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Come Fan with UsSaturday, June 20, 2026

Fantasy football start/sit, Week 9: Duke Johnson leading the charge for backs

Duke Johnson has a good grip on the main running back role. Should fantasy owners still use him?

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The road Thursday game is dangerous territory in fantasy. No matter if a guy is red hot, has a good matchup or is set for a bigger role, he usually winds up coming up short of fantasy owners’ expectations.

Most of those instances are in line with Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson. He's seen his snaps go up and he's sitting at RB21 for fantasy value in PPR leagues. That's pretty good for a guy who was RB3 on the depth chart back in August. This week, he goes up against a tough Cincinnati Bengals defense.

While the Bengals have actually been a slightly favorable matchup, they have a couple outliers with the Seattle Seahawks going off against them and they have also been prone to giving up a lot of catches to backs. They have actually only allowed two rushing touchdowns to backs.

Fantasy impact: The short week is too scary. Unless you're in a tight spot, Duke is probably a guy you want to bench with Johnny Manziel at quarterback. He should be owned in all leagues, though.

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