Cleveland Browns fantasy football advice

Fantasy football: Where to draft Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper

Analyzing Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper’s 2022 fantasy football ADP and where you should target him in your drafts.

When he signed a 5-year, $100 million contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, it looked as though wide receiver Amari Cooper was going to be in Big D for the foreseeable future. So it came as a surprise when Cooper was traded to the Cleveland Browns, where he comes in with the expectation of being the No. 1 receiver.

Below we look at Amari Cooper‘s 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

With a new beginning in Cleveland and the eventual return of QB Deshaun Watson — a quarterback capable of posting huge passing numbers — Cooper could become a consistent fantasy football starter despite not being in that category yet.

Amari Cooper’s ADP: 66.09

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

For the 1st time in his career, Cooper is viewed as a mid-round fantasy receiver and a WR3, which is something to note. Those who are drafting Cooper aren’t counting on him to be a weekly starter in their fantasy lineups.

Cooper finds himself slotted in among primarily No. 2 receivers or those with a lot of offensive questions. His ADP falls behind Adam Thielen (Minnesota Vikings) at 64.88 and Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) at 65.86 and slightly ahead of Marquise Brown (Arizona Cardinals) at 68.74 and Darnell Mooney (Chicago Bears) at 69.61.

With such a tight clustering of picks, it seems clear that the 7th round of fantasy drafts is going to include a lot of wide receivers.

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Amari Cooper’s 2021 stats

Games: 15

Receptions | targets: 68 | 104

Receiving yards: 865

Receiving touchdowns: 8

Where should you draft Cooper?

I’ve never been a big fan of Cooper as a fantasy player. It seemed like so much of his production was the result of 3 or 4 huge games surrounded by a half-dozen pedestrian games and 3 or 4 games with almost nothing.

However, that was when Cooper was being drafted as a WR1 or WR2. In his current ADP positioning (WR28) it puts him a low-end WR3 in 10-player leagues and mid-WR3 in 12-player leagues.

In 7 NFL seasons, Cooper has averaged 74 catches for 1,011 yards and 7 touchdowns. His durability has never been questioned — he’s missed only 4 games in 7 years. Those annual numbers as a presumptive fantasy starter are too low. For a plug-and-play WR3, those are outstanding. Thielen has a “red zone” rapport that makes him hard to jump and, if Godwin comes back 100 percent, he’s hard to move over either.

At this position, if Cooper is still on the board when you’re looking for a WR3, jump on him. For the 1st time in a long time he’s a value pick.

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Fantasy football: Where to draft Cleveland Browns RB Kareem Hunt

Analyzing Cleveland Browns RB Kareem Hunt’s 2022 fantasy football ADP and where you should target him in your drafts.

It isn’t very often that the No. 2 guy in 2-back system makes a trade demand, but that’s exactly what Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt did recently — a request quickly denied by the Browns front office.

Below, we look at Kareem Hunt‘s 2022 fantasy football average draft position and where you should draft him.

Hunt may never relive his rookie season when he led the NFL in rushing with 1,327 yards while playing in Kansas City. However, in the mold of great tandems like Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott, the Browns have found a way to solidify roles for Hunt and Nick Chubb so that neither is a handcuff to the other. They can coexist in the same backfield and each put up good numbers.

Kareem Hunt’s ADP: 92.20

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com)

Hunt is in the position where you find the lowest rated starters and the highest rated No. 2 guys. His ADP at 92.20 is barely behind a pair of 2021 starters — Cordarrelle Patterson (Atlanta Falcons) at 90.29 and Rashaad Penny (Seattle Seahawks) at 90.44 — and barely ahead of Chase Edmonds (Miami Dolphins) at 93.47.

Hunt is a role player who averages 12-15 touches a game — many more than the average No. 2 guy or change-of-pace back. It’s what he does with those touches that make him a dangerous home run hitter out of the backfield capable of taking any play to the house when he gets in the open field.

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Kareem Hunt’s 2021 stats

Games: 8

Carries | rushing yards: 78 | 386

Rushing touchdowns: 5

Receptions | receiving yards: 22 | 174

Receiving touchdowns: 0

Where should you draft Hunt?

There are a couple of things going against Hunt. He is “in the system” with the NFL due to previous suspensions and, as such, if he does anything that gets him back in the NFL’s bad graces, he would be subject to a longer suspension.

The other issue is that he is disgruntled and wants to get paid. The Browns have clearly told him no and he sees the handwriting on the wall that this may be his last year in Cleveland much like Baker Mayfield did last year.

But that isn’t always a bad thing. A player looking to get a new contract is motivated to show the other 31 teams what he can do and Hunt has the ability to make a difference. Even though he is ranked behind the last of the presumptive starters, while I wouldn’t lower his ADP that much, I would take him before either Patterson or Penny.

Although his sensational rookie numbers are out of reach, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he replicated his 2020 numbers (his only full season in Cleveland) when he rushed 198 times for 841 yards, caught 38 passes for 304 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Those aren’t handcuff numbers. In larger leagues, you could see fantasy owners play both Chubb and Hunt in the same game.

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Fantasy football: Where to draft Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb

Analyzing Cleveland Browns Nick Chubb’s 2022 fantasy football ADP and where you should target him in your drafts.

With most fantasy football scoring systems involving a point per reception (PPR), the value of players like Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb take a hit, because in his first 4 NFL seasons, he has never been used extensively in the pass game.

Below, we look at Nick Chubb‘s 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where should draft him.

Chubb is viewed as a 1-trick pony, but it’s a really good trick. He has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in the last 3 seasons and the only year he didn’t was his rookie season when he ran for 996 yards.

Nick Chubb’s ADP: 19.79

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

In 42 games played in the last 3 seasons, Chubb has averaged 91 rushing yards a game, but it his lack of use as a receiver — just 72 receptions and 3 touchdown in that same span — that has his value dropping him to the bottom end of the RB1 category.

His ADP of 19.79 puts him in the pack of 2nd round fantasy draft picks. He is slightly behind Joe Mixon (Cincinnati Bengals) with an ADP at 14.61, and D’Andre Swift (Detroit Lions) at 17.45 and is slightly ahead of Saquon Barkley (New York Giants) at 20.67 and Aaron Jones (Green Bay Packers) at 22.27.

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Nick Chubb’s 2021 stats

Games: 14

Carries | rushing yards: 228 | 1,259

Rushing touchdowns: 8

Receptions | receiving yards: 20 | 174

Receiving touchdowns: 1

Where should you draft Chubb?

The PPR component of fantasy leagues is a little overrated in my view with the exception of those at the very top of the draft that get ranked higher because they catch 60 or more passes. Most featured backs don’t get to those types of numbers or, if they do, they’re not a 20-carry-a-game rusher.

Chubb’s use in Cleveland’s offense is similar to what Derrick Henry does in Tennessee. He’s a 2-down back for the most part — Kareem Hunt is the designated receiver in the backfield — but it’s hard to deny the production he gives. Not only does he average more than 100 yards from scrimmage per game, he has averaged 10 touchdowns a year.

PPR purists (if there is such a thing) may disagree, but I would rank Chubb ahead of Mixon and Swift, making him a value if he is still on the board where his ADP has him coming off.