2015 Review
Like pretty much every season since they were brought back into the NFL, the Cleveland Browns were irrelevant last season. They finished with the worst record in the NFL (3-13), putting up the third worst offense in the process.
Johnny Manziel bombed out, both on and off the field. Josh McCown failed to pick up the slack. And the loss of Josh Gordon for the season to suspension hurt big time. Now with a new offensive make up and a new head coach in Hue Jackson, the Browns are looking to rebounds from last year's disastrous performance. Here's a look at the Browns from a fantasy perspective.
Quarterbacks: Robert Griffin III
Coming off two consecutive disastrous seasons with Washington, it looks like RGIII will be the Browns' starting quarterback this season. This coming on the heels of him not seeing any action in D.C. last year. RGIII is a true wild card in every sense of the word. He finished as the fifth-best fantasy quarterback as a rookie in 2012 before seeing that ranking drop to 19th overall the following season.
With an ADP that has him as the 27th quarterback off the board, RGIII isn't being valued as a rosterable option in 12-team leagues. Though, he does boast considerably more upside than those who the fantasy community link him to, Blaine Gabbert and Alex Smith included.
Running Backs: Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson
Running back was a black hole for Cleveland last season. Crowell led the team in rushing at under 800 yards while averaging just 3.8 yards per attempt. Meanwhile, Johnson put up less than 400 yards during his rookie season.
Though, there are reasons to be optimistic this year. First off, Johnson proved to be an absolute PPR stud last season, putting up 61 receptions on 74 targets (82 percent catch rate). This enabled him to finish as a mid-tier FLEX option in PPR contests. The expectation here has to be that Johnson will fill the role we saw Giovani Bernard hold under Jackson in Cincinnati. In reality, the upside there is real.
Regarding Crowell, it really is tough to draw an ultimate conclusion here. He's averaging less than four yards per rush in his career and saw his production decline a great deal last year. We'd probably recommend you simply avoid Crowell and check out his early-season performance on the waiver wire.
Wide Receivers: Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman
Gordon returns after a year-long suspension. Though, he's still going to miss the first four games of the season. A former teammate of RGIII at Baylor, Gordon should excel in Cleveland's offense upon his return. After all, we're talking a dude that led the NFL in receiving back in 2013.
He's clearly the most-talented player on the Browns and should perform at a high level when he suits up come Week 5. More than anything, the biggest risk here is relying on someone with a checkered off-field history. Though, his ADP as the 40th receiver off the board mitigates this some.
Speaking of value, Coleman is also someone to check out later in the draft. He's going to be given an opportunity to start out of the gate. With that will come the necessary targets to make an impact. While we shouldn't rely on Coleman to start, he has to be considered a deep bench option.
Tight Ends: Gary Barnidge
Barnidge surprised the masses by puttuing up 1,000-plus yards and finishing as the third-best fantasy tight end last season. It was an amazing performance considering he tallied a total of 44 receptions in his first six seasons in the NFL. Whether last year was an outlier remains to be seen, but his ADP as the eighth tight end off the board suggests the fantasy community thinks so.