2022 Team Previews: Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns Fantasy Preview 2022
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Top 120
**Nick Chubb, RB (ADP: 15): Chubb is a player whose stock seems to be down in the fantasy community due to his lack of receiving contributions, and the controversy of Deshaun Watson clouding the ultimate upside of Cleveland’s offense. These are fair concerns, but Chubb is the last person to worry about in this offense. Sure, there’s competition in the backfield, and yes, this could be a low-scoring outfit, but aside from injury Chubb is basically bulletproof. He’s one of the best pure rushers in the NFL, if not the best. He ranked seventh among RBs last season per PFF, posted the 11th-best RB DVOA per Football Outsiders and had the fifth-most effective yards at the position. He’s rushed for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons, never posted fewer than eight rushing touchdowns, and never fallen below 1,100 yards from scrimmage. He’s a flat out elite player, and he has managed 1,200+ yards from scrimmage in each of the last two seasons despite missing four and three games, respectively, in each of them. Chubb’s role and production are secure regardless of the QB, and when Watson does get on the field that only raises his ceiling even higher.
Amari Cooper, WR (ADP: 67): Cooper, on the other hand, is far from a lock to produce sans Watson. Cooper was brought in to be the Browns’ new WR1, and as I wrote here, he appears to be a very nice fit with Watson. Watson has shown that he’s willing to hypertarget a quality WR1, and even if he’s not forcing the ball to one guy, the quality of target Cooper is getting is being upgraded significantly. Cooper is also a receiver who thrives down the field, specifically on nine routes and post routes, throws in which Watson is among the best in football. Cooper hasn’t fully lived up to his billing coming out of Alabama, but he’s proven to be a quality producer in the NFL. When he isn’t spending time in the trainer’s room, he’s basically been a lock for 1,000 yards and he’s scored eight touchdowns in two of his last three seasons. With Watson, Cooper is a strong WR2 for fantasy. The problem is that he’s going to be with Jacoby Brissett for at 11 games. It’s impossible to bank on these benchmarks for Cooper, who has really had solid quarterbacking throughout his career. I was pretty excited about him in the offseason, but with Watson missing so much time, Cooper is a player I’m increasingly out on.
Kareem Hunt, RB (ADP: 84): Hunt is a tricky player. He is the obvious pass-catching choice for the Browns, he has mobility into fantasy RB1 territory if Chubb gets hurt, and he’s got a nose for the end zone, hitting double-digit touchdowns thrice in his NFL career. On the flip side, he’s only played in eight games in two of the last three seasons, scored eight touchdowns combined in those years, and currently wants out of Cleveland. He’s still an efficient rusher, and he gets solid goal line opportunity despite the presence of Chubb on the team. Overall, Hunt is not a player I’m targeting at this ADP. Of course, the ceiling is higher than most players in the weaker half of a tandem, but Hunt was actually the lowest-graded RB on his team last season, and he’s only averaged a little over two receptions per game the last two seasons, which isn’t enough to really justify starting him every week. Being down on him could come back to bite anyone who passes on him, but Chubb is the true gem of this team and that’s obvious to the naked eye as well as those poring the deeper stats.
Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)
David Njoku, TE (ADP: 167): Njoku is another player I covered earlier in the offseason when I was less worried about Watson’s availability. He’s been around for five years now, so it’s gotta happen soon for him or it just isn’t happening at all. But there are glimmers of hope for a breakout, such as his 13.2 yards per reception last year, his multiple seasons of four touchdowns despite very limited opportunity, and Top 15 status per PFF and Football Outsiders’ DVOA. With all that said, I don’t think he’s draftable without Watson on the field. Brissett under center wipes Njoku off the board for me, and likely for everyone else too, and removes a potentially fun breakout.
Deshaun Watson, QB (ADP: 185): We’re here. Watson has been the biggest and longest-running storyline of the 2022 offseason, and the ending of this story has as massive an effect on this entire organization. When he’s right, Watson is among the cream of the crop for fantasy QBs. He throws with the best of them, and he’s done that with shoddy offensive line play and Will Fuller as a WR1. He runs with the best of them…almost. He’s not Lamar Jackson or Jalen Hurts, but he’s never averaged fewer than five rushing attempts per game or fewer than 27.5 yards per game. If it was announced that Watson would be on the field in Week 1 with no suspension looming, he’d instantly be a Top 3 QB on my list. But, he’s not. At age 26, I wouldn’t worry about Watson returning to form long-term, but to wait for a guy for more than half a season only to have to endure him shaking off the rust while adapting to an entirely new offense, with new pass-catchers, on a team that ran the ball as much as any team in football a year ago is a lot of red flags. My advice is to leave the Watson headache for someone else in 2022. For keeper league players and dynasty leaguers, he’s a lot more appealing.
Sleeper Class (200 & later)
David Bell, WR (ADP: 245): If for some weird reason you are interested in secondary Browns pass-catchers, Bell, a third-round rookie out of Purdue, is the one to target. His value isn’t high with Brissett at QB, because this pass offense is going to be low-volume, and low-scoring, but he could run into some PPR value with Cooper trying to do damage further down the field. Bell caught 93 passes last year, and 86 as a freshman, which aren’t easy totals to hit at Purdue. He’s gone over 1,000 receiving yards twice in college, and scored at least six touchdowns in all three seasons in which he played. The path to playing time is very clear for him to make an impact as a rookie, but until Watson returns the ceiling’s pretty low.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR (ADP: 241): Peoples-Jones had some opportunity as a WR1 last year with Odell Beckham Jr. banished and Jarvis Landry in and out of the lineup, but outside of a few splash plays he was an ordinary producer. He is the logical No. 2 in this offense now with Landry departed, but he would be an iffy proposition with Watson under center. With Brissett running the show, he’s not on my radar, and shouldn’t be on yours.
**D’Ernest Johnson, RB (ADP: 252): It seems I was busy writing about Browns this offseason, because Johnson is one of my absolute favorite value picks super late. Opportunity is a massive issue for him providing fantasy value, but on the field, when given opportunity, he’s rarely failed to deliver. Johnson was asked to carry the load a few times in 2021, and the three games in which he saw at least 15 carries, he combined for 449 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. He posted the No. 1 RB DVOA on Foobtall Outsiders, and graded eighth on PFF, one spot behind his teammate Chubb. He also boasted PFF’s best pure rushing score (90.4). This kind of talent shouldn’t be repressed, and the tea leaves are predicting that Hunt may not be long for Cleveland. Whether it’s a shocking preseason cut, a trade, or just a natural passing of the torch to Johnson, I don’t feel it is inconceivable for D’Ernest to slot into the role Hunt now occupies at some point. Because of this, I’d recommend spending a super late pick on him and holding, because if he pops in season there will be ferocious competition on waivers to scoop him up.