Ravens at Browns: 5 best fantasy options

Josh McCown’s promotion to starting quarterback is good news for the Cleveland Browns from a fantasy perspective. His superior mechanics mean more of the offense’s playmakers can get involved against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2.

McCown has replaced the injured Robert Griffin III, and is a more competent pocket-passer who knows how to spread the ball around. It means good news for at least one veteran wide receiver.

5. Andrew Hawkins

Former Cincinnati Bengals pass-catcher Andrew Hawkins saw no action in Week 1. But the 30-year-old is a very solid fantasy option now McCown is under center.

Griffin is a deep-ball quarterback always looking for the big play. He tends to focus his eyes, reads and throws on outside receivers. Those tendencies don’t really suit a slot-specialist like Hawkins.

But the nifty 5’7″ 180-pounder can create quick separation out of his break and has hands you can trust. More importantly, Hawkins can exploit an obvious weakness in the Baltimore secondary, namely the lack of a credible third corner.

Jimmy Smith and Shareece Wright man the outside, but Kyle Arrington’s place on injured reserve hurts this defense. Jerraud Powers was inactive last week, while Lardarius Webb has moved to free safety. So the Ravens are still searching for solutions in the slot.

Hawkins should be a matchup problem with McCown making the reads and throwing the passes.

Next: 4. Dennis Pitta