Here is my third offseason reaction article. In my first article, I looked at the impact of Nick Foles’ trade to the Bears. Then, I broke down all the fallout of the Stefon Diggs trade to Buffalo, found here. Now, it’s time to take a close look at the Browns. Once again, they’re making big offseason moves, but will it work out? Let’s find out.
Austin Hooper
After four successful seasons in Atlanta, Hooper signed with the Browns in free agency to a 4-year, $42 million contract. Below are Hooper’s career stats and fantasy finishes in PPR formats from his first four years in the league.
| Year | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns | Fantasy Rank | Fantasy Rank: PPG (5 games min.) |
| 2016 | 19 | 271 | 3 | TE38 | TE35 |
| 2017 | 49 | 526 | 3 | TE17 | TE21 |
| 2018 | 71 | 660 | 4 | TE6 | TE10 |
| 2019 | 75 | 787 | 6 | TE6 | TE3 |
As the table shows, Hooper improved in both real-life and fantasy each season. For his first two seasons, Hooper flashed his receiving ability, even though he wasn’t a reliable fantasy producer. In 2018, Hooper broke out and became a fantasy TE1. Then, in 2019, Hooper was the top tight end for a majority of the season before going down with an MCL injury. When he returned after missing three games, he still wasn’t 100%. However, in the final two games, Hooper went back to his regular role, garnering nine targets and seven receptions in each game.
Hooper is an odd fit in the Browns’ offense. The Browns already have two top wide receivers in Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. Both players soak up targets, as Landry had 138, and Beckham had 133 in 2019. Additionally, the Browns already had a high-profile tight end in David Njoku. While Njoku missed most of the 2019 season with a hand injury, he finished as the TE9 in 2018. If Njoku remains on the Browns for 2020, he will also split targets with Hooper, further cutting into Hooper’s role.
Therefore, I see this move as a downgrade for Hooper’s dynasty stock. There is no way that Hooper will match his reception totals from 2018 and 2019. I also see Baker Mayfield as a quarterback downgrade from Matt Ryan. If anyone is excited about this move for Hooper, I will try to sell him right now. Pivoting to a similarly valued tight end like Noah Fant or Hunter Henry is likely the best option.
As for Njoku, he’s an obvious dynasty hold right now. He has no fantasy value if he remains in Cleveland, but he has been the subject of trade rumors for months now. If he goes to a new appealing destination, his dynasty value could rebound.
Kareem Hunt
The Browns decided to apply a second-round tender, worth $3.259 million, to Hunt for the 2020 season. After coming back from his eight-game suspension in 2019, Hunt was a reliable PPR fantasy asset in the second half of the season. On the ground, Hunt had 43 carries for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Through the air, Hunt caught 37 balls on 44 targets for 285 yards and a touchdown. Those stats averaged the RB25 in PPR scoring, so just outside the RB2 range.
Unfortunately for Hunt, the signing of Hooper will likely take away from Hunt’s receiving volume. Hooper also excels in the short area of the field, where most of Hunt’s targets were. Now that the Browns’ offense is so crowded, someone has to lose out. Head coach Kevin Stefanski also prefers to deploy two tight-end sets, so Hunt could be left off the field more in 2020. In 2019, Hunt and Nick Chubb played together in two-back sets, but I don’t expect to see that in 2020 after the Hooper signing. Therefore, I would probably advise avoiding Hunt in redraft formats, except as the best handcuff in fantasy. In dynasty, Hunt is still a solid hold, since he will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2020 season and could sign as a workhorse back elsewhere.
Hunt will also continue to siphon carries and receptions from Chubb. Here are Chubb’s 2019 stats with and without Hunt.
| Category | Without Hunt (Games 1-8) | With Hunt (Games 9-16) |
| Carries | 154 | 144 |
| Rushing Yards | 803 | 691 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 6 | 2 |
| Targets | 32 | 17 |
| Receptions | 25 | 11 |
| Receiving Yards | 161 | 117 |
| Receiving Touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
Chubb’s stats went down across the board once Hunt returned to the lineup. While Chubb still was a reliable fantasy asset with Hunt on the team, he was not the high-end RB1 that he was with Hunt. I would not advise panic-selling Chubb, though. Even projecting his stats with Hunt across an entire season, Chubb was still on pace for 288 carries and 1,382 rushing yards. Additionally, I expect Chubb to show some positive touchdown regression if he maintains his carry volume. Chubb is still a first-round startup pick in 1QB dynasty formats.
Jack Conklin
The Browns were well-known for their offensive line woes in 2019. According to PFF, the Browns fell from the second-best offensive line in 2018 to the 23rd best in 2019. Conklin will immediately help fix that issue. The Browns signed Conklin to a 3-year, $42 million contract in free agency, beating out many other NFL teams for his services.
Conklin will replace Chris Hubbard at the right tackle slot. Hubbard was one of the worst right tackles in the NFL in 2019, allowing significant pressure on Mayfield and performing poorly in the run blocking game. Conklin is a solid pass blocker, but he excels in run blocking. Therefore, signing Conklin is a considerable upgrade for Chubb and Hunt and a smaller, but still notable boost for Mayfield. The most critical impact of the signing is that the Browns are finally taking their offensive line seriously. They traded away star guard Kevin Zeitler in last year’s trade for Beckham and never replaced him. Signing Conklin demonstrates that the Browns now understand that protecting Mayfield and winning in the trenches is essential to a potent offense.
Smaller Moves
The Browns also made a couple of smaller moves in free agency. They signed Case Keenum to a 3-year, $18 million contract to be the backup quarterback to Mayfield. Keenum was a starter for the Redskins in 2019 and could certainly step in if Mayfield were to go down. Keenum worked with Stefanski in 2017 with the Vikings, where Keenum had his best season as a pro. Keenum is a nice speculative add in superflex leagues. If Mayfield were to miss any time, Keenum would be a plug-and-play QB2.
The Browns also traded a seventh-round pick to the Broncos in exchange for fullback Andy Janovich. PFF graded Janovich as a top fullback in 2018 and 2019, ranking third in run blocking grade. While the Browns will likely only use Janovich in short-yardage and goal-line situations, he could provide a significant boost to Chubb’s effectiveness in those spots. It’s an under-the-radar move, but it’s worth noting.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Justin. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
