Fantasy Football 2017 Team Preview: Cleveland Browns
This is the 2017 fantasy preview of the Cleveland Browns. In this preview I will provide the Must-Own players, Sleepers, and Longshot players with upside very deep in drafts.
Must-own players are those who should be owned by someone in any league. Handcuff RBs can qualify, as they are often very important to a fantasy team over the full schedule. Sleepers are secondary players that you may find on the waiver wire at some point in the year, or may go undrafted in shallower auction-style leagues. The Longshots are players with microscopic ADP, who are being drafted at the very end of drafts, or more likely not drafted at all.
All ADP data is courtesy of FantasyPros.com.
**I will list all kickers, but I cannot give analysis on them. Sorry :-/
MUST OWNS
Isaiah Crowell, RB (ADP: 30): Crowell is a darling this preseason, and there is a lot to like about him, but I have concerns. He is the 14th running back off the board, but that’s higher than I’d take him. In 2016 Crowell averaged 4.8 yards per carry (good!), scored seven touchdowns (also good!), and caught 40 passes (surprising AND good!). He also only saw 12.5 carries per game, failed to reach 1,000 yards, and plays for an offense that will be one of the worst in the NFL. Crowell is headed toward a competent season that, when its over, you’ll look back on and say it should’ve been better if not for Cleveland’s terrible supporting cast.
Kenny Britt, WR (ADP: 122): Remember last year when Terrelle Pryor topped 1,000 yards and 75 receptions last year? Well he is gone now and Kenny Britt is taking his spot. This is the NFL and even a terrible offense like the Browns will produce a fantasy-relevant wide receiver. Provided he’s healthy, Britt, who surpassed 1,000 yards last year with the Rams will do similar work.
Duke Johnson, RB (ADP: 133): Johnson may be a de facto receiver this season, as RosterResource.com has him listed as their slot man. I expect Johnson to line up as a back more than out wide, but in any case he may be ready to be their most potent weapon. He’s caught 50+ passes in back-to-back seasons, and he proved explosive last year with a 4.9 yards per carry mark. When Cleveland falls behind, which will be often, Johnson is the superior pass-catching back. This ADP might look low a few weeks into the season, but for now it’s hard to take him higher because the Browns are so awful.
SLEEPERS
Corey Coleman, WR (ADP: 110): Coleman is still a superstar-in-waiting in many fantasy owners’ eyes, but to me, he’s a speedster who doesn’t seem like he can hold up for 16 games with a WR1 workload. If a WR is questionable, I tend to look to the QB next. I don’t know who the Browns’ QB will be, but right now it looks like Brock Osweiler, who managed to turn DeAndre Hopkins into a turd. Coleman was sick in college, but I’d stay away.
LONGSHOTS
David Njoku, TE (ADP: 216): Njoku doesn’t have eye-popping (for a college star) stats, but he is a big body (6’4, 245 lbs.) who scored eight touchdowns last season and who doesn’t have elite competition in his own offense. Njoku is the 25th TE in drafts so he’s really not someone to draft outside of dynasty leagues, but if he gets off to a hot start snap him up quickly.
Deshone Kizer, QB (ADP: N/A): Kizer is currently third on the depth chart, but don’t let that fool you Osweiler and Cody Kessler are dyed in the wool NFL backups. We don’t know if Kizer is in that mold, but he certainly holds more promise. Kizer had his peaks and valleys at Notre Dame, and he failed to pass for 3,000 yards in both his seasons with the Irish, but he also rushed for 18 touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards in those two years. The Browns are going to be horrendous, so they might as well see what Kizer can do. If he isn’t starting Week 1, it won’t be long.
KICKER
Zane Gonzalez.