Fantasy football projections, Week 9: Cowboys-Browns featuring Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, Terrelle Pryor, more

The Week 9 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns features two teams going in opposite directions. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

It took a while, but a team finally found a way to hold running back Ezekiel Elliott under 100 yards rushing. Elliott rushed 22 times for 96 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. He also caught four passes for 52 yards. Whether he rushes the ball or catches a pass, it’s clear the young rookie cannot be stopped. He should run all over the Browns in Week 9.

Cleveland is a winless team with one of the worst defensive units in the league. Elliott will earn his usual 20-plus rush attempts and should climb back over 100 rushing yards in Cleveland this week. Even with his success this season, Elliott has to be happy to have wide receiver Dez Bryant back in the lineup. Bryant caught four passes on 14 targets for 113 yards and a touchdown against Philadelphia after missing the team’s previous three games with a knee injury.

It doesn’t appear that Dallas’ focus on the running game is going to change the amount of targets Bryant gets moving forward. He will be shadowed by the Browns’ Joe Haden in Week 9, but Bryant will come out on top. If he reaches double digits in targets once again in Week 9, Bryant should have no problem surpassing his projections.

Running back Isaiah Crowell was held to just 29 yards rushing in Week 8. Fortunately for fantasy owners, he managed to find the end zone on one of his carries and added 34 yards in the passing game. That production saved his day. The alarming thing is the New York Jets rank near the bottom of the league at defending the run. By contrast, the Cowboys rank near the top in that department.

After looking like a true No. 1 rusher during the first month of the season, Crowell’s production has declined to the point where he is now a touchdown-dependant player. He will be hard-pressed to find the end zone or eclipse 50 rushing yards against Dallas in Week 9. The better bet for fantasy production in Cleveland’s offense is wide receiver Terrelle Pryor.

The former starting quarterback has truly established himself as a pass catcher loaded with potential for the rest of the season and the immediate future. He caught 6 of 13 targets for 101 receiving yards and a two-point convert against the Jets in Week 8. It was the second 100-yard receiving game of his career. Pryor will be in tough against Dallas, but he’s as capable as anyone right now.