Johnny Manziel Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Browns Head Coach Mike Pettine stated that Johnny Manziel is out for this week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Austin Davis will get the start in what appears to be a very favorable match up as the Steelers are 26th in QB DvP and dead last in WR DvP. However, Davis has shown little to nothing in his limited time on the field this season and this puts the Steelers defense on the map as a DFS target.

Johnny Manziel has been diagnosed with a concussion and is not expected to take the field in Cleveland's Week 17 finale. This only further diminishes the value of the Browns skill-position players, as Austin Davis will presumably take over as the starter against the Steelers. Pittsburgh has some holes in the secondary, but they aren't big enough for Davis to be able to exploit. The Browns offense as a whole is worth avoiding.

The troubled Browns QB reported to practice today with concussion-like symptoms and is being evaluated by the team. If he can't go, Austin Davis would be the starter in what is a plus match up for the team against a Steelers defense that is 26th in QB DvP and 32nd in WR DvP. Davis starting would be a downgrade for Browns receivers. We'll update Manziel's status throughout the week as his situation becomes more defined.

Johnny Manziel will have his two top weapons this week with Gary Barnidge (ankle) and Travis Benjamin (shoulder) both expected to play today against the 49ers. Manziel has shown big play ability in his starts this season with Travis Benjamin the main beneficiary of Manziel's broken play ability. Benjamin will be a GPP play with his inconsistent target volume this season with totals of 3, 4, 10, 10, 12, 13, 8, 5, 6, 11, 13, 2 and the 49ers coming in ranked #18 vs. WR's in the Schedule-Adjusted Defense vs. Position Rankings. Barnidge will be in play for both cash and GPP games, receiving 7 targets or more in his last 8 games - 10, 9, 7, 11, 7, 8, 11, 8 - though his match up is not spectacular with the 49ers ranked #14 against the TE in our Schedule-Adjusted Defense vs. Position Rankings (DvP). Manziel faces a 49ers defense who comes in ranked #21 against QB's.

After being benched for the last two games due to off-field missteps, the Browns have announced that Johnny Manziel will return to the starting role this week. The Browns season is lost so they are going to try and see if Manziel has anything to offer them going forward. The Browns are at home against the 49ers this week, which would on the surface appear to be a favorable match up but the 49ers did play relatively well this past weekend against the Bears and it's tough to trust Manziel and the anemic Browns receivers to put up DFS relevant numbers.

Johnny Manziel has been named the Browns starting QB going forward. Manziel has shown improved play this season and definitely has upside with his legs. He also has the potential to put up a complete disaster of a game which makes him a great GPP play and a great team to roster the opposing defense when they face Manziel. While Gary Barnidge did catch a TD pass last week, this does somewhat negatively impact the TE's value as he had a great connection with McCown.

Coach Mike Pettine has said Josh McCown will start if he is healthy, but he was only able to practice on a limited basis all week. Manziel took most of the first-team reps in practice this week and looked pretty good at times vs. the Bengals, but Manziel will have to earn his keep if he hopes to start when McCown is healthy. This news downgrades all of the Browns pass-catchers, as McCown is a much better pure passer and has posted some huge yardage totals in games he's started (and completed) this season. Gary Barnidge and Travis Benjamin are still in play against a suspect Steelers pass defense, but they aren't as strong of plays now.

With Josh McCown (ribs) expected to sit out Thursday, Johnny Manziel is tentatively expected to start against the undefeated Bengals. The big takeaway here is that the Bengals D/ST unit becomes a stronger play on Thursday night, because it's nearly impossible to trust any of the Browns skill-position players with Manziel at the helm. He's connected with Travis Benjamin on a few big plays this year, but they've seemed fluky and we've begun to see Benjamin coming back to earth over the past two weeks. The entire Browns offense is best left alone this week in DFS.