There is nothing wrong with heading into a draft planning to roster zero players from a single team. You just need to pick the right team to skip. This year, the Cleveland Browns are one of those teams.
PFN’s Kyle Soppe put it flatly, saying he is “perfectly OK with zero shares of this offense.” I am with him on the pricier pieces. Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin Jr. are a bit too expensive for my liking. But there is one late-round name I will still take, as well as a cleaner way to handle the Fannin question than simply crossing him off.
You can read more about his fantasy football regression candidates here.
Why the Cleveland Browns Offense Is One to Fade in Fantasy Football
Start at quarterback, because everything downstream depends on it. Deshaun Watson is the favorite to open the season under center, and he has not thrown a pass in a real NFL game since October 2024. Behind him sits a room without a proven answer. Betting real draft capital on any pass-catcher tied to that uncertainty is a hard sell.
The surrounding cast does not bail it out. Jerry Jeudy has the name value, but past him the Browns are leaning on a pair of rookie receivers and whichever quarterback wins the job. Cleveland projects as one of the league’s weaker offenses again, even with Todd Monken calling the plays. That is a rough foundation to build fantasy value on.
The pricey Browns are where the fade matters most. Judkins profiles as the lead back. He is a talented runner on a struggling offense, and he is coming off a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula that ended his rookie year in Week 16. Pay a middle-round price for that and you are buying volume with no guarantee of an offense to support it.
Harold Fannin Jr. vs. Sam LaPorta, and the One Browns Dart Worth Taking
Fannin is the trickier call, because the talent is obvious. He finished as a top-eight fantasy tight end as a rookie, and he did it inside this same messy situation, so I am not ready to write him off the way Soppe is. The problem is the price.
Fannin is going right around Sam LaPorta, both in the TE6-to-TE8 range near the back of the top 100, and that comparison makes the decision easy. Given two tight ends at the same cost, take the one attached to the better offense.
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LaPorta has his own questions, a crowded target tree and an injury-shortened 2025, but Jared Goff and a dome-based Detroit attack that piled up points the last two seasons is a far sturdier bet than anything Cleveland is offering.
Dylan Sampson is the exception, and he is the one Brown I will happily draft. He is going as the RB53, a true late-round flier, and his rookie tape is better than his rushing numbers suggest. Sampson led all running backs in yards per route run last season, catching 33 balls despite rarely seeing the field on third down. He’s been working as the RB2 all Summer and the Browns are likely to play from behind often. That should funnel checkdowns his way. That is real PPR upside for the cost of a final-round pick.
