Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
He may have a silent “G” in his name, but his game is anything but.
Browns running back Chris Ogbonnaya has always had talent, and he’s always had potential. However, he’s never had a starting job. That all is appearing to change in Cleveland this season. Trent Richardson is gone (and sucking), Willis McGahee is on the roster (and also sucking) and the Browns are quite fond of Ogbonnaya. During their Week 10 bye, the Browns apparently talked up their pass-catching back, stating that they wanted to give him an uptick in usage.
It paid off.
Ogbonnaya had a memorable Week 11 game against the Bengals on Sunday. He set career highs in snaps (48), touches (14) and yards (99). McGahee and is plodding self posted a whopping one carry in this game, so it looks like the Browns are transitioning to the days of Ogbonnaya. 14-20 touches is very possible from here on out, and starting in Week 12, he needs to be considered a low-end running back two for fantasy owners.
The Steelers run defense is not what it used to be. Get used to it. Get over it. This unit is allowing the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing rushers this season, coming in at 21.88 per game. Over their last four games, Pittsburgh has been more of the soft curtain, surrendering six rushing touchdowns, ant at least 16 fantasy points per game to opposing backfields in seven games this year. You beat them on the ground, not through the air. While Ogbonnaya is more of a receiving back, he could see some volume in the carry department in this one, as opposing teams are averaging 29.5 rushes per game against the Steelers, which is the fourth-most in football. They are also fourth-worst in rushing touchdowns allowed per game, sitting in at 1.3 per game. In all honesty, however, I hope Pittsburgh gets ahead in this game so Ogbonnaya can do what he does best.
Catch the football.
On the season, “Silent G” has a solid 34 grabs, posting five games with at least four catches. He has quietly been targeted a healthy 54 times on the season, and since Jason Campbell has been under center, only Josh Gordon has been targeted more than Ogbonnaya. The Browns should be behind in a handful of games this season (potentially this one), and Cleveland currently leads the league in passing attempts per game (42.5).
Get Ogbonnaya in your lineup. Don’t fall in love with name value and bench him for a more recognizable player.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
