Did the Cleveland Browns’ 2023-2024 season really happen, or was it a fever dream? Injuries to Deshaun Watson forced PJ Walker under center, who suffered an injury of his own. In total, five quarterbacks took snaps for Cleveland and it was a mid-season signing of Joe Flacco that saved their season. Flacco led the Browns to the playoffs, but a first round exit has all eyes back on Watson and the health of his shoulder.
Let’s preview how the new-look Browns will fare for 2024 redraft fantasy football leagues.
Deshaun Watson
Cleveland is patiently waiting for Watson to have the season that was expected of him when he was acquired and signed to a huge 5-year, fully guaranteed contract in 2022. He has only played in 12 games over the last two seasons due to a suspension and injuries. Watson dealt with a shoulder injury in 2023, but he is reportedly fully healthy heading into training camp.
Watson’s concern is not only his health but also his pass accuracy while in Cleveland. During his “prime” from 2018-2020 with the Houston Texans, Watson completed around 69% of his passes. It has been a small sample size for his two years with the Browns, but he completed 58.2% of his passes in 2022 and 61.4% in 2023. Watson also hasn’t rushed much in Cleveland, so that aspect of his game hasn’t translated, and he could be downgraded to a pocket passer to try and lessen hits.
In the three years from 2018-2020, when Watson played at least 15 games for Houston each year, he didn’t finish lower than the overall QB5 in fantasy football. Despite reportedly being healthy and with Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku as his main targets, the Cleveland starting QB is being drafted as the overall QB21 this season. Even with the results of the past two seasons, this feels very low. He could end up being a steal in drafts this year if — which is a big if from the past two years — he can stay healthy and play the entire year.
Nick Chubb
It felt like 2023 would be a big year for Chubb, but he blew out his knee in the second game of the season. He opened the year with 106 yards on 18 carries and added 21 yards on four receptions in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Chubb only added 64 more yards on 10 carries in Week 2 before the season-ending injury.
Training camp reports are going to be huge for Chubb. If his knee is healthy and suggest he will be ready for Week 1 or even Week 2, his average draft position (ADP) should rise. Chubb is currently being taken as the overall RB39 in half-PPR scoring, while his backup Jerome Ford — who filled in for him last season — is being selected as the RB37. Chubb is such a good dual-threat running back that he can beat defenses on the ground or after a reception. He finished as the overall RB5 in half-PPR scoring in 2022, and if he is healthy, he could finish as a top running back once again.
Jerome Ford
When Chubb went down with an injury, the question was whether to add Kareem Hunt or Ford from waivers. Hunt was a veteran pass-catching back, while Ford was a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The answer was Ford, who played in all 17 games and finished with 813 yards and four touchdowns. He added 319 yards and five more touchdowns on 44 receptions.
Ford finished as the overall RB17 in half-PPR scoring, while Hunt was the RB39. He could have played his way into a split backfield this year with Chubb, and that is where the risk is in this backfield. Currently, the ADP suggests that Ford is the back to roster, but with only a two spot difference it isn’t a commanding lead. If Chubb can demonstrate that his knee is healthy, the ADP gap should flip, but Ford will remain a solid backup to target.
Amari Cooper
Cooper finished last season as the overall WR18 and is being selected as the WR26 for 2024. This is surprising because he finished with a career-high 1,250 receiving yards last year. Cooper only scored five touchdowns and had 72 receptions, but he had the likes of Walker, Thompson-Robinson, Flacco, and Driskel throwing him passes. Not to mention Watson, who had a bum shoulder.
Watson is expected to be back to full health, and even if he isn’t, the Browns brought in Jameis Winston as his backup. He would be a much better option than the rest of the island of misfit toys that were under center last year for Cleveland. Cooper likely isn’t the WR1 in fantasy football, but he finished as the WR9 in 2022 with Jacoby Brissett as his QB for 11 games. The Browns have added Jeudy to the offense, which should open up Cooper further. If Watson is healthy, the veteran wide receiver should be in for a big campaign.
Jerry Jeudy
Jeudy, the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, gets a chance to reinvent himself with Cleveland. He spent the first four years of his career with the Denver Broncos and infamously was dubbed a JAG — just a guy, meaning he is average — by former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith. It could have been due to the yearly rotation under center that he struggled to build rapport with new QBs, but it never felt like he reached his potential in Colorado.
Jeudy has not had a 1,000-yard season but came close in 2022 with 972 yards and six touchdowns. He won’t be the number one receiver in this offense and could end up being third in line for targets. Tight end David Njoku could overtake him, but at the very least, he projects to be behind Cooper. Jeudy is being drafted as the WR58, well behind Cooper. Make sure you don’t overdraft him, but he could have a decent enough floor to make him worth a roster spot later in drafts.
David Njoku
Njoku didn’t mind the various players under center and was consistent throughout the 2023 season. He finished as the overall TE6 in half-PPR scoring. Njoku was targeted 123 times — the second-most on the team — only five behind Cooper. Even with his starting QB only playing in six games, he still had a career year setting new highs in receptions (81), targets (123), yards (882) and touchdowns (six).
For some reason, Njoku is being drafted as the overall TE10 in half-PPR scoring. At least he is expected to be a startable fantasy football tight end, but it feels like he will be a little bit of a steal at that range. Like Cooper, a healthy Watson should only mean good things for Njoku.
Dustin Hopkins
The lesser-known DHop will go through a training camp battle with Cade York for starting kicking duties. Hopkins played in 15 games last season and made 33 of his 36 field goals. His longest field goal of the season was 58 yards, and he hit all eight of his attempts that were longer than 50 yards. Hopkins made 24 of his 26 extra points, which theoretically should see an increase if the offense clicks better under Watson. He’s being drafted as the K14, but I think he is worth an add in 12-team leagues or larger and is borderline worth in add in 10-team leagues.
D/ST
The Browns D/ST is the team’s best quality and consistently keeps them in games. Myles Garrett is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year, and now he will be joined on the defensive line by Za’Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris. Cleveland is stacked at all levels of the defense, sporting the best linebacking corps and a deep secondary. The Browns D/ST is being taken as the D/ST5 and should be rostered in every league, six teams and larger.
