Should I Pickup Jerry Jeudy or Cedric Tillman? Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9

Cleveland Browns wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman's fantasy football outlooks just got way more interesting with the change in quarterback in Cleveland. Known gunslinger Jameis Winston, the NFL equivalent of Wild Bill Hickok, is best recognized by his penchant for both huge plays and turnovers.

Fantasy managers don't mind the turnovers, as the big plays make their best receivers valuable fantasy assets. A big increase in volume for both Jeudy and Tillman seems imminent, both in targets and receiving yards.

So, which one should you pick up on waivers, or should you snag both?

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Jerry Jeudy Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook

To this point, Jeudy is the less attractive of the two options. While he's been targeted 14 times over the past two weeks, he's caught just six of those passes (43%) and turned those into 97 yards. His six-target, one-catch game in Week 7 could be an aberration, but it wasn't pretty.

I like Cedric Tillman as much as the next person (Vols fan here), but let's take a deeper look at the target distribution once Jameis Winston got in (11 pass attempts):

Jerry Jeudy - 4 targets
David Njoku - 3 targets (1 TD)
Cedric Tillman - 2 targets (2-pt)
2 at 1 target

— Brandon Murchison (@RotoSuperstar) October 23, 2024

It's interesting that he seemed to be the preferred target of the new QB in Week 7 but was not the leading targeted WR in Week 8. Still, eight targets is nothing to scoff at, and it's possible he could have some season-long upside.

It's interesting to note that Winston threw the ball 41 times, which isn't likely to happen every game. However, his gunslinger mentality means there will probably be at least two fantasy-relevant receivers, and possibly a tight end as well, moving forward. They'll likely be excellent in PPR scoring formats.

Cedric Tillman Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook

The biggest performance from any Browns pass-catcher in Week 8 came from Tillman, though. He was targeted nine times, racking up seven catches, 99 yards, and two touchdowns. He had impressive highlight plays, including one to all but sealed the massive upset win over the rival Baltimore Ravens.

JAMEIS WINSTON TO CEDRIC TILLMAN FOR A 38-YARD PASSING TOUCHDOWN!

THE BROWNS TAKE A 5 POINT LEAD!#BALvsCLE pic.twitter.com/3iyZlI4oGH

— iitsTemper (@iitsTemper) October 27, 2024

He was utterly dominant, though it was against one of the worst pass defenses in the league that was missing their top-2 cornerbacks to injury. He appears to be the most electric of Cleveland's receivers right now.

Should I Pickup Jerry Jeudy or Cedric Tillman For Fantasy Football?

Jeudy is worth at least picking up and stashing on the bench, and Tillman should be a priority pickup in leagues where he's still available. They should have spots on the bench even in 10-team leagues for now. This is a good offense to buy into when you can, and if you're not able to get either of them, it's worth it to pick up WR Elijah Moore.

Browns pass catchers with Jameis Winston today:

Elijah Moore: 29% targets, 23% air yards, 16.5 points 📈
Cedric Tillman: 22%, 39%, 28.9 📈
Jerry Jeudy: 20%, 24%, 12.9 📈
David Njoku: 17%, 15%, 17.1 📈

Upgrades everywhere. pic.twitter.com/0Itwf8eL52

— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 27, 2024

Famous Jameis does spread the ball around, so in games where he has low passing volume, his receivers could have bad fantasy days. Luckily, low passing volume and Winston don't go together very well.

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