The Cleveland Browns are prepared to start Johnny Manziel coming out of the bye in Week 12 over Josh McCown and he likely will be the starter for the rest of the season. Manziel has the chance to prove that he can be the future starter for the Browns and heading into the weekend, Duke Johnson, Isaiah Crowell and Travis Benjamin are the best fantasy starters for team owners.
Manziel had the best game of his short career before the bye against the Steelers and now he will get the chance to show the Browns whether he can be a franchise quarterback. The Browns are 2-8 this season and heading towards the bottom of the draft and if Manziel plays well, the team likely will avoid taking another first round quarterback next year. Manziel has appeared in 11 games in his career, but this will be the first extended chance he has to start for Cleveland.
Head coach Mike Pettine announced the moved last week and that came after some waffling from the coach following the loss against the Steelers. Pettine at first did not say whether Manziel would start coming out of the bye, but he added that Manziel had the best performance of his career. Pettine now is giving Manziel the chance to keep the starting job and show whether he can be the future starter heading into 2016. Manziel has played in six games this season and has thrown for 933 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Manziel dealt with an off the field issue last month regarding a domestic incident with his girlfriend, but the Akron Beacon-Journal reports that the QB will not face any discipline from the league. The NFL investigated the incident and cleared Manziel, saying there was an "insufficient basis" for discipline. Manziel said in a statement last week that the incident was "personal and embarrassing" and that he appreciated the "NFL's diligence and discretion in reviewing (the) situation."
Heading into Week 12, Travis Benjamin is the best fantasy starter pick for the Browns with Manziel starting. The two players have shown they have strong chemistry this season and Benjamin could put up some nice numbers against a struggling Ravens team. Benjamin had two TD catches in Manziel's first start of the season and he has put up solid numbers this year with 48 catches for 736 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
Benjamin hasn't made it into the endzone since back in Week 3 and he could be due for a score this week. Both Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell were bottled up last game against the Steelers, but the team has a much better matchup in Week 12 against the Ravens. The Browns should run the ball a bit more with Manziel starting again and both of those players could be in line for touches against Baltimore. Crowell has been the lead back this season, but Johnson has done a good job on third down plays and is a threat out of the backfield as a receiver.
