After a cold start to the season, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Brian Hartline had been very productive in recent weeks. That came screeching to a halt Sunday, as the seventh-year receiver suffered a broken collarbone in the Browns' 24-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers, ending his season.
Brian Hartline breaks collarbone, ending season for Browns, fantasy owners
The Cleveland wide receiver had been on a hot streak before Sunday’s injury. We break down the fantasy implications.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Hartline had eight catches for 107 yards before suffering the injury Sunday. That gave him five straight games of at least seven fantasy points to end his season, averaging 9.4 fantasy points a game in that time. Hartline was challenging Travis Benjamin for the role of the team's No. 1 receiver, and now that he's injured, the Browns have to hope some of their other injured receivers can get healthy, or that Terrelle Pryor or Dwayne Bowe can be more productive than they have been.
Fantasy impact: Hartline had become the third fantasy-relevant Cleveland pass-catcher, along with Benjamin and tight end Gary Barnidge, before his injury. None of his potential replacements -- Pryor, Bowe or if-they-can-get-healthy Andrew Hawkins or Taylor Gabriel, offers similar upside.
Barnidge is fully entrenched as a No. 1 tight end the rest of the way, and Benjamin is a boom-or-bust WR3. Behind them, even with Hartline out, it is best to avoid the rest of the Cleveland pass-catchers. There’s nothing worth a fantasy add there.
