Fantasy Football 2016 Preview: Cleveland Browns running backs

Duke Johnson Jr.

Johnson is going much earlier than Crowell and leading the Browns running backs in ADP by going in the eighth round as the 28th RB off the board.  You definitely don’t want to draft Johnson in a place where you’ll be forced to start him every week, but his higher ceiling does make him an intriguing option as a high RB4 or a low RB3.

Last season, Johnson missed most of camp with injury and started the year a little slowly. He did emerge as the season went on, though, and ended up being quite a weapon in the Browns passing game.

Johnson caught at least four passes in nine of his last 14 games last year including two receiving touchdowns.  He ended up with 534 yards receiving on his 61 catches and also had 379 yards rushing on his 104 carries. His average yards per carry and yards per game rushing were pretty uninspiring, but he grew into enough of a weapon that his upside in a different offense with improved QB play is definitely intriguing.

To open the year, it looks like Johnson will serve in a similar role to Giovani Bernard on the Bengals last season.  Johnson will rotate in on third down and other passing situations.  If the Browns play from behind (as usual) that could be enough work to keep him fantasy relevant especially in PPR leagues.

At this point, Johnson has a higher ceiling than Crowell, but I’d rather him as a RB4 than an RB3 where you’ll need production from him at some point this season.  He’s being slightly over-drafted based on his potential, but the potential is undeniably there for him to have a breakout season.

Next: Depth options