Average Draft Position: 8.01 (RB37)
Projected Fantasy Points: 84.96 (RB44)
The Cleveland Browns have a chance to be one of the most improved offenses in football as they've assembled a pretty dope skill-position group. With Tyrod Taylor or Baker Mayfield having the likes of Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman, David Njoku and Jarvis Landry to throw to, the Browns should be pretty good through the air, and a better offense boosts everyone's fantasy stock, including the running backs.
On top of that, Cleveland boasts a pretty nice offensive line, especially when it comes to run-blocking.
All of that bodes well for the fantasy outlooks of Cleveland's running backs -- if only we knew which one to target.
The Browns signed Carlos Hyde in free agency, and then drafted Nick Chubb 35th overall in the second round. Oh, and there's also Duke Johnson, a good all-around player who the team inked to a three-year extension this spring.
This is shaping up as a fantasy mess for this season. Chubb looks like he'll have a chance to be the top guy in the future, since Cleveland can get out of Hyde's contract fairly easily after this season, but in 2018, this backfield could be a brutal one for redraft leagues.
The one sure thing, at least in early July, appears to be Johnson, who will likely get his as one of the NFL's better pass-catching backs after he hauled in 73 of 94 targets for 693 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2017 (plus 348 yards and 4 more scores on the ground).
As for Hyde and Chubb, it's anyone's guess right now, and the term "hot hand" has been thrown around. If Hyde and Chubb split early-down work, the value of both will suffer, but if one of them emerges as the lead back, they'd be a great player to have.
As of now, our models have Hyde as the back to own, projecting him as the RB25, well ahead of Chubb's RB44 ranking. They're a lot closer in ADP. Hyde is going in the middle of the sixth round (6.06, RB30), while Chubb is coming off the board at the start of the eighth (8.01, RB37).
Monitor this training camp battle closely. If Chubb ends up winning the early-down job, he could smash this projection, but it's best to be cautious as of now.