Our 2021 Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.
Below you will find our 2021 fantasy football projections for the Cleveland Browns.
MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams
QUARTERBACKS
| Player | Att. | Comp. | Yards | TD | INT | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker Mayfield | 519.8 | 329.6 | 3768.6 | 27.29 | 9.62 | 54.4 | 185 | 1.77 | 269.78 |
| Case Keenum | 33.2 | 20.9 | 230.7 | 1.25 | 0.66 | 1.3 | 4.2 | 0.02 | 13.45 |
Baker Mayfield: Making major improvements over his 2019 campaign, Mayfield set a career high in passer rating (95.9) and a career low in INT% (1.6%). Outside of a four-game stretch near the end of the season (Weeks 12-15), however, Mayfield's efficiency didn't translate into a usable level of fantasy production.
Mayfield performed as a QB1 (top 12) in all four of those weeks (Weeks 12-15), but he had only one other top-12 weekly finish throughout the rest of the season (Week 7). Over the full season, he finished as fantasy's QB17. Leading a run-first playoff-caliber team likely means another season of modest passing volume that translates into mid-tier QB2-level fantasy production.
RUNNING BACKS
| Player | Att. | Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Chubb | 268.1 | 1340.5 | 10.99 | 24.9 | 200 | 1.6 | 242.04 |
| Kareem Hunt | 138.4 | 602 | 4.64 | 40.3 | 343.9 | 2.7 | 158.78 |
| Demetric Felton | 16.4 | 70.5 | 0.41 | 7 | 50 | 0.4 | 20.41 |
| D'Ernest Johnson | 20.2 | 88.9 | 0.51 | 4 | 30 | 0.2 | 18.15 |
| Andy Janovich | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0 | 1.8 | 14 | 0.1 | 3.08 |
Nick Chubb: Despite missing four games, Chubb still finished as fantasy's RB9 in 2020. Chubb has finished second and third in rushing yards per game in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Through his first three seasons, Chubb has never averaged fewer than five yards per carry in a season.
Even with the league's best No. 2 back (Kareem Hunt) on the roster, Chubb has averaged 18.05 touches per game since Hunt returned from his 2019 suspension. Only four teams in the league had a higher rushing play percentage than the Browns in Kevin Stefanski's first year as head coach.
Kareem Hunt: While Chubb (RB9) was a top-10 fantasy running back in 2020, so was Hunt (RB10). Outside of Week 16, Hunt had double-digit touches in all of his other 15 games. Playing in one of the league's most run-heavy offenses, there is enough to go around for both Chubb and Hunt to be top-30 backs.
WIDE RECEIVERS
| Player | Rec. | Yards | TD | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odell Beckham | 69 | 971.8 | 6.2 | 2.5 | 15 | 0.08 | 170.86 |
| Jarvis Landry | 71.9 | 819.9 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 20.9 | 0.15 | 153.33 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 22.1 | 311.9 | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55.44 |
| Rashard Higgins | 21.4 | 309.9 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54.29 |
| Anthony Schwartz | 4 | 62 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 |
Odell Beckham: OBJ has now missed at least four games in three of the past four seasons. Since becoming a Brown, Beckham has averaged 4.6 and 3.3 receptions per game in 2019 and 2020, respectively, both of which are the lowest per-game averages of his career. In addition, Beckham's per-game averages of 4.2/58.9/0.3 as a Brown are significantly lower compared to his per-game averages as a Giant (6.6/92.8/0.75).
Jarvis Landry: While he has typically exceeded his preseason expectations, Landry finished 2020 as fantasy's WR36, identical to his final 2020 half-PPR ADP (via Fantasy Football Calculator). Landry set career lows in targets (101) and receptions (72) last season and his yards from scrimmage (850) and total touchdowns (four) were either the lowest or second-lowest of his career. Given that those numbers were mostly without Odell Beckham Jr. (torn ACL), it's unlikely that Landry outperforms last year's modest numbers (by much) in Cleveland's run-first offense.
Donovan Peoples-Jones: People-Jones' has generated plenty of buzz over the past month. The Athletic's Zac Jackson writes that even if DPG is "not ready for an instant breakout in 2021, he's absolutely lighting up training camp." Peoples-Jones may be the team's third-best receiver, but it's questionable whether their run-first approach can really support two fantasy-viable receivers.
Rashard Higgins: Higgins' 2020 averages of 46.1 yards per game, 11.5 yards per target and 16.2 yards per reception all set career highs. That said, Cleveland's run-heavy offense can barely support two fantasy-relevant wide receivers, let alone three (or four), so Higgins will be off the fantasy radar in standard-sized leagues without an injury to OBJ and/or Landry.
TIGHT ENDS
| Player | Rec. | Yards | TD | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Hooper | 49.2 | 493.9 | 3.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97.39 |
| Harrison Bryant | 20.2 | 220 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.5 |
| David Njoku | 14.7 | 172 | 1.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.95 |
Austin Hooper: The team's overall passing volume is modest, but Cleveland's offense is TE-friendly with 27.74% of 2020 targets going to the position. Hooper, who has now missed three games in back-to-back seasons, underwhelmed in his first season in Cleveland as he averaged a career-low 6.2 Y/TGT and 33.5 YPG, a three-year low. With Odell Beckham sidelined (torn ACL), Hooper was more productive down the stretch -- 25/211/3 on 40 targets over his final five games including the playoffs. While OBJ will be back, coach Kevin Stefanski has talked about how Cleveland is "going to grow his role" in the offense in 2021.
More Cleveland Browns pages:
- Cleveland Browns Mock Draft Roundup
- Cleveland Browns NFL Power Rankings Roundup
- Cleveland Browns Snap Counts
- Cleveland Browns Franchise Leaders
- Cleveland Browns Draft History
- Cleveland Browns Schedule
- Cleveland Browns Tickets
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