Data as of June 26 | Current Cheatsheets | Current Projections

NR = Not ranked

QB Brian Hoyer

On the one hand, Hoyer played well in his first two starts last season, chalking up 590 passing yards with five touchdown passes and three interceptions in a pair of Browns wins, and team management has consistently stood behind him as the team’s starter. On the other hand, Hoyer wasn’t impressive enough to prevent the team from drafting Johnny Manziel with the 22nd overall selection in this year’s NFL Draft. The truth is that absent wide receiver Josh Gordon (facing an indefinite suspension), new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan expected to rely heavily on the run and Manziel in reserve, there isn’t any point in adding Hoyer to your fantasy roster in pretty much any format outside of leagues that start two quarterbacks.

QB Johnny Manziel

The Browns ignited their fan base at this year’s NFL Draft by grabbing Manziel with the 22nd overall selection. While the Texas A&M product is being viewed as a franchise savior by its fans, Browns management has consistently signaled that they plan a “go slow” approach in developing Manziel. Whether or not that is to be believed determines how you value Manziel for fantasy purposes in 2014, as does the outcome of wide receiver Josh Gordon’s anticipated suspension. Even though we like new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s plan to eventually utilize Manziel in the same manner that he used RGIII in Washington, there is just too much uncertainty to consider Manziel worthy of a selection in shallow to medium depth redraft formats, since Shanahan has also signaled that the team’s offense will be more focused on running the ball. Dynasty leaguers should grab Manziel given his playmaking ability and hope that Gordon gets life straightened out or that the Browns eventually find an adequate replacement.

RB Ben Tate

The running back position for the Browns was a black hole after the early season trade of Trent Richardson, but Cleveland hopes they have found a solid replacement in former Houston Texan Ben Tate. And with the new offensive coordinator’s history of running the ball, the Browns should run it plenty in 2014. Unfortunately for Cleveland fans, Tate was mostly unimpressive subbing in for Arian Foster this past season, totaling 771 rushing yards in 14 games including seven starts although he did play through a painful rib injury. He also isn’t much of a receiver, hauling in just 24 receptions in 26 games during the 2011 and 2012 seasons before recording a career-high 34 receptions in 2013, averaging 4.1 yards per reception – worst in the league amongst qualifying running backs. While the fantasy world is high on Tate’s upside, expectations should be held in check given the subpar state of the Browns offensive line (although we expect improvement there) and the question marks that exist at quarterback. He rates as a lower tier RB2 with upside.

RB Terrance West

Taken in the 3rd round of this year’s NFL Draft, West is expected to start the season in a backup role to free agent signee Ben Tate. The 5’9”, 225 pound Towson State product was a bell cow type runner in college and should rank among the league’s top rookie running backs in 2014. West lacks elite speed but is solid in all areas. With new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan keen on developing the Browns rushing attack, Josh Gordon facing a lengthy suspension and a lack of proven starting quarterback on the roster, we expect the Browns to rely heavily on the run. Given that and Tate’s lengthy injury history, West could even emerge as a decent RB2. We like him in dynasty formats and rate him as a solid RB4 with upside in redraft formats.

RB Isaiah Crowell

It’s not often that an undrafted rookie free agent warrants a fantasy outlook but we’ll make an exception for the talented Crowell. A five-star high school recruit, Crowell was booted off the Georgia squad after earning SEC Freshman of the Year Honors in 2011. His situation is similar to that of Bryce Brown, although Crowell lacks Brown’s blazing speed. With the injury-prone Ben Tate atop the Browns depth chart and fellow rookie Terrance West expected to win the job as his main backup, there is a decent chance that Crowell could earn some touches in 2014.

RB Dion Lewis

During the 2013 offseason, the Browns traded for Lewis, the Eagles 2011 5th round pick, and they had plans to utilize him in a pass catching role out of the backfield. However, he fractured his left fibula in the preseason and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. While Lewis remains on the Browns roster, it appears they have moved on from him with the offseason acquisitions of Ben Tate, Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell.

WR Josh Gordon

Gordon didn’t just have a breakout fantasy season in 2013, he basically exploded onto the scene, hauling in 87 receptions for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns on his way to becoming the top ranked fantasy wide receiver. At just 23 years of age, his future looked bright until reports surfaced during this year’s NFL Draft that he was facing a lengthy suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. A few weeks later, Gordon was cited for speeding and his passenger cited for possession of marijuana. Turns out the Browns should have traded him last year when they had the chance. There is no point in projecting his fantasy value until this situation plays itself out. In the meantime, dynasty leaguers should avoid adding him to their rosters. Even at a deep discount it appears Gordon will burn a roster spot with nothing to show for it for some time.

