5 Cleveland Browns to target late in fantasy football drafts
By Tyler Bowen
RB/WR Duke Johnson
Projected rank (Via Yahoo! Fantasy): 133
As mentioned, Crowell should receive the bulk of the duty in Cleveland’s backfield. However, Duke Johnson will undoubtedly continue to get touches in a number of ways. According to pro-football-reference.com, Johnson has accumulated just under 1,800 yards from scrimmage over his first two seasons in the NFL.
Even if Johnson doesn’t get many carries behind Crowell, his strong presence in the passing game helps him hold his value. With exactly 74 targets in each of the last two seasons, Johnson is even more valuable in a PPR league.
In addition, Cleveland’s instability at quarterback may provide their entire backfield with more touches. It could also lead to more short, dump-off passes to the running backs. Even better, it looks like Johnson may actually get some more work out of the slot this year as well.
Ranked 133, Johnson’s projection is in the 12th-16th round (depending on how many teams are in the league). That said, he obviously won’t be drafted as a RB1, RB2, and maybe not even a RB3.
Yet, having a player with his ceiling on the bench or the FLEX spot can prove to be very beneficial.