Odell Beckham Jr. has been released from the Cleveland Browns and for fantasy football, that means doors have opened for upcoming players on that Browns squad. One of those guys who could step up to the plate is second-year wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.
The Future
Donovan Peoples-Jones has stepped up in year two and shown flashes of being a potential second wide receiver in the Cleveland Browns offense. Earlier this season in Weeks 5 and 6 he was WR8 in fantasy football. People-Jones accumulated nine receptions on 11 targets for 171 yards and two touchdowns. This was with a healthy 20% target share.
Peoples-Jones is currently dealing with a groin injury, but this is more so looking towards the future of the Cleveland Browns offense. As a rookie, Peoples-Jones had 14 receptions for 304 yards and two touchdowns. He burst onto the scene with a 92 yard game in a win against the Tennessee Titans. This season, Peoples-Jones is already just one reception and 76 yards shy of matching his rookie total.
Jarvis Landry is still a solid wide receiver when healthy and will be expected to step up and take over the Browns’ number one receiver role. However, he’s currently dealing with injuries and he’s not a top wide receiver on an offense. Landry is a great compliment receiver who thrives from the slot.
Next season, Landry will be on his last year of his five-year contract with the Browns. With promising young receivers like Rashad Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz, there’s a good chance that he won’t be returning to Cleveland once his contract does expire.
From a dynasty fantasy football perspective, this opens the door for young talent that can be had for very cheap. Peoples-Jones is 22 years old and has a lot of NFL years ahead of him. The small samples that he’s shown has given reason to be hopeful that he’s a very good talent.
Fantasy Football End Game
As always, volume will be key to watch this season with Landry banged up and Beckham Jr. out the door. It will be important to see how much People-Jones is involved in the Browns offense. He needs to be a consistent option in the Browns offense to be considered a valuable weapon.
Buying Peoples-Jones shouldn’t be a difficult task. If you’re a team looking for young with high potential, Peoples-Jones is a very good option to consider. As it currently stands, he has fourth round value at the moment. However, fantasy football managers won’t want to wait too long, because that could turn into second value very quickly.
For the rest of this 2021 season, Peoples-Jones has the potential to be a solid flex play in a redraft fantasy football league. In dynasty, he could be someone to consider buying while the price is still low. The good news is that the Browns offense actually looks better when Beckham is not on the field. The arrow is pointing up for Peoples-Jones in the future.
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