RB Ben Tate (Cleveland)

Ben Tate was drafted in the 2nd round in 2010 by the Texans to be the starting running back, but broke his ankle in the pre-season, which opened the door for Arian Foster to emerge as one of the best running backs in the NFL. Upon his return from that injury, Tate impressed as his backup, averaging 5.09 YPC on 240 carries in 2011 and 2012 and got his shot to be the starter in 2013 when Arian Foster went down with a season ending back injury.

Unfortunately, the injury bug reared its head for Tate again as he broke several ribs. He only missed 2 games, the final two of the season, but was definitely hampered by the injury as he averaged just 4.26 yards per carry on 181 carries. Tate clearly has the talent and toughness to be a lead back in the NFL, but he’s also missed 24 of 64 possible regular season games in his career thus far and is coming off of an injury plagued season. Staying healthy will be the key to him potentially having a breakout year.

200 carries for 840 yards, 6 total touchdowns, 30 catches for 220 yards (142 pts standard)

RB Terrance West (Cleveland)

West is a good value pick after the top running backs go. Ben Tate’s injury history is well documented and West is reportedly just a notch behind Tate in the coaching staff’s eyes anyway and could easily see a bunch of carries on a run heavy offense anyway. The 3^rd round rookie could end up being a steal in the mid rounds.

160 carries for 700 yards, 6 total touchdowns, 24 catches for 180 yards (124 pts standard)

WR Andrew Hawkins (Cleveland)

Hawkins has flashed in 3 seasons with the Bengals since coming to them as an undrafted free agent in 2011, averaging 1.66 yards per route run in his career. However, he’s only run 598 routes in his career and caught 86 passes for 995 yards and 4 touchdowns. In the only season he got significant playing time, 2012, he caught 51 passes for 533 yards and 4 touchdowns on 384 routes run, 1.39 yards per route run. The Browns are hoping he’s a budding talent that was just buried on the depth chart in Cincinnati, giving him a 4-year, 13.6 million deal this off-season, but that might be wishful thinking. He’s their best wide receiver only by default, and doesn’t have a ton of fantasy value.

62 catches for 740 yards and 4 touchdowns (98 pts standard)

TE Jordan Cameron (Cleveland)

The only Browns pass catcher that does have fantasy value is tight end Jordan Cameron, who should lead the Browns in all receiving categories this season. However, he might not match the 80 catches for 917 yards and 7 touchdowns he had last season as the Browns won’t pass 681 times again this season. They could have 150-200 fewer passing attempts this season and Cameron only averaged 1.47 yards per route run last season. He could be more efficient this season, but I don’t see him having more than the 109 targets he had last season, 3^rd in the NFL.

64 catches for 800 yards and 8 touchdowns (128 pts standard)

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