Texans, Browns Wild Card Playoff Fantasy Football Takeaways: C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, Devin Singletary, Joe Flacco, David Njoku and More

The Wild Card Round has delivered some shocking results through two days, so before we wrap up this round of the NFL playoffs, let’s take a look back at what’s transpired.

We’ll start with Saturday games. First, let's discuss the Houston Texans 45-14 rout of the Cleveland Browns.

Texans Trounce Browns

It was a fun and exciting start to the game, with the lead switching hands several times in the early going. Houston took a 10-point lead into halftime and then used a pair of interception returns in the third quarter to run away with the game.

Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud was simply sensational in his first postseason game. He completed 16-of-21 passes for 274 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Stroud looked like a seasoned veteran out there and made another claim for being the game’s brightest young quarterback. The great thing with Stroud is that he doesn’t lock in on one receiver ever, instead spreading the ball around. It’s a great sign for such a young QB to be able to do that, and he’s going to be a big reason why the Texans are contenders in the AFC for the foreseeable future.

As for the fantasy football implications, this kind of performance makes it easy to roll with Stroud again next week in playoff fantasy leagues or DFS, regardless of what team they match up with. Stroud was a top-10 fantasy QB this season, and even with several injured quarterbacks returning to the field next season, Stroud should be among the first few guys drafted. As sad as it was to see several QB legends retire over the past couple years, Stroud has shown that the game is still in good hands moving forward.

Stroud’s favorite passing target was Nico Collins. He caught six of his seven targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. His numbers could have been even better if it had been a bit closer game.

Collins will remain Stroud’s top target for as long as the Texans are in the playoffs. He’ll be among the best starting options at wide receiver for the Divisional Round.

Tight ends Brevin Jordan and Dalton Schultz finished with just one catch each, but they went for touchdowns to provide solid fantasy point totals. Jordan caught a 76-yard touchdown, while Schultz hauled in a 37-yard score.

NFL teams need multiple reliable receivers to move the ball on offense, and Jordan and Schultz proved to be big parts of Houston’s offensive success on Saturday. They’ll be clearly behind Collins in the pecking order, but with not a bunch of other super consistent options, they’ll make decent fantasy options next week.

John Metchie finished with a surprising 44 yards on three catches and targets. He hadn’t gone over 25 yards or two catches in a game this season.

Metchie actually played the most snaps (35) of any Houston receiver this week. Collins was at 32 snaps, while Xavier Hutchinson tallied 20 and Robert Woods had 15. Noah Brown only got five offensive snaps.

Brown and Woods were a bit banged up coming into the game, so maybe the lopsided score helped the coaching staff keep those two off the field, which maybe sets them up for more snaps and bigger roles next round. I’ll be skeptical of starting Metchie next week, but after this week’s showing, he looks like the best WR option outside Collins.

Devin Singletary got nearly all the RB touches this week. He rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and added 4 receiving yards on three grabs and targets. Dameon Pierce had no yards on three carries and played 27 less snaps than Singletary and two less than Dare Ogunbowale. A closer game probably would have resulted in different snap count totals, but it's clear that Singletary is the workhorse.

The workload alone is enough to put Singletary in your lineup for the upcoming week. The matchup will definitely matter though. One thing you can know for certain is that Pierce can be avoided.

Cleveland Struggles Offensively

On the Cleveland side, the Joe Flacco magic ran out. He completed 34-of-46 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown, but his two interceptions were daggers. 

Interceptions were a problem for Flacco in his six total games with the team. He still showed that he can be an above-average quarterback, but the interceptions kept several games closer than they should have been. He did enough to maybe earn a roster spot with a team next season - and it would undoubtedly be a contending team missing a QB - but it’s hard to imagine he’d find the same amount of success as he did this season. I could also see him following a similar route as this season - waiting for a team to lose its quarterback and then filling in for the remainder of the season. 

If Flacco does get a contract with a new team and earns the starting job, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him drafted. It’s fair after what he did this season, but for fantasy football purposes, you’d probably be better off identifying another QB for your team. I love Flacco, but to expect similar results to this season as he approaches 40 years old would be a big gamble.

The Cleveland running game was held in check all game. Kareem Hunt finished with 35 total yards on 13 touches, but scored two touchdowns to put up a good fantasy score. Jerome Ford tallied 32 total yards on 13 touches.

It’s a shame that Nick Chubb was lost for the season, because with him on this team, I think the Browns would have enjoyed even more success, and probably still be playing. Hopefully, Chubb can return next season and be close to the player he was before the injury. There’s definitely going to be injury concerns that drop his fantasy value significantly, and whoever backs Chubb up is going to be a popular late round pick.

Cleveland’s tight ends David Njoku and Harrison Bryant were the team’s top pass catchers. Njoku hauled in seven of his 11 targets for 93 yards, while Bryant went for 65 yards on four grabs and six targets.

Njoku’s final line was no surprise given his strong finish to the season, but Bryant’s big day was definitely out of nowhere. If someone had Bryant in their lineup in a deeper fantasy format, there’s a decent chance you will win/advance. Njoku will be one of the first few tight ends selected in fantasy drafts going into next season, and then fantasy owners will just hope he gels with Deshaun Watson - or whoever ends up starting at QB for Cleveland.

Amari Cooper was hampered by his heel injury and finished with 59 yards on four catches and five targets. It was a solid day from a fantasy perspective, but the lack of a touchdown made it a pretty underwhelming outing. He should be a pretty great value pick in fantasy drafts next season, as he’s a pretty consistent performer who rarely gets a ton of draft hype.

David Bell went for 54 yards on eight catches and targets, while Elijah Moore - who was also coming back from an injury - only had 12 yards on two grabs and targets. It was a second straight solid outing for Bell, who may have made a claim to serve as a No. 2 option to Cooper next season. Cleveland definitely needs to find a more consistent No. 2 - or No. 3 if you want to call Njoku the No. 2 guy.