Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Hollywood Brown is currently the WR12 in PPR scoring this season. That has made him one of the steals of the season in drafts for fantasy football managers. However, due to an illness, his status coming into today is currently questionable. This will worry fantasy managers who might be dealing with other injuries and bye weeks this week.
Will Brown make it onto the field of play today for the Cardinals? And, if he does, what is his likely fantasy impact as he and the Cardinals take on the Los Angeles Rams?
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Is Hollywood Brown Going To Play Week 6?
Brown fantasy managers were dismayed to see Brown miss practice on Wednesday with an illness. However, he practiced on Thursday and Friday, albeit in a limited capacity. Given it is an illness and not a physical injury, there is optimism that Brown should be well enough to play if he is practicing.
And there was further optimism given to fantasy managers this morning when Adam Schefter of ESPN posted an update. On X this morning, Schefter posted, “Cardinals’ WR Marquise Brown, listed as questionable for Sunday due to an illness, is expected to play vs. the Rams, per source.”
Therefore, it seems Brown will suit up against the Rams today. With that being said, what does that mean for his fantasy outlook?
What Is Brown’s Potential Fantasy Outlook Today?
Brown comes into Week 6 as the WR12 in PPR scoring. In our PFN Consensus Rankings, Brown is currently ranked as the WR24.
The main reason for Brown’s lower fantasy ranking this week will be because of the opponent he faces today. The Rams are currently only allowing 22.1 half-PPR points per game to fantasy WRs this season. This is the fifth-fewest allowed to fantasy WRs in the NFL.
Brown is also likely to line up against Derion Kendrick today for the majority of his coverage. Kendrick is currently tied for ninth amongst all cornerbacks in the NFL for the least fantasy points allowed per route run against him. According to FantasyPoints Data Suite, Kendrick is only allowing 0.14 fantasy points per route run against him.
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Therefore, while Brown is the elite wide receiver option for the Cardinals today and is likely to be targeted when the Cardinals need points, he faces a tough matchup.
With James Conner placed on IR this week and the running backs remaining on the roster having little playing time this season, quarterback Josh Dobbs is likely to feel more confident with the ball in his hands rather than handing it off.
Brown is likely to see a reasonable amount of targets. Expect him to be a volume-dependent, low-end WR2 option this week.
However, given his stellar start to the season, fantasy managers should absolutely start Brown this week. There is no way you can bench the current WR12, a WR1 option in the current climate. While his matchup is challenging, fantasy managers should have faith that talent should prevail.