Fantasy Football: 3 Players You Can Drop After Week 14
Duke Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns
Yahoo Ownership: 58%
If Duke Johnson is still on your fantasy team, you're probably hoping he has another game like his blowup 25.1-fantasy point performance back in Week 9 -- the first week with Freddie Kitchens as the Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator. When he followed that game up with 12.6 points the next week, Johnson was looking like he was poised for a late-season breakout.
Unfortunately, that's not what happened. It wasn't Duke who broke out; it was Nick Chubb. And as the team has realized that Chubb is a weapon as a pass-catcher, Johnson's role has shrunk to non-existent levels.
Chubb has swallowed up just about every running back opportunity over the last few weeks. Johnson has just 7 touches over the last three games, while Chubb has racked up 60 over that same span. The rookie has taken complete control of that backfield.
Johnson used to make his name as a pass-catching back on an always-losing Browns team, but he's barely even seeing usage in that area of the game anymore. The Browns are playing with positive game scripts for the first time in years, so they haven't needed his skill set as desperately as they did in the past. He's become no more than a backup running back with upside.
If you have space on your bench for a handcuff, you could certainly do worse than Johnson, but don't hesitate to cut him if you need a productive fantasy asset for Week 14.