ll also have a little extra motivation on Monday, as Jeudy will be going up against the Broncos, the team that drafted him back in 2020.
Elijah Moore is the other WR to keep an eye on. In Winston’s first three starts, Moore racked up an impressive 29 targets, with a season-high 12 of those coming in Week 8’s surprising win over the Ravens. Moore is on the heels of an underwhelming performance against Pittsburgh, a contest where he finished with just three receptions for 21 yards, but much of that can be attributed to horrendous weather conditions. The simple fact of the matter is this: The Browns sit third in the NFL in pass rate at 64.7%. They’re going to throw the football a lot, and with Tillman unavailable, Moore should run more routes and see more targets.
Is the matchup terrible? Absolutely. Denver is allowing an AFC-low 5.8 yards per opponent pass attempt so far this season and that’s translated into limiting opposing WRs to the third-fewest FPTS per game. Still, volume is king. Moore has a chance to see double-digit targets on Monday Night Football. At that point, you’re locked in as at least a WR3 in season-long and you have to be considered in DFS.
Start or Sit Elijah Moore? Start.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
