Five Biggest Questions:
1. Which QB will win the starting job, and will it matter?
2. Is Quinshon Judkins a top-24 RB?
3. Is Jerry Jeudy draftable?
4. Are rookie WRs K.C. Conception or Denzel Boston draftable?
5. Will Harold Fannin remain a weekly must-start TE?
Browns management is trying to dig out of a Grand Canyon-size hole. They're making progress, but they're still a year or two away from standing on solid ground.
Who knows which quarterback(s) will start this season, and for how long. Deshaun Watson has been running out of time for several years, and now it seems imminent. Either he reclaims some of his past magic, or he might be finished in this league. His QB32 ADP (vs. QB33 last week) suggests he's the favorite to win the Week 1 job, but only barely, as Shedeur Sanders remains steady at QB34.
Injuries aside, Watson has had opportunities to prove he's worth 10% of what Cleveland paid him. He has fallen short. While Sanders didn't exactly light it up as a rookie, he wasn't Watson, and he also wasn't Dillon Gabriel. As a passer, he was actually worse than Gabriel. But he's two years younger and ran better. If Watson is named the starter in August, it probably would signal that this franchise believes Sanders isn't ready to take a step forward, and all those trade rumors could heat up. If Sanders wins the job, he probably won't relinquish it to Watson.
Does that mean Superflex managers should invest in one of them? I wouldn't, or at least I'd rather hedge with Atlanta's similarly valued tandem of Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix. The fact is, while this team is loaded with young talent, I'm not convinced that any of their rostered quarterbacks can do much with it.
It's also remarkable (to put it mildly) that Cleveland used its first- and early-second-round draft picks on wideouts -- as if a receiver boost is the key to kickstarting an offense with a rusted aerial engine. Those decisions suggests they've given up on 2023 third-rounder Cedric Tillman and intriguing 2025 UDFA Isaiah Bond, among others. It also suggests that these two high-priced rookies -- K.C. Conception and Denzel Boston -- will be expected to contribute immediately. The way I'm rationalizing these picks is to assume the Browns are roster building for 2027 and beyond. That doesn't help fantasy managers in 2026.
So while Conception and Boston are solid dynasty stashes, I'm steering clear of them in re-draft. Conception leads all Browns wideouts with a WR54 ADP (vs. WR51 last week), followed by Boston's WR64 (vs. WR62 last week). While these guys are ticking downward, the most forgotten Jeudy is ticking upward: WR68 vs. WR72 last week. Jeudy is barely 27 years old and has done a lot with little over the years. In very deep leagues with large benches, he might be worth stashing late on the chance Cleveland trades him to a team where his talents will be more fully utilized. Of course, burning a bench spot on Jeudy for seven or eight weeks easily could be a net negative.
The most-targeted player on this team last season was Harold Fannin, whose TE7 ADP (vs. TE6 last week) makes sense. Since I don't trust this offense, I won't lunge to draft him. He's "solid," and for some people that might be enough.
Much is expected of Quinshon Judkins, whose RB23 ADP (vs. RB24 last week) points to fringe weekly startability. He averaged only about 2.5 targets per game as a rookie. That's not enough to get into the top 16 unless you're someone like Derrick Henry. Any improvement to the passing game will, by extension, improve Judkins' ceiling. The Browns had the fourth-worst third-down conversion rate in 2025. If they can sustain more drives, Judkins should comfortably match or exceed expectations. And yet, as with Fannin, I wouldn't draft Judkins enthusiastically.
Presumed handcuff Dylan Sampson (RB48 ADP vs. RB52 last week) is a dart throw that I won't throw. He simply didn't look NFL ready last year. The good news is that no one else is competing for the handcuff role. So managers drafting Judkins and seeking insurance might roll the dice. But I don't think Sampson is worth stashing over most backups. As always, bottom-tier offenses don't inspire fantasy confidence.
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