2026 Team Previews: Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns 2026 Preview

All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Drafted Everywhere

Quinshon Judkins, RB (ADP: 44, RB20): Judkins looks like he’s on track to be ready for the start of the season, and if he’s good to go, I’ll be excited about putting him in lineups. The Browns’ offense doesn’t project to be a fantasy goldmine, but volume is king, and Judkins will see tons as the lead back in an attack that lacks a quality signal caller. Once Judkins was eligible to play as a rookie, he immediately took control of the bell cow duties and produced. He put up 827 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games, and that was in a year with one WR inside PFF’s Top 100, and where the leading pass catcher was a rookie TE taken in the third round.

Judkins isn’t perfect by any means. Per Reception Perception his explosive play rate was atrocious (9.1%) and both his inside and outside run success rates were below average. He also dealt with a bottom 10 run blocking offensive line and league-worst QB play. He also wasn’t particularly involved as a pass-catcher. But he was in the Top 10 of attempts per game, Cleveland made moves to improve the passing game weaponry which should relieve some of the stacked boxes he faces, and he’ll have all the touchdown opportunity the Browns have to offer.

Harold Fannin Jr., TE (ADP: 67, TE7): Fannin was a revelation last season, and one of the better recent examples of every single NFL team’s ability to produce fantasy relevance. This was a dumpster fire offense, but it’s still a pro offense and one that will throw passes. Fannin was hyper-productive in college, and when he emerged as the only competent pass catcher on the team, he was hyper targeted and produced. I wonder if anyone predicted that possibility?

The price is noticeably greater this year now that he’s led a team in targets and receptions, as he’s being treated like a high-end weekly starter. If you’re the type of manager who wants to lock in a real TE in the draft and not worry about streaming or hunting matchups, Fannin is a great pick. He’s going to see a lot of targets, even if the new additions to the WR room could eat into that a little bit. Fannin isn’t particularly explosive like a Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland, so a decrease in target share would hurt his stock, but he’ll be a featured part of the offense and it would be hard for Cleveland’s QB play to get any worse than it was in 2025. I don’t think this is a value for Fannin, but I do think it’s a fair price to pay.

Interesting Players

**KC Concepcion, WR (ADP: 136, WR53): Concepcion made a clear leap last season as a junior when he transferred to Texas A&M and put up 919 yards and 10 touchdowns. No team in football was in more desperate need of WR upgrades, and while it’s difficult to assign greatness and fantasy production to rookies, Concepcion is, at minimum, incredibly exciting. His highlights show him to be a big play merchant, and he’s certainly a home run threat from anywhere on the field, but this is a player who put up crazy success rates. He was beating man at a 92nd-percentile clip (78.3%) and zone at an 83.2% rate (81st percentile). He was pressed on 24.3% of his routes, and smoked it 77.6% of the time (87th percentile). He has elite speed for sure, and he put up a 67.9% win rate on go routes, but he only ran nines 11.7% of the time. Concepcion was deployed largely on digs, slants and curls, all of which he produced 80% or better success rates.

Again, while I hesitate to go overboard with rookie WRs, we have to acknowledge how individual scenarios can be outliers. The Browns were led by a TE in targets, and their “best” receiver per PFF was Jerry Jeudy, who was their No. 98 rated man. Concepcion is a mortal lock to be on the field all game long, projects to be a full field threat, and whose strength is route running. That’s as clear a runway as anyone can have to a huge, immediate target share. Sure, the QB play is concerning, but again I’m not arguing he’s going to rocket straight to his ceiling. I’m saying he’s an elite prospect who isn’t quite viewed that way and he’s going to a team that offers potentially a team-high target share from Day 1. Barring injury, I’d be shocked if Concepcion doesn’t beat this ADP by a healthy margin.

Denzel Boston, WR (ADP: 166, WR59): Boston is the second of Cleveland’s major additions to the WR room, also through the draft, and because of his size he’ll probably be more appealing to a lot of folks than Concepcion. He’s a monster physically, and his play warrants hype. He was an outside exclusive player, posting a 72nd-percentile win rate against man coverage (72.5%) and 80th-percentile mark (72.7%) against press. He’s less versatile than Concepcion, but much like Concepcion has a very clear path to snaps at the X after multiple players flamed out last season.

His production was rock solid over the last two seasons at Washington, with yardage in the 800s and 20 touchdowns in between the two campaigns. If he’s the Browns starting X receiver on Day 1, there will be some ups and downs due to the QB play but he’ll find his way into fantasy relevance. I’m less bullish on him because I do think he’s more limited than Concepcion, but I anticipate both players taking the opportunity in front of them and establishing themselves as this team’s top options going forward.

Dylan Sampson, RB (ADP: 199, RB58): Sampson flashed at times last season, and with a dedicated role he could be a very potent fantasy option. Sampson is an incredibly fast and explosive playmaker who should have a role on passing downs after catching 33 passes as a rookie. Bu Judkins is the clear-cut lead back, and secondary RB options on what is likely to be one of the lowest-scoring outfits in the NFL isn’t a good bet.

Deep Cuts

Jerry Jeudy, WR (ADP: 209, WR68): Jeudy’s 2024 season belongs in a museum for how much of an outlier it is in his underwhelming career, and for how inconsistent the performances were to arrive at that insane production. Aside from that 90-catch, 1,229-yard season Jeudy has only gotten to 60+ receptions one other time and never had another 1,000-yard season. He had a chance to prove he can be a team’s alpha in 2025 and utterly failed, delivering just 50 receptions, 602 yards and two touchdowns in a full season of work. He’ll probably be on the field a bunch in the early going as the rookies acclimate to the NFL, but he is unlikely to be relevant, and I foresee his playing time diminishing as the weeks wear on. Look elsewhere.

Shedeur Sanders, QB (ADP: 248, QB29): Bless Sanders’ heart he does not lack for confidence, but for all his bluster the truth is that he threw seven touchdowns against 10 interceptions as a rookie, averaged 175 yards per game, and became a short throw/dump off machine who wasn’t even accurate on those throws. He may not even win this job out of training camp, but if he does, his lack of rushing production lowers his ceiling even more. Sanders is, simply put, a bottom of the barrel starter if he has the job, and really is a QB3 in even two-QB/dynasty formats.

Deshaun Watson, QB (ADP: 266, QB40): It is beyond crazy that Watson is seriously being considered for a starting QB job in 2026, but here we are. I’m not here to comment on his off-field misdeeds, I’m just talking fantasy here. I genuinely think Watson is probably the right choice if Cleveland’s goal is to put the best possible team on the field. You’ll point to his 2024 season in which he was 1-6, threw for just 164 yards per game, and tossed five TDs vs. three interceptions. Those numbers are awful, and I’m sure if he plays in 2026 the numbers will still be awful. But at least we’ve seen Watson be a credible NFL QB before, even if it was six calendar years ago. Cleveland’s QB situation is dark, and neither of them is on the fantasy radar.

Cedric Tillman, WR (ADP: N/A): Tillman’s entering Year 4 and he has yet to even have a 400-yard season, so it’s probably time I stop thinking about his upside. We’ve seen rotational X receivers before, and he’s well on his way down that path. If he got to play on the outside all year, I’d hold out some hope for relevance, but it would be faint and it seems like Boston is just going to take that spot immediately.

Isaiah Bond, WR (ADP: N/A): Bond had a few chances at stealing a leading role in this passing game like Tillman and Jeudy did and also couldn’t hack it. Like Tillman, he’ll now need injuries to the new guys and improved QB play to start on a track to relevance. Too many obstacles, not an interesting enough talent. For those reasons, I’m out.