Browns vs. Colts: Week 7 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, Jerome Ford, David Njoku, Gardner Minshew, Michael Pittman Jr., Jonathan Taylor, Zack Moss

Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts

Spread: Browns -2.0
Implied Total: Browns (21.25) vs. Colts (19.25)
Pace: Browns (20th) vs. Colts (4th)
Browns Off. DVOA: -17.6% Pass (31st), -10.5% Rush (21st)
Colts Off. DVOA: 6.0% Pass (18th), 5.2% Rush (6th)
Browns Def. DVOA: -32.9% Pass (1st), -24.6% Rush (4th)
Colts Def. DVOA: 8.6% Pass (17th), -10.0% Rush (18th)

Matchups We Love

Amari Cooper (WR, CLE)

Cooper made a couple of extremely impressive catches to turn what seemed like a death sentence of a situation into a good game with over 100 receiving yards. P.J. Walker proved to be a much better option than Dorian Thompson-Robinson, not only enabling the Browns to total over 300 yards of offense but also getting the win over the 49ers. Deshaun Watson remains a question mark for Week 7 with a shoulder injury that was either underrepresented by the team or he's deciding to be overly cautious about. Regardless of where the truth lies, Cooper is a top-20 receiver against the Colts and their secondary. It's also good news for Elijah Moore, who earned seven targets, trailing only Cooper. We don't want to get too excited with Walker at the helm, but he's a possible flex option in full-PPR formats.

UPDATE: Watson has been pushing play to play and is now questionable. He'd be an upgrade for the offense, especially the receiving weapons.

Jerome Ford (RB, CLE)

It was not looking good for Ford until late in the game when he started racking up yards on the ground. He ended up with 84 on the ground and seven through the air on 19 touches. It's a promising sign given he was facing the San Francisco defense. Part of what was hampering his production was the involvement of Kareem Hunt, who had 15 touches of his own. His 37% of snaps was the highest since joining the Browns, indicating he's carved out a role behind Ford, primarily as a receiver. The Colts are 19th in rushing yards per attempt allowed, 18th in run defense DVOA, and allow the 10th-most fantasy points to running backs, making Ford a top-20 option with Hunt an upside flex play.

UPDATE: Hunt is listed as questionable for Sunday's game. If he misses, Ford would see an uptick in work and Pierre Strong Jr. would take over as the backup.

Colts RBs

We already covered the brutal matchup the backfield will be facing. Thankfully, they earned a combined 13 targets, representing a 23.6% target share. Both Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss finished with 13 touches. Although Taylor was more productive in terms of yards, which is what we'd expect given his talent profile. They also split the goal-line work, but it was Moss who found pay dirt. The shift in snaps and touches toward Taylor is slow but steady, making him the preferred option as a top-24 tailback with Moss right on the cusp of that range.