It’s been just four weeks, but the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns are already on their second quarterbacks this season.
For the Vikings, they’ve been awaiting the return of the injured JJ McCarthy, and in the Browns’ case, it was only a matter of time before they turned things over to their rookie signal-caller.
We’ll dive into what the quarterback change means for Cleveland’s receiving corps, as well as who may benefit from the Browns’ lackluster run defense.
Here are my Vikings vs. Browns anytime touchdown picks for Sunday, October 5.
Vikings anytime touchdown pick
Zavier Scott (+700 at FanDuel)
The Minnesota Vikings’ backfield was dealt a significant blow when Aaron Jones went down with an injury a couple of weeks ago, but they may have found a solution in Zavier Scott.
The rookie ran eight times for a so-so 30 yards in Week 3, but saw his snap share increase to 38% in Week 4 as he totaled 43 yards on six catches – a week after recording a 20-yard reception.
It’s pretty clear that Scott can make things happen with the ball in his hands, regardless of whether or not it comes on the ground, and I think he will see even more burn here, considering Cleveland’s allowed a near-48% rush play rate this season, which is the seventh-highest in football.
The chances of a checkdown to Scott are normally slim, considering the Vikings have checked the ball down just five times all year, but Cleveland does allow checkdowns at the 12th-highest clip as well.
When you put all of that together and consider how explosive Scott has looked in his growing role, there’s a great chance he finds the end zone for a second straight week.
Browns anytime touchdown pick
David Njoku (+500 at FanDuel)
The Cleveland Browns are turning things over to Dillon Gabriel under center, which is sure to create a different look and feel to this offense.
They’ve thrown the ball at the highest rate in the game – calling up a pass on 65% of plays – and while Joe Flacco had been relatively ineffective, he still looked to take the top off the defense with the eighth-most deep balls in the league.
Well, Gabriel doesn’t have that kind of arm. He’s a calm and smart passer who will pick apart the middle of the field and get the ball into the hands of his playmakers on short passes, and with that, I think we’re going to see David Njoku emerge as a big weapon moving forward.
The Browns have gotten an abysmal start from Jerry Jeudy and nothing out of his weak supporting cast, which means it’s only a matter of time before Njoku gets a chance to be the top receiving option in this offense.
He fits the mold of a player whom Gabriel will target heavily, and while he’s failed to find the end zone this year, he’s recorded no drops, which is a huge deal for him. Some may see a weak catch rate, but I think he was victimized by his former quarterback.
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