The Cleveland Browns bounced back after a tough loss to the Jaguars and while Brian Hoyer will remain the starter in Week 9 over Johnny Manziel for Mike Pettine, the head coach left the door open for Manziel to play even if he doesn't start and this comes as fantasy football owners should look towards Josh Gordon as a big sleeper once he returns in Week 12, as he could end up as a WR1 option after his suspension.
The Browns were riding high after their win against the Steelers before this week against the Jaguars and they couldn't put things together to keep a winning streak going. The team had won two in a row before getting beaten badly by the Jaguars and the game was on the road and ended up 24-6 in favor of the Jags for their first win of the season. The team is now 3-3 and while Hoyer has played well for most of the season, he was not very good against the Jaguars.
According to Pro Football Talk, Pettine thought about benching Hoyer at one point for Manziel and while he isn't doing that for the start this week, Manziel could have a more active role if Hoyer struggles again. The team is matching up with a Raiders team that hasn't won yet this season and if the Browns lose, that would be two winless teams in a row getting their first wins against the Browns. Manziel has played sparingly and not really in a legit QB situation and now Hoyer could be in danger of at least losing some playing time if he doesn't bounce back this week. Pettine said that Hoyer is "firmly" the starting quarterback, but he said that he would consider using Manziel more during the game this week after thinking about putting him in against the Jaguars, which would have pitted two rookies in Blake Bortles and Johnny Football against each other.
Hoyer did not look good against a bad Jaguars team, going 16-of-41 on the day with his passes and putting up a rating of below 50.0, which was the lowest of his career. Hoyer had two turnovers and passed for 215 yards, which was his lowest output of the season apart from a 204 yard performance against the Saints. Hoyer has not been over 300 yards in a game yet this season and with the Raiders coming up, he has to show some improvements. Hoyer has been solid overall though, throwing for seven TDs and just two picks, but he is completing less than 60 percent of his passes.
Josh Gordon is set to come back in Week 12 and fantasy owners should take notice, as he could be a fantasy WR sleeper right out of the gate after the way he played last season. Gordon led the league with well over 1600 receiving yards in 14 games and he set career highs across the board and he is finally set to return in a few weeks for the Browns. Hoyer and/or Manziel would be thrilled to have him to throw to and fantasy owners should do all they can to get him. Some owners have dropped Gordon in some leagues and owners would be wise to pick him up as fast as possible.
