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2017 fantasy football outlook for the Cleveland Browns. Justin Carter evaluates the team by each position to see who will have fantasy value for 2017.
The Cleveland Browns were a bit of a fantasy wasteland last season. Their top performer, Terrelle Pryor, signed with Washington in the offseason and they are starting a rookie QB in Week 1.
While it's hard to imagine the offense becomes a fantasy juggernaut, there are a few intriguing players here that could provide good value.
Let's see which names could be possible fantasy contributors from the 2017 version of the Cleveland Browns.
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Cleveland Browns 2017 Team Outlook
Offseason Moves
Notable Additions: C J.C. Tretter (FA), OG Kevin Zeitler (FA), DE Myles Garrett (R1), SS Jabrill Peppers (R1), TE David Njoku (R1), WR Kenny Britt (FA)
Notable Losses: QB Robert Griffin III, WR Andrew Hawkins, QB Josh McCown, DB Tramon Williams, WR Terrelle Pryor, DT Stephen Paea, S Jordan Poyer
Quarterbacks
Second round pick DeShone Kizer has been named the starting quarterback in Cleveland. The fourth quarterback taken in the 2017 NFL Draft, Kizer is the only one who earned a starting spot this preseason. Still, it's hard to recommend Kizer as anything more than a late round flier in redraft leagues. He's an untested rookie in an offense that finished 30th in total yards in 2016 and didn't make any drastic changes. Kizer has upside, but that's about all we can say he has right now. Only owners thirsty to roster a rookie quarterback should be drafting Kizer at this point. If you start looking toward Cody Kessler at any point this season, your fantasy team is in a world of hurt.
Running Backs
Isaiah Crowell enters this season with a lot of hype. He's the undisputed workhorse in an offense that's going to run the ball, and he's coming off a solid season where he finished in the top 15 in scoring among running backs. He's ranked as a top 15 running back heading into the 2017 season and his ADP usually falls somewhere in the third round. Most attribute his expected high volume as the reason he's a hot fantasy option rather than his skill.
I would tread lightly on Isaiah Crowell. He was the feature back last year, and yet he still ran for under 30 yards in seven games. Crowell has an eight game stretch last season where he ran 84 times for 211 yards and two touchdowns. It's hard to expect consistency from a guy who was so inconsistent last season. He's riskier than you'd think at his current ADP.
Crowell was involved a bit in the passing game last year, but it seems more and more likely that the bulk of Cleveland's passing downs will feature Duke Johnson Jr coming out of the backfield. Johnson has totaled 500 yards through the air each of the last two seasons, but has only scored three touchdowns in his two year career. The Browns have been high on Johnson both out of the backfield and lining up at receiver this offseason, so if anything Johnson will improve on his numbers from last year. Even if his stats are relatively the same, they'd still be solid for a guy being drafted as the 43rd overall running back.
Wide Receivers
The Browns signed Kenny Britt this offseason. Britt is a veteran receiver who became the first Ram to record a 1,000 receiving season since Torry Holt in 2007. Britt replaces Terrelle Pryor as the number one receiver for Cleveland this year, which should please every secondary who faces the Browns this year. If Britt can duplicate Pryor's 1,007 yard, four touchdown season, it would most likely be his peak.
The Browns receiver I would be targeting this year is Corey Coleman. The 2016 first round pick recorded recorded 173 yards and two touchdowns before a hand injury derailed the rest of his season. Coleman will start opposite of Kenny Britt to start the season, and it wouldn't be surprising if Coleman became the one to fill the Terrelle Pryor role. With Coleman and Britt as the 41st and 43rd drafted receivers respectively, I'd lean towards Coleman at that value. If the Browns can put it all together, Coleman may elevate into a low end WR2, and I can't imagine Britt being anything more than a WR3 at best.
Tight End
The Browns traded up in the 2017 NFL Draft to select David Njoku near the end of the first round. Njoku has a ton of upside, but he's still a bit of a raw prospect and it's hard to imagine he comes out of the gates swinging. Gary Barnidge had a 9 touchdown season the year before Hue Jackson arrived, and had just two in 2016. If Njoku were to find success as a rookie, it would be as a red zone target. It's just hard to recommend drafting him at this point in time.
Kicker
A kicker can only go as far as his offense takes him. Unless DeShone Kizer has this group doing a complete 180, it's hard to imagine Zane Gonzalez being fantasy relevant this year.
Defense
The Browns selected Myles Garrett and Jabril Peppers in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. While both guys have huge upside and could end up becoming Pro Bowl caliber players on the Browns defense, it's going to take a lot to turn this group into an elite fantasy unit. With the offense likely to give opponents a short field frequently, don't even consider putting Cleveland on your draft board.
