The Cleveland Browns had many disappointing options in fantasy football last year. However, don’t be discouraged, the team has many extremely interesting players for fantasy football this season.
If you’re like me, you try to take at least one Cleveland Browns player on your fantasy team every year. This usually helps keep me more invested in my league and makes the Browns games a little more interesting. Last year, I had Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. on my fantasy team. It didn’t play out as well as I had hoped. However, this year, the Browns should have multiple fantasy options that will help you win your league.
With a new play-caller, plus another year of chemistry built up by the team’s core players, they should be primed for a great year statistically. The Browns are bona fide contenders this year to make a run in the playoffs and they will be hungrier than ever to see themselves get there. There are no glaring holes across this roster besides linebacker and the core hasn’t changed much if at all.
The last time the Browns had a top-10 pick rookie starting at left tackle, they went 10-6, and that is a very realistic record for them this year. The Browns will be playing the fourth easiest schedule in the NFL this season. However, their divisional opponents like the Steelers and Ravens have the second easiest and the easiest schedules in the NFL respectively. Considering that, the Browns are more likely to get a wildcard spot than clinching the division early.
A wildcard spot would be great for fantasy football, as it means you won’t see the team sitting starters or not going full-out at the end of the regular season, which is championship time in fantasy football.
This Browns offense has the perfect situation brewing to see the team have an explosion of fantasy points. There’s about six or seven players just on the Browns offense that I would be comfortable with having on my fantasy team if I was in a typical 10-team league. Let’s take a look at who the top five of those players could be in 2020.
No. 5: Tight End Austin Hooper
It may be a risk to take a first-year Browns player, but Austin Hooper is too efficient to not be on your radar. He has caught 146 of his 185 targets over the past two seasons, which is an incredibly efficient 78.9 percent of his targets. Considering the Browns offense, like the Falcons offense he is coming from, is crowded in terms of talent, efficiency is key.
Baker Mayfield also relies on his tight ends more than Matt Ryan does, which is a huge plus for Hooper. Hooper saw career highs in yards and touchdowns last season, and he should be a premier target for the Cleveland Browns in the red zone.
Last season, not many players had efficient stats in regards to catching their targets. The highest catch percentage for the Browns of any receiver with more than 10 targets that wasn’t a running back was Ricky Seals-Jones, who had a catch percentage of 63.6 percent.
The Browns tight end room last year was a big part of the reason Mayfield struggled, as he didn’t have his safety blanket to rely on when he needed some yards. Hooper is most likely going to see the third-highest amount of targets this season out of any Browns receiving weapon, so he’s definitely someone who could fill your TE1 role.
He may compete with David Njoku for reps and targets, but you’ll find Hooper will be used more frequently as a target in play-action situations because he can sell the run better than Njoku.
Hooper shouldn’t be your first tight end off the board obviously, as he won’t be like George Kittle where he is arguably the best receiving option on his team. However, Hooper’s efficiency along with his volume of targets should place him as an intriguing play as a starting tight end in any league. Whether you’re in an eight-man league or an 18-man league, Austin Hooper should be a starting tight end.
No. 4: Quarterback Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield certainly saw his sophomore slump last season. If you’re like me, you signed him as the backup quarterback in your league and didn’t get what you expected. Even though last season was disappointing, expect him to be a borderline starter in some of the deeper leagues. Having a good play-caller, along with another year to create chemistry with his two top targets, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, he should be spot on this season.
When you go back and watch the tape, along with reading some of the reports from what happened in the Browns organization last year, you realize that his slump was not on him as much as it seems. His only mistake was trying to make too many plays when they were beaten before the ball was even snapped. That won’t happen nearly as much this season, so he should be well off.
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If you’re not convinced of Kevin Stefanski’s ability to boost Mayfield’s stats, look at what he did with Kirk Cousins. Within two years, Cousins was able to cut the number of interceptions he threw in a season in half. His accuracy also jumped almost six percent, along with having his career-high in the percentage of throws that were caught for touchdowns, which was 5.9 percent.
Basically, Stefanski put Cousins in a position to win and he maximized his abilities while doing so. If Stefanski was able to do so with Cousins, then he should be able to do so with Mayfield. This isn’t to insinuate that Cousins is a bad quarterback, it is just that Mayfield has a much higher ceiling than Cousins, who is a good quarterback.
You’re going to end up seeing Mayfield as a lower-tier starting quarterback in your average 10-man league, so he could be a really good play if you’re into deeper fantasy leagues like me. If you’re rocking a 12-14 man fantasy league, Mayfield is definitely worth the shot as your starting quarterback. Especially when you see this upcoming schedule.
