Injuries impact fantasy from the first minute of Week 1, all the way through the season. Some injuries are more significant than others, and some teams have the depth to handle an injury-plagued season like 2020. This week, the Browns were bit by the injury bug. Baker Mayfield threw a pick and OBJ attempted to intervene. In the process, he tore his ACL and subsequently ended his season. Although OBJ is consistently unreliable in fantasy (many would say cursed), he’s a consistent starter for most owners. How does his early season end affect both the Brown’s depth, as well as fantasy starting lineups?

Here’s how @obj season ended, trying to make a tackle on a Baker Mayfield INT.pic.twitter.com/ks3Efq8Kjh

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 26, 2020

Injury Impact for the Browns

The Browns have seen injuries throughout the season. Austin Hooper, their starting tight end signed in the offseason, has been hurt and left an opening for David Njoku and Harrison Bryant. Nick Chubb was knocked out with a long-term injury, and Kareem Hunt has stepped up to fill that gap. OBJ is a significant loss to the Browns, as he and Jarvis Landry share the WR1 spotlight. However, we shouldn’t wallow in what we have lost. Consider Odell’s decreased averages from 2017 to now. With the Giants, Odell never averaged less than 85 yards per game. Last season with the Browns, he saw a slight decrease; averaging 64.7 yards per game. Through the first 6 games of the 2020 season, OBJ saw another decrease to 53.16 yards per game. Baker Mayfield and OBJ have struggled to find chemistry the last two seasons, and it’s no coincidence that Mayfield went off once OBJ was off the field. They have depth at WR with Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Rashard Higgins. Peoples-Jones can hop up from the Special Teams corps and take a spot in the rotation. This opens up Mayfield the opportunity to explore other receivers he may have better chemistry with, something he demonstrated with Bryant this weekend.

Baker Mayfield with a ROCKET to Harrison Bryant.

That’s the rookie TE’s second TD of the day 👀pic.twitter.com/RZEdQd9dFY

— Sporting News Fantasy (@sn_fantasy) October 25, 2020

Injury Impact for Fantasy Owners

As unreliable as OBJ may be in fantasy, we have all drank the kool-aid. We see his high ranking, his suave smile, and we draft him. Even worse? He continually fails to produce, and we never bench him. 2020 has rained injuries down on us like a natural disaster, so it’s been easier to rationalize starting OBJ in a WR2/flex role. Now what do we do? Jarvis Landry is hungry for some plays, tweeting out immediately after OBJ announced his torn ACL.

😤😤😤

— Jarvis Juice Landry (@God_Son80) October 26, 2020

However, it’s not likely Landry’s available, unless you’re playing with complete amateurs. As I said, OBJ shipping out means that the Browns are dipping into their depth for fresh hands. Rashard Higgins is a great option. If you want to get out of Cleveland (which is completely reasonable considering Mayfield’s reliability), we have some options as well. Sterling Shepard just returned from the Giants IR and ended this week with 59 yards on six passes and a TD. It is worth warning that the Giants have a broad scope of receivers, all of which could be Jones’ go-to given the day. Brandon Aiyuk is another solid choice, putting up 115 yards on six catches against the Patriots. Aiyuk has been slowly building a rapport with the 49ers and is settling in as their top WR option. Deebo Samuel is once again out with a leg injury, so Aiyuk should have plenty of opportunities this week.

Injury Impact on OBJ’s Future?

Some injuries hurt me less than others. Saquon Barkley also tore his ACL, and there seems to be less concern. Hell, Saquon and Daniel Jones were out partying all night Friday; so obviously he isn’t in too much pain? In terms of Odell (who’s a party boy himself handing out money at LSU’s championship game), people have concerns about his long-term productivity. As I said, Odell’s numbers are declining. Is it because he plays for a bad team, or because he is losing skill? It’s not clear, and we wouldn’t know unless he got the hell out of Ohio. An ACL tear is a pretty significant injury, so there’s reason to be concerned for Odell’s productivity moving forward. However, OBJ is only 27; this could be a reset to his decline and he comes back better than ever. Maybe he’ll even dye his hair back to normal while he’s gone too.

Like this article? Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @swalshy63 and check out my other great Belly Up Sports content!