The Cleveland Browns offense has drastically changed in the past few weeks. They lost Deshaun Watson for the season to an achilles tear, and Nick Chubb made his long-awaited return. Amari Cooper was traded to the Buffalo Bills, leaving the receiver room wide open. With all these changes comes a shift in their fantasy viability. Here is the Cleveland Browns offense fantasy outlook for the rest of the season.
Cleveland Browns Offense Fantasy Outlook
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson has struggled since joining the Browns. This season, he failed to throw for 200 yards in any of his seven starts. He massively capped the upside of any Browns pass-catcher and was only a low-end QB2 himself. Jameis Winston outscored Watson’s best fantasy performance in his first start with 23.56 fantasy points.
He also managed to throw for over 300 yards, a feat which Watson has never accomplished for the Browns. Winston will be very matchup-dependent, but he’s absolutely startable against specific teams. The Browns defense has taken a massive step down from last season as well, meaning that Winston will have the license to throw the ball a lot since they’ll usually be playing from behind.
The turnovers and bad games will be there, but Winston’s sheer volume makes him a decent option. Depending on his matchup, he’s a QB2 or streamable QB1.
Running Back
Nick Chubb established himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL between 2019 and 2022. He then suffered a gruesome injury last season, and it has taken him over a year to get back on the field. Chubb has understandably been on the snap count, but he’s slowly starting to ramp up. He went from a 36% snap share in Week 7 to 61% in Week 8, which should only increase.
The Browns backfield has been messy without him. Jerome Ford took over as the lead back last season with Chubb out and did so again at the start of this season. But Ford faced competition from D’Onta Foreman and Pierre Strong Jr. before dealing with a hamstring injury. Ford was a serviceable flex option with Chubb out but is nothing more than a handcuff with Chubb back.
Chubb is the only startable Browns running back, projecting as a low-end RB2 or high-end RB3. If he can return to his pre-injury form, Chubb has some upside for the end of the season, but it’s a risk. Chubb owners should roster Ford, while Foreman and Strong are droppable.
Wide Receiver
Undoubtedly, the position that has seen the most significant change for the Browns is wide receiver. Amari Cooper’s departure has opened the door for Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman. Tillman, in particular, has been a revelation scoring 18.1 and 28.9 fantasy points in his last two games.
Tillman should be rostered in all leagues at this point, and he is a legit WR3. He’s 6’3, 215 pounds with a 37-inch vertical, and he’s already shown he’s a threat in the end zone. Jerry Jeudy has yet to show as much upside, but he did have 79 yards on eight targets last week. Jeudy remains a lower-end flex play for now.
Elijah Moore came out of nowhere with 85 yards on eight receptions and 12 targets. He’s a talented receiver who showed a lot of promise during his time with the Jets, but he has been more limited in Cleveland. Nevertheless, he led the team in targets and first-read percentage, making him an intriguing pickup.
Tight End
Tight end is the most straightforward position to discuss for the Browns. David Njoku is the starter, and a great one at that. Njoku has back-to-back weeks of over 17 fantasy points, scoring a touchdown in each game. Njoku was an absolute titan down the stretch last season with Joe Flacco and will see similar volume from Winston.
In a year in which tight ends have largely struggled outside of last week, Njoku is a great option. He’s a set-and-forget-it tight end for the rest of the season, barring any injuries or quarterback changes.
Main Photo Courtesy of Ken Blaze – Imagn Images