No. 3: Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
Jarvis Landry was the Browns No. 1 fantasy receiver last season, but I don’t think that will be the case in 2020. He had a career year in terms of yards, and made significant improvements from his first season with the Browns. He saw a 20.3 percent increase on yards and a 50 percent increase in his touchdowns on only a 2.5 percent increase of catches and a 7.4 percent decrease of targets.
That’s a lot of numbers, so basically what that all means is he was more efficient. With a season under his belt, his chemistry with Mayfield has drastically improved and should be even better in 2020. He saw a 5.7 percent increase in his catch percentage of his targets. If he could take another leap like that, he could be as efficient as he was in Miami.
The reason why I have him lower on this list than Beckham is because Beckham is completely healthy and has a year of chemistry underneath his belt with Mayfield. Mayfield also will likely spread the ball around more than he did last year now that he has a good offensive play-caller. Landry will likely see a significant decrease in targets, which will hurt his fantasy value.
Don’t get me wrong, Landry will still be a great fantasy value. He’s going to be second on the team in targets and will likely go over 1,000 yards again. His numbers will be similar to last season, just slightly worse due to less usage. Last season he saw his career-high of 14.1 yards per reception, which shows that he is starting to make more out of each catch he makes.
Fantasy value is a mix of efficiency and volume, and while Landry’s volume is likely to go down next season, his efficiency has been on a steady increase over the past two seasons, and will likely increase yet again. He’s an interesting No. 2 wide receiver and flex option on any fantasy team.
No. 2: Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
I foolishly thought that Odell Beckham Jr. was going to be a top-tier fantasy option last season. He underwhelmed, and a lot of it wasn’t exactly his fault. He had no chemistry with Mayfield, he was hurt, and the play-calling was horrendous. With that being said, he has no excuses to not go off this year.
With another year underneath his belt, Beckham should see a jump in statistics like Landry did from his first to second season in Cleveland. If this were to happen, his numbers would look like this: 76 catches, 1,245 yards, and six touchdowns. That would be a great season for a fantasy wide receiver, and realistically, it could be even better if he doesn’t see a drop in targets. I highly doubt he does, as I expect Stefanski to really utilize Beckham’s talents.
Beckham is a top-30 prospect in fantasy football again this season, and while some may think that’s too high, it is their loss for passing up on him. Beckham had by far the worst season of his career last year in which he’s played at least 10 games in. Many fantasy players who play conservatively will likely pass on him, but he is the biggest boom or bust fantasy option on the Cleveland Browns. His fantasy ceiling is arguably as high as the No. 1 wide receiver in the game, and his floor is probably a mid-tier No. 2 wide receiver to a good flex option.
Beckham could very likely have a season like Adam Thielen did in the same offense in 2018, the last time he was perfectly healthy. Thielen posted an astounding 113 catches for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns, which is incredible for any fantasy team. I am slamming my fist on the table for Odell Beckham Jr. to be drafted in the first two rounds of every single fantasy league out there, and if you can even think about getting him in the third, you’re getting a huge steal.
No. 1: Running back Nick Chubb
Not messing this one up this year and going with the safe option of Nick Chubb being the most valuable fantasy player on the Browns. Chubb led the Browns’ skill positions in total yards last year, totaling 1,772 yards, along with eight touchdowns. Expect similar stats in 2020, as Dalvin Cook, like Nick Chubb, had a significant amount of carries last season under Stefanski’s offense.
In 14 games, Cook netted 250 carries. Chubb had 298 carries in the full 16 games, so don’t expect Chubb’s carries to drop off much. The team will likely rely on the run game once again, and you’re going to see Chubb be featured as the main offensive piece outside of Mayfield.
Considering Chubb now has a good blocking fullback, along with a better blocking tight end and an improved offensive line, his efficiency could skyrocket. He already averaged five yards-per-carry last season, and it’s crazy to think the number could go up. If Chubb sees himself get roughly 18 carries a game like Cook did, and he increased his yards-per-carry to say, 5.5, he could be in store for another monster year.
That would total to 288 carries for 1,584 yards, which would be even better than he did last season. That isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility too, considering that his blockers in the run game are going to be significantly improved from last season also. Chubb is primed to be the most valuable running back in fantasy football this season and should be a lock to be a first-round pick.
If you can net Nick Chubb in your fantasy league, there is no doubt in my mind that you should pull the trigger and draft him.