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Team Previews - Cleveland Browns


Projected Starting Lineup QB: Tyrod Taylor RB: Carlos Hyde WR: Josh Gordon WR: Jarvis Landry WR: Corey Coleman TE: David Njoku

LT: Shon Coleman LG: Joel Bitonio C: J.C. Tretter RG: Kevin Zeitler RT: Chris Hubbard

Browns Offensive Profile Under Hue Jackson 2016-2017 Pass Attempts Rank: 18th, 9th 2016-2017 Rush Attempts Rank: 31st, 28th 2016-2017 Play Volume Rank: 28th, 16th 2016-2017 Yards Per Play Rank: 27th, 24th Unaccounted for Air Yards from 2017 (Rank): 981 (20th) Unaccounted for Carries from 2017 (Rank): 295 (3rd)

Hue Jackson's average offensive production as an Offensive Coordinator in the last (4 Seasons)

Passing: ATT COMP PCT YDS AVG YDS/G LONG TD TD% INT INT% SACK YDSL RATE

537 327 61.1 3721 6.98 216 69 20 3.82 17 3.15 43 262 82 Rushing: ATT YDS AVG LONG 20+ TD YDS/G FUM FUML 1DN

423 1845 4.42 67 9 15 115.3 8 4 100

Receiving: REC TAR YDS AVG TD LONG 20+ YDS/G FUM FUML YAC 1DN

327 537 3721 11.3 20 69 49 232 4 2 1644 173

Quarterback-

With the offseason addition of Tyrod Taylor and the No. 1 pick being used on Baker Mayfield, it will be interesting to see how long Taylor is the starter. The Browns front office have vowed to start Taylor for the entire season, giving Mayfield a year to learn and adjust to the NFL game. Taylor provides mobility and protects the football, throwing just 16 interceptions in his three years as the Bills starter. As long as the Browns are competitive, I do believe Taylor will be the starter. For that reason alone though, he is not on my draft radar as there is a pretty good chance the Browns fall out of the playoff race and Mayfield takes over.

Baker Mayfield is not your prototypical NFL quarterback. At 6'1 215 pounds he lacks the huge arm, but makes up for it with his accuracy. At both of his college stops (Texas Tech and Oklahoma) Mayfield operated out of an air-raid attack, in which he was extremely successful. In his final two years in Norman, he completed over 70% of his passes, for 8,592 yards and 83 touchdowns. With a week 12 bye and a high probability the season has gotten away from them, I think its likely we see Mayfield week 13. I do think he has some upside and is a take in dynasty drafts, especially if they hire a good offensive mind after they fire Jackson later this year.

Wide Receiver-

Just when you think Josh Gordon returns, he mysteriously disappears at the start of camp.

I honestly can not trust this guy enough to take him anywhere in the first 6 rounds of any draft. His upside is tremendous, but his value is hurt by Tyrod Taylor, as he is extremely risk-adverse and doesn't take many downfield shots.

With over 456 targets in the last three years, Jarvis Landry should see his production take a dip in his first season with the Browns. I like Landry's upside a whole lot more with Mayfield at the helm, as Taylor has never had a receiver catch more than 60 balls in a season with him as the starter. I do expect Landry to lead this team in targets and catches, as Taylor likes safe short throws and that is exactly what Landry specializes in. With his current ADP of 52 it is unlikely that I take Landry with so many unknowns with this Browns team though. With Gordon a major question mark now, the Browns will need Corey Coleman, and rookie Antonio Callaway to pick up the slack. The Browns are hoping that the former first round pick finally breaks out in his third year. If Gordon's disappearance is due to another league violation, Coleman should see plenty of opportunity for that breakout to happen. Callaway is a very intriguing prospect with tons of ability. His 4th round selection was due to his off-field baggage while at Florida and not his ability. I would expect one of these playmakers to take a step with what looks to be a big opportunity if Gordon is out. Look further into camp to see who Taylor likes and grab them in the later rounds of your draft if Gordon gets suspended.

Tight End-

The Browns have another workout warrior on the roster with David Njoku at tight end. While he is still a major work in progress in terms of his blocking, he is an excellent receiving threat at (6'4/246). Last year Njoku only played in 47% of offensive snaps, which should increase if he has in fact become a better blocker. Like most of the other players, his breakout potential is greater with Mayfield at quarterback.

Running Back- One of the toughest backfields to figure out this season will be the Browns, as they signed Carlos Hyde to top-ten running back money while drafting Nick Chubb 35th overall. Hyde saw his best receiving year of his career with 59 catches for 350 yards, however saw his yards per carry drop below 4 for the first time in his career. The other part of this timeshare will be Nick Chubb, who is a very powerful back with decent vision. He is not the best in pass protection and only caught 31 balls in his four years at Georgia. The passing down work will clearly be handled by Duke Johnson who has averaged 63 receptions during his first three years in the league.

While this situation is a mess, I would expect Chubb to increase his workload as the season progresses, he is the more talented and younger back. I would expect both Chubb and Hyde to have over 140 carries, but both to stay below 180 apiece. The one thing for certain in this backfield is that Duke Johnson will be heavily involved in the passing game and get most of the teams third down work. I typically stay away from these types of situations in fantasy football and do not look to get involved in the Browns rushing attack this season other than Johnson late.

2018 Vegas Win Total The Browns’ Win Total opened at 5.5. With an improving roster, they should be more competitive this coming season but still have a major disadvantage in the head coaching department. The schedule will be difficult. they face the AFC West and very deep NFC South. One would think that they can't continue to be so dreadful in one score games as they went 0-6 last season but they kept Hue Jackson. If they had fired Jackson after his 1-31 record the past two seasons and hired pretty much anyone not named Jim Zorn, I would be inclined to play the over 5.5 wins but I will just stay away from this train-wreck.

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