WR Miles Austin

With a bloated salary cap situation and Austin having failed to live up to his big money deal, the Cowboys made the not surprising decision to axe their former star wide receiver in the offseason. After languishing on the market, Austin landed in Cleveland in a situation that should provide him with an opportunity to resurrect his flagging career. With Josh Gordon facing a suspension, there is a good chance that Austin will open the season as the team’s number one wide receiver although it’s worth noting that tight end Jordan Cameron is their top pass catching threat. Nonetheless, although Austin is entering the 9th year of his career, he is just 30 years of age and averaged 67 yards and 0.53 touchdowns per game between 2009 and 2012. While we’re playing with numbers by excluding his injury plagued, disappointing year in 2013 when he caught just 24 passes for 244 yards and failed to score, the point is that Austin has been productive when healthy. We also note that his reputation as being injury prone is overblown as he has missed just 15 games over the past seven seasons. While we can’t sell Austin’s fantasy prospects as a solid WR2/3, we do feel that he is worthy of a late round depth pick that may pan out better than anyone expects.

WR Andrew Hawkins

Prior to the offseason, the Bengals gambled by placing a low tender on Hawkins as a restricted free agent with no compensation since he wasn’t drafted. That blew up on them when the Browns signed the 5’7”, 175 pound receiver to a four-year, $13.6-million contract that the Bengals chose not to match. In Cleveland, Hawkins takes over as the team’s slot receiver and, given Josh Gordon’s looming suspension and the team’s lack of viable options on the outside, he should have no problem reaching career highs in receptions and yards in 2014. The issue is whether he will produce enough to have fantasy value. Since the Browns have already signaled they plan on also having him line up outside in an attempt to take advantage of his sub 4.4-40 speed and outstanding quickness and with offseason reports indicating that he has been their top wide receiver in OTA’s (Gordon has missed time due to injury), Hawkins’ should be considered a deep sleeper pick in 2014. Consider him a high end WR5 with upside and move him up in PPR formats.

WR Nate Burleson

By default, it seems that Burleson will open the season in the Browns starting lineup. Signed by Cleveland in the offseason, the 32 year old Burleson is coming off a pair of injury plagued, subpar seasons with the Lions where he failed to produce despite all of the attention paid to Calvin Johnson as well as Reggie Bush last season. There’s nothing to suggest that will change in 2014.

WR Earl Bennett

With the Browns desperate to stock their wide receiver depth chart, they signed former Chicago Bear Earl Bennett in the offseason. In Bennett, Cleveland landed a possession receiver whose receiving yardage has dropped every season since he posted a career best 717 yards during the 2009 season. Last season, he was an afterthought with just 32 receptions for 243 yards and four touchdowns.

WR Travis Benjamin

A 4th round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Benjamin spent a year and a half trying to lock down the slot receiver role with the Browns before a torn ACL ended his season in Week 6. While Benjamin possesses blazing speed (4.34 40-yard dash time), his slot receiver role was handed to Andrew Hawkins when Cleveland signed the former Bengal as a free agent in the offseason. That means Benjamin will use his blazing speed returning kicks or looking for work elsewhere in 2014.

TE Jordan Cameron

A break out candidate in the preseason, Cameron caught 80 of his 118 targets for 917 yards and seven touchdowns, meeting or exceeding the expectations of most fantasy pundits. If there was a blemish on his season, it was his inconsistency as he had eight games under seven fantasy points, including a four game stretch from Week 9-13 where he caught just 14 passes for 108 yards and no touchdowns. He also finished with a whimper, scoring just one touchdown and averaging 5.8 PPG over his final eight games after averaging 12.5 PPG over his first seven contests. In 2014, Cameron will have, in essence, a new quarterback (Brian Hoyer took the majority of snaps in just two games or rookie Johnny Manziel) as well as a new offensive coordinator in Kyle Shanahan. Luckily for Cameron, Shanahan made his tight ends fantasy worthy during his stops in Houston and Washington and the expected absence of Josh Gordon should bode well for his target count. Those facts make Cameron an elite fantasy option at tight end in 2014 and we wouldn’t have any qualms taking him after Jimmy Graham and Julius Thomas are off the board.