Start or Sit David Njoku in Fantasy Football Week Five?
This week, the new-look Cleveland Browns with Baker Mayfield at the helm take on the team that used to be them, the Baltimore Ravens. The weird Face/Off situation here aside, the Ravens and Browns are natural rivals given that they are both in the AFC North. Baker Mayfield sparked a change in the offense and, in a “rising tide lifts all boats” scenario, every fantasy football relevant player in the offense received a boost. This week, the Browns and Ravens square off, but will the tide stay high for everyone? Can you trust, for example, David Njoku? We hope to help you decide whether you should start or sit David Njoku this week in a divisional matchup.
First, David Njoku has had a ton of targets in three-of-four games this season. With the exception of the weird week three game, where he only had two targets, David Njoku has seven targets every game this season. The problem? He’s done squat with those targets. Last week he hauled in five of them for 52 yards, and that was the high-water mark for Njoku so far this season. He had 56 yards in his previous two games combined. This isn’t to say that Njoku isn’t an incredible talent, it’s just that the quality of targets are not the best. While he has seen his yards per target increase over the last couple of weeks, he still won’t be an option you’re going to want to start in standard leagues, since he will be a yardage-based play. The Browns average just 2.7 red zone scoring attempts per game, and Carlos Hyde averages 2.5 ten-zone carries a game. That tells you that there isn’t a whole lot left over for Njoku on the goal line. That makes him a yardage-based play, and he has not yet come through for his owners in standard scoring in that case.
It’s not like it would matter if they tried to use Njoku to score against the Ravens, anyway. It hasn’t been a fruitful effort so far this year, as no tight end is yet to score against them this season. It wasn’t a fruitful effort last season, either, as only four Ravens games saw tight ends scoring against them in 2017. In addition, only one tight end topped 71 yards against them in their last twenty contests. It’s a fruitless effort to try to use your tight ends when facing the Ravens. It’s a futile effort to try to fight the numbers. If you’re wondering if you should start or sit David Njoku this week against this Ravens defense, then you should definitely sit him.
If we helped you decide whether or not you should start or sit David Njoku this week, maybe you have these other guys on your fantasy football squad and need some additional help.
Start or sit TJ Yeldon?
Start or sit Mike Davis?
Start or sit Vance McDonald?
