Last year the Browns were a popular preseason underdog pick because of their offseason acquisitions and rising stars. Despite the hype surrounding Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, a lot of experts expected the Browns to compete for the AFC North title. Unfortunately, they didn't perform anywhere near those expectations, which led to some coaching changes this offseason. Baker Mayfield had a sophomore season to forget even with the addition of Odell Beckham Jr, one of the best receivers in the league. Cleveland finished the year at 6-10, which was worse than the previous season. This year with the new head coach, Kevin Stefanski, being an offensive-minded guy, Cleveland is hoping he's the key to jump start this loaded offense. They agreed to a deal with the best available tight end, Austin Hooper, during free agency, which was the biggest offseason move from a fantasy perspective for Cleveland. The Browns were the laughing stock of the NFL just a few short years ago. They had combined to go 1-31 in the two seasons before drafting Baker Mayfield first overall and hoped he was FINALLY the franchise quarterback they had been looking for. During his rookie season, he started the year as the backup but quickly took over and managed to go 6-7 as the starter. Every expert thought this last season Mayfield was the quarterback who was about to take the next big leap and could be a league winner. Unfortunately, that leap didn't happen and he finished the season as QB20 in fantasy, which was right behind Gardner Minshew. There were a lot of distractions last season with the reports of players yelling "Come get me" to opposing sidelines in an attempt to get traded, Myles Garrett swinging for the fences, OBJ's injury that lingered, Kareem Hunt who they signed in the offseason missed the first half of the season due to suspension, and on top of all that, Baker was so popular after his impressive rookie year that it felt like he was in every other commercial. After finishing as QB20 last year, Mayfield is projected outside of the QB1 conversation this season and should only be drafted as a backup QB with tremendous upside to begin the year. Cleveland's backfield might be the most underrated in the league and new head coach, Kevin Stefanski, ran the ball in Minnesota more than all but three teams last season. Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry were battling for the rushing title, which eventually Henry claimed in the final week. Chubb is also one of only three players to average 5 yards per carry in each of the last two seasons. In a non-ppr league, Chubb will probably be a top 5 pick based on his rushing alone, but in standard leagues, his lack of receptions decreases his value. With a new coach who likes running the ball, I would expect to see Chubb get a few more carries this year, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see his YPC take a slight hit. Chubb should finish the season in the RB5-RB10 range because of his lack of receptions it will limit his ceiling. The other running back in this committee is Kareem Hunt. After his legal troubles, he signed with Cleveland and was a huge addition to the passing game in the second half of the season. With Chubb doing so well, they didn't need Hunt to come in and do too much, but he saw around 10 touches per game and managed to make the most out of them. Hunt finished with double-digit fantasy points in his first six weeks back from suspension. Hunt's average draft position in fantasy drafts will probably be all over the place, depending on how your league members view him, but he has real value he can offer. Currently, Hunt is projected as an RB3 or flex and expected to go around the 7th round or later. Taking a backup running back that early in the draft is a little risky, but if Chubb were to get hurt, Hunt would immediately jump into the RB1 conversation. I will personally stay away from Chubb in PPR drafts because of his limited ceiling, but Hunt will make a great stash for your bench after you have your starters. In their first year together with the Browns, the LSU receiving tandem of OBJ and Jarvis Landry both finished as top 25 fantasy WR's. Odell Beckham Jr averaged over 108 receiving yards PER GAME in his rookie season, last season he only topped 100 yards in a game twice. He only managed to score 20 fantasy points or more in two games last year, while finishing in the single digits on twice as many occasions. With that being said, it was his first season with a new quarterback/team plus he was dealing with an injury all year and he still finished as WR25. Some people might sleep on him this year, but if he stays healthy and the connection between Baker and him improves, he could finish the season as the top fantasy wide receiver. Currently, Beckham is projected to be a fringe WR1 and expected to be drafted in the third round. Jarvis Landry finished as WR12 last year despite the Browns' offensive struggles. Landry finished in the top 10 in targets and receiving yards last year, but only managed to catch about 60% of his targets. There were only three players last year who were targeted more than 130 times but caught 60% or less and two of those guys were Beckham and Landry. These are two guys who were both known for their amazing catches and sure hands before coming to Cleveland. That shows how much these guys need Baker to step up and give them better balls if they want to win games and for fantasy owners to be able to consistently count on these guys. Even though he finished as the better receiver last year, the projections for this year's fantasy drafts have Landry as a WR2 or WR3 and being drafted around the fifth round. Both of these guys' fantasy value took a hit last year because of the Browns' struggles, but, in reality, they were both decent options all year long and they still finished in the top 25 during arguably their worst season. I wouldn't advise taking both of these guys, but I love Landry at his current draft position and OBJ in the third round could end up being the steal of the draft. One signing that surprised me this offseason was the Browns addition of Austin Hooper at tight end. David Njoku was a first-round pick by Cleveland just a few years ago in 2017. Njoku's first couple seasons in the league went pretty well but last year was when everyone expected a big leap, but injuries stopped him from getting a chance. He only started one game last season and played in only four. Austin Hooper, on the other hand, was a third-round pick in 2016 by the Falcons and only took a year or two to earn that starting job. Hooper finished the past two seasons as the sixth-best fantasy tight end and has increased his receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns each season. Hooper's fantasy value this year, much like Landry and OBJ, is tied to Baker and his ability to improve his accuracy. Hooper is currently projected around TE10 and expected to be taken around rounds nine or ten. With the significant dropoff at the tight end position, if I'm unable to get one of the top two TE's, Hooper would be a perfect late-round target considering he's already proven he can be an elite tight end.
Alex Zani
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