Fantasy Football Week 3: Start Odell Beckham?
Odell Beckham will make his return to the Cleveland Browns lineup on Sunday, but should he also return to fantasy football lineups?
After suffering a torn ACL early in Week 7 last season, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham seemed close to playing in Week 1. Heading into Week 2, he was declared out early in the week on Wednesday. Signs have pointed him playing in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears, and head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed it on Friday.
A big question with Beckham is his 2021 debut is snap count. Even with the Browns losing Jarvis Landry (knee) to IR, it feels guaranteed Beckham won’t play even close to every snap against the Bears.
The Browns like to run the ball a lot, but it’s a favorable matchup for what’s left of their wide receivers in Week 3. Spurred by being susceptible to big plays, the Bears have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers through two weeks (Yahoo!, 0.5-point PPR scoring). If Beckham is able, it may only take him getting loose for one or two big plays to deliver a solid fantasy day. In any case, he should see a fair target share (or target per-snap share) with Landry out.
Let’s say Beckham plays 30-40 snaps against the Bears, runs routes on roughly half of those snaps and gets 5-8 targets. The pitch count he’ll likely be on could be prioritized toward being on the field in key situations, red zone included. The odds of a touchdown go up if that ends up the case.
Beckham can’t be trusted as more than a WR3 in fantasy lineups for Week 3, and even then he’s a boom-or-bust play. One catch for eight yards is as likely as five catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
If you have Beckham on a fantasy roster, what are you doing with him? Benching him until further notice? Taking a chance in Week 3? Let me know in the comments.