Well, unless you had the Cleveland Browns’ defense by some stroke of pure luck and nothing else in week one, your fantasy football team probably wasn’t a great benefactor of any Browns players.
Cleveland’s defense is currently one of the top available in most fantasy football leagues after forcing Michael Vick to throw four interceptions, one that was taken for a touchdown by D’Qwell Jackson. The numbers don’t figure to be on the rise for the Cleveland defense, which now is going to have to do without star cornerback Joe Haden for a few weeks as he serves a suspension for his failure to notify the NFL that he has an adderal prescreption.
Against the Eagles, you had to figure the Browns’ top individual offensive player was Trent Richardson, even though he’d have a lot of rust to shake off. Well, Richardson struggled to get into the flow of anything, and other than the sweet run where he absolutely mauled through an Eagles defender, Richardson managed only 39 yards on 19 total carries.
The Browns will continue to center the offense around Richardson, especially if Brandon Weeden continues to struggle the way he has, dating all the way back to the pre-season. Weeden had a quarterback rating of around five, and didn’t produce any touchdowns. I think until he proves otherwise, Weeden is a player you want to steer clear from in the fantasy realm.
Because of that fact, until a Browns receiver clearly emerges among this group of guys, I probably would stay away from them as well. Mohammed Massaquoi was targeted a lot against the Eagles, but had just three catches for 41 yards. Josh Gordon continues to show he is capable of making big plays with two catches for 32 yards, and Greg Little didn’t even get on the board with a catch.
Overall, you’d have to give Cleveland’s week one fantasy football output a D-, saved only by the performance of their defense which appears to have been an unlikely repeat performance.