The Cleveland Browns just signed a new franchise QB to a fully guaranteed — NFL record — five-year, $230 million contract! Who are the Buy/Sell/Keep candidates from the Browns offense?
Buy
David Njoku, TE
David Njoku was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. He is still only 25 years old right now. Njoku has played four of his five seasons but missed 12 games in 2019 with a concussion and a broken wrist. In his four seasons, he compiled 148 receptions off of 240 targets for 1,754 yards and 15 TDs.
The QBs throwing Njoku the football during his five-year career include... DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler, Tyrod Taylor, Case Keenum, and Baker Mayfield.
Enter Deshaun Watson for 2022 and beyond. Eliminate Austin Hooper from the TE room. Slap the almost $11 million franchise tag on Njoku. Mix all the ingredients together and you have a recipe for a huge year for Njoku.
How will Watson and Njoku perform together on the field?
In Watson's three seasons that he was the full-time starter, he targeted his TEs an average of 97 times per season, or about six times a game. Keep in mind that his top TEs with the Texans were Ryan Griffin and Jordan Akins.
Njoku is the best TE prospect Watson has had the pleasure to throw to in his career. Watson will be able to take full advantage of Njoku's 6' 4" 246 lb athletic profile and use his 4.64 speed in the middle of the field.
With all of the TE premium leagues in the dynasty fantasy football world, Njoku is probably the best value buy on the market right now. He will be a top 10 TE at the end of the year, even if Watson is suspended for some games. Njoku's competition for snaps is Harrison Bryant.
Buy Njoku now, before your league mates realize he has a sure-fire path to lead their team to the playoffs and beyond.
Sell
Nick Chubb, RB
Nick Chubb is an awesome two-down RB in the NFL. This 2018 second-round pick has delivered very nice rushing numbers in his four years in the league. Chubb has produced 4,816 rushing yards off of his 908 carries in his career thus far. In his four years, he has rushed for 36 TDs, never having fewer than eight in one season.
So, why sell Chubb with his career numbers being so good?
Most of the dynasty fantasy football leagues out there are PPR. In his four years with the Browns, Chubb has just 92 receptions for 751 yards and 3 TDs. That is an average of 23 receptions for 188 yards and less than 1 TD per season. We need our RBs to catch passes, and Kareem Hunt does that for the Browns.
Chubb will turn 27 in December. This is the age that half of the RBs in the NFL start to decline. A majority of 28-year-old RBs show dramatically diminished stats. The best ability is availability in which Chubb has missed seven games in the past two years.
Chubb does not have that high value in the trade market for all league mates. He does have that high trade value for some league mates though. Your job is to find those owners and trade Chubb as soon as you can.
Keep
Amari Cooper, WR
Amari Cooper was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft by the (then) Oakland Raiders. In his fourth year with the Raiders, Cooper was traded to the Dallas Cowboys. The Cleveland Browns acquired Cooper from the Cowboys last month.
Cooper has had stellar stats no matter where he has been. The 6'1" and 225 lb WR knows how to separate from defensive backs and has very good hands. Cooper had just three drops last year off of 104 targets. He has incredible availability, only missing four games in his seven-year career. Turning just 28 this June, Cooper still has plenty of good football left.
He will be the leading target getter from Watson as long as both are on the field. Cooper has shown consistency over his seven years with an average of 117 targets for 74 receptions and 1,011 yards per season. Add in an average of 7 TDs per season, and you have a top 24 WR on your roster. In fact, some of the pros in ranking have him as high as #17 this year.
Keep Cooper on your roster for 2022 and reap the benefits of another stud QB. He never has had the high trade value that a consistent WR like him should bring. That will work to your advantage as the competition for targets on the Cleveland Browns roster as of April 25th, 2022 is Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz.
Thank you for checking out the latest article in the Buy/Sell/Keep series! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @OldMan_FF and @IDPGuys (we have offense too) and please check out our website at idpguys.org.
