2025 Draft Guide: Cleveland Browns

Coaching History: Last Three Years

Head Coach: Kevin Stefanski (CLE ’22-24)
Offensive Coordinator: Tommy Rees (CLE ’24, N/A ’23, CLE ’22)
2024 Record: 3-14

Team Summary

The Browns’ fans may be the dog pound, but the Browns’ front office needs to be in the doghouse. After trading for Deshaun Watson in 2022 and giving him a fully guaranteed contract (amid a flurry of sexual assault allegations), here we are, in 2025, and we have yet to see Watson lead the Browns in passing (2022: Brissett, 2023: Flacco, 2024: Winston). That is what the kids would call #NotGood.

Stefanski is known for his zone-heavy run schemes setting up play action passing, so it was exciting to see the Browns’ spend an early pick on Quinshon Judkins in the 2nd Round of the NFL Draft. Unfortunately, that excitement has turned into disappointment, as Judkins has had a turbulent start to his NFL career. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery and domestic violence. In addition to his legal issues, Judkins is one of the many 2nd round picks that did not sign their rookie contracts right away. While the rest of the picks have come to terms with their teams, Judkins remains unsigned and away from the team. Time will tell whether the Browns will get anything from their rookie RB, or whether it is just another wasted asset as seems to be the case with Deshaun Watson.

When they do put players on the field, Cleveland has used three WRs the vast majority of the time. However, they drafted Harold Fannin Jr., TE from Bowling Green, in the third round, which may signal a shift towards more two TE sets. This would fit better with Cleveland’s personnel, as they lack talent in their WR corps, so their second- and third WR options should probably be ignored for fantasy purposes.

2024 Ranks (2023 Rank)

• Points: 32nd (10th)
• Yards: 28th (16th)
• Passing Attempts: 1st (5th)
• Passing Yards: 22nd (19th)
• Passing TDs: 28th (16th)
• Rushing Attempts: 28th (4th)
• Rushing Yards: 29th (12th)
• Rushing TDs: 30th (14th)

2024 Positional Market Share

Good luck deciphering what the Browns will plan to do with their RBs in 2025. Between injury and offensive ineptness, no RB received even 30% of their carries. Their QBs combined for nearly 20% of rushing attempts despite not being notable running QBs – it was just a bizarre year.

Jerry Jeudy was far and away the top target in 2024. While that likely is due to a lack of competition, there hasn’t been much added to the roster to change that this year. Expect Jeudy to again lead the team in targets, with another healthy share headed towards the TE group.

Depth Chart:

• QB: Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, Shadeur Sanders, Ham Sandwich
• RB: Jerome Ford, Dylan Sampson, Pierre Strong … Quinshon Judkins?
• WR: Jerry Jeudy (Z), Cedric Tillman (X), Diontae Johnson, Jamari Thrash, Kaden Davis
• TE: David Njoku, Harold Fannin Jr., Blake Whiteheart

Player Breakdowns

A veteran presence meant to steady the ship, Flacco’s best days are behind him. If, and that is a big if, he wins the job; he still likely isn’t fantasy relevant. His job will be to avoid turnovers and try to keep games competitive. He won’t provide anything in the way of rushing, and his receiving weapons leave a lot to be desired. There is no reason to roster Flacco unless you need to start multiple QBs.

Hoping for a career reset, Pickett signed with Cleveland in a situation where he actually has a chance to win the starting job. I believe he is a slightly better option than Flacco for fantasy, but similarly, I wouldn’t roster Pickett except in the deepest leagues.

Shadeur is listed 4th on the depth chart, but shined during Preseason Week 1. After an unexpected tumble all the way to the 5th Round of the NFL Draft, Shadeur landed with the Brown’s and frankly, despite his flaws, may be their best hope. He is accurate, but lacks the top end arm strength to consistently make deep throws to threaten defenses. His mobility can buy him time to make plays off-script. Unfortunately, the decision-making when using his mobility frequently leads to unnecessary sacks that can kill drives. While he’ll be classified as a “Boom or Bust” pick, the reality is that he’ll probably be somewhere in the middle if he gets an opportunity to start. Expect low end QB2 production if he gets to start, but don’t be surprised if he spikes on days where the offense clicks.

Ford doesn’t quite meet the criteria to be a priority target, but he’s close. That isn’t to say I expect awesome production, but rather that his cost is just too low. He is slated to start the season atop the Brown’s depth chart, with only Pierre Strong and 4th Round Rookie, Dylan Sampson as meaningful competition. In this situation, he should get the lions share of the work in at least a 60-40 type committee and would be able to consistently put up RB3 production. Even if Quinshon Judkins were to sign and join the team. With the amount of missed time, I would expect Cleveland to use a committee with Judkins and Ford, which raises the floor. At RB49, the drafting public seems to think that Ford is at best 2nd on the depth chart, when in fact, that is the worst-case scenario.

Judkins was a 2nd Round Draft Pick out of Ohio State. You’re aware of the off-field issues, but he remains fantasy relevant until the point at which he is ineligible to play for the year. You’ll have to make your own risk assessment for when to draft a player like this, but you should know that his upside is RB2 production late in the season when results matter the most.

Sampson was drafted in the 4th Round of the NFL Draft and slated to be a depth option for fellow-rookie Quinshon Judkins. Now, Sampson finds himself 2nd on the depth chart (I don’t care where the Browns are listing Pierre Strong, they could have given him work previously and have chosen not to). Sampson is a decently well rounded back, but doesn’t really excel in any one area. If afforded the opportunity, he would provide flex-level production with upside as a volume-based play.

Jeudy will move between Flanker and Slot as the Browns try to create mismatches for their best receiving threat. His efficiency hasn’t been great, generating only 0.21 TPRR and 1.84 YPRR. Despite flashes of elite production in 2024, he likely won’t repeat those highs, as the QB situation is much more dire. By moving on from Jameis Winston, the Browns signal that they want to play more conservatively in 2025. That means less chances down the field, and less opportunity for big plays.

Cedric Tillman emerged as an intriguing option as the Brown’s X receiver during 2024.  He flashed potential, and hopefully can continue that momentum into 2025.  Tillman tends to run deeper routes, which can create big plays, but also tends to provide fewer opportunities.  Don’t expect Tillman to be fantasy relevant in anything besides deep PPR leagues.

Don’t be fooled by the name brand. Diontae entered 2024 as the lead WR for the Carolina Panthers, but to start 2025, he is now on his 4th team since the start of last season. While a decent player, it is obvious that there are some issues behind the scenes, and you should let one of your league mates make the mistake of drafting this headache in the late rounds.

David Njoku is a super-athletic pass catching TE, and he showed in 2024 that he can produce when called upon. A shift toward “12” personnel as expected would benefit Njoku, as he earned targets at a much higher rate than when lined up in “11” personnel (25.3% target share vs 20.1% target share). Njoku will remain a focal point of the offense by default, as the WR corps lacks proven options behind Jerry Jeudy. Expect a low end TE1 finish to the season, with occasional spike games throughout the season.

Fannin was brought in to add another pass catching option to the TE room in preparation for the move toward increased usage of 2-TE formations. Fannin has excellent receiving ability, as evidenced by leading FBS in catches and yards (among ALL positions, not just TE). Expect him to be used as a ‘move’ option in the passing game, and he’ll likely spend a good chunk of his time in the slot. He may not produce significant numbers out of the gate, but given his pedigree, he is worth a late round stash in case he manages to become a focal point of the offense.

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