Summer Sleeper: Cleveland Browns
We continue our annual 32-part Summer Sleeper series where DLF scribes identify a lightly-touted player on each NFL roster who may be worthy of your consideration. Our subjects all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but each merits a bit of in-depth discussion here in the Premium Content section.
To help everybody along, we are going to be categorizing our sleepers under one of three headings:
Super Deep Sleepers – Players who aren’t roster-worthy in 12-team leagues, but are still worth keeping an eye on.
Deep Sleepers – An end of the roster player who is more often than not on the waiver wire in 12-team leagues.
Sleeper – A likely rostered player who makes for a good trade target. Their startup ADP puts them out of the top-175 or so.
Because we aren’t going give you the likes of mainstream sleepers like Allen Robinson or C.J. Anderson, most of these players will undoubtedly fizzle. All we are asking is for you to keep an open mind and perhaps be willing to make room for one of these players on your bench. You never know when the next Alfred Morris is going to spring up. Feel free to add your own thoughts about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own in the comments below.
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It is rare to find an NFL team where you don’t know who the leading receiver for the season is likely to be by the time training camp rolls around. It is even rarer to have that be the case for the running back position and the quarterback position as well. Yet this is the position the Browns seem to have found themselves in this year. If there is a team in the NFL you could cross completely off your fantasy draft board, it would probably be Cleveland.
There really isn’t a whole lot to get excited about here. Their top receivers on the depth chart are Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline, both of whom have been disappointments from a statistical standpoint over the last few years. It is likely that one of them (or even Andrew Hawkins) will produce as a fantasy WR3, but I have no idea which one of them it will be. The running back position is equally murky as 2015 rookie Duke Johnson joins 2014 rookies Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West in a three headed blob of a committee. I’m putting zero faith in any of them to post consistent numbers as all three of them will likely have games where they are the leading rusher on the team. Then there is of course the quarterback position. Johnny Manziel seems to have finally dedicated himself to football and has the most raw talent by far, but he has a ways to go. Josh McCown was barely serviceable last year when he had weapons like Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. He had less than 200 yards in four of his last five games and less than a 53 percent completion rate in five of his last six. Browns fans better hope Manziel figures it out quickly.
There is one player who I am excited to see what they can do this year in Cleveland though, because I think they have a fairly clear path to a starting role and the talent to take advantage of it.
Rob Housler, TE CLE
Category: Deep Sleeper
A few of you out there have been burned by Housler for the last several years. You’ve been talking him up and stashing him on your roster ever since his rookie year in 2011 when the Cardinals took him in the early third round. Chances are you’ve had your fill and are ready to wash your hands of Housler who has a total of one touchdown in his four years in the desert but at least hear me out on why you might want to consider him as an end of the roster player once again.
In order to be a productive fantasy asset, we all know it takes opportunity and at least some level of talent. Of course the more talent they have, the higher the upside, but let’s start by looking at the opportunity piece. For starters, with Jordan Cameron now in Miami, can you name any other Cleveland tight ends? Take a moment and actually try. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Chances are, unless you’re a Browns fan (and several of you probably can’t name any) or you spend way too much time studying NFL rosters, you couldn’t come up with any! There’s a good reason for that. The other tight ends on the roster right now are Gary Barnidge, Jim Dray and some late round or undrafted rookies. If you haven’t heard of them, don’t feel bad. Barnidge has 44 receptions and 603 yards in seven seasons while Dray has 50 receptions for 544 yards in five seasons. Even if you packed their whole careers into one year, they would just barely be on the radar. Neither of them are going to put up much of a fight for the starting tight end role. The next question is if Housler has the ability to win the starting job.
Going back to 2011, there was a reason Housler was drafted in the early third round. When you find a 6’5”, 250 pound tight end who can run a 4.55 second 40 yard dash and has a 37” vertical jump it is going to get some attention. He wasn’t a great run blocker back then and still isn’t great at it even now, but there is no doubt about the athletic ability he possesses. He has flashed nice hands as well during his time in Arizona, and his route running has improved a bit as well but still has room to grow.
The big question is why would anything be different in Cleveland than it was in Arizona? To me, the biggest reason comes down to who else is there. In Arizona, they actually had quality receivers who would dominate targets. That isn’t going to be the case in Cleveland. With no dominate receiver and no established pecking order for targets there is a chance someone like Housler could move very near the top of that list. With either an old and slightly broken McCown at the helm or the inexperienced Manziel, a tight end who can get open over the middle of the field could be a big time weapon as a check down and a safety valve.
I don’t think the Browns offense can support a top player at any position this year, but I think Housler could move into the upper TE2 ranks this season if things go perfectly for him. He should easily top his career touchdown number which stands at a massive one and post career bests in yards and receptions by a fair margin. His ceiling is likely around 60 receptions, 750 yards, and five scores.
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- Final 2021 Pre-Draft Rookie Mock: Round Three - April 28, 2021
- Final 2021 Pre-Draft Rookie Mock: Round Two - April 26, 2021
- Final 2021 Pre-Draft Rookie Mock: Round One - April 25, 2021
