Cleveland Browns Fantasy Football Roundup: RB Edition

Welcome to the third article in this series exploring Cleveland Browns players and their fantasy football value. You can check out the first article about quarterbacks and the second article about wide receivers.

The rankings that are used in this article are based on a points per reception (PPR) league and are from the ESPN, NFL Fantasy, and Yahoo.

Nick Chubb

Nick Chubb is coming off of major knee surgeries this offseason. Because of this his fantasy value is extremely low. ESPN has him ranked the highest as running back No. 35, followed by Yahoo at 39, and finally NFL Fantasy at 52.

This should not be a surprise as no one knows Chubb's official time frame of when he will return to play. Although, Chubb's progress is getting fans into a frenzy with the clips circulating on the internet.

Jerome Ford

Jerome Ford was tasked with the responsibility last year of trying to replace Chubb. It was done with mixed results with Ford being able to make some big runs, but not being the most consistent. NFL Fantasy has Ford rated the highest at 36, with Yahoo next at 42, and ESPN being the lowest at 43.

Chubb and Ford being around the same ranking is not surprising. Experts are trying to take into account that Chubb is not coming back at a certain time, which limits the usefulness of Ford in fantasy leagues.

D'Onta Foreman

D'Onta Foreman is not thought to have much value according to the experts. He is not in the top 50 running backs for ESPN. Foreman is running back 53 for NFL Fantasy and 69 for Yahoo.

Foreman was brought in as an insurance policy and he might be a valuable depth piece. However, the odds of Foreman being a contributing member of a fantasy team are remote at best, especially with his injury scare.

Final Verdict

Nick Chubb offers the oppotunity for fantasy owners to get a running back late in the draft that can produce like a top end running back by the end of the year. Even though his timeline for returning to play is murky, there is no doubt that Chubb will play again this year.

Chubb is hungry and has proven time and time again to never count him out. Even if the Browns are patient bringing him back, his fresh legs later in the season could help propel you into and through the playoffs, helping you bring home a championship.

If you are in a league that allows you to have large rosters, it makes sense to draft Ford along with Chubb so that you have insurance for Chubb. Ford was able to perform well enough to justify being used as an insurance policy. With this being his second year and gaining valuable experience last year, he should be able to be more consistent.

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