The Cleveland Browns. An organization that has become synonymous with hard times and baffling decisions. That’s the reputation they’ve earned, not just in the NFL, but across all of sports. 

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Not only can they be rid of their five-year nightmare, Deshaun Watson, in the near future, but they now have a lot of promising young players on the team. Obviously, Myles Garrett is a one-man wrecking crew, plus rookies from last year like Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin are looking promising. A few of the right moves over the next few years, and the Browns could change the narrative.

Our job here, as with every article in this series, is to look at the depth chart, the contracts, and the salary cap to make some predictions for free agency. If there is a fantasy football spin, we’ll share it. If you want to know where we rank the Browns players, become a Fantasy Alarm Member today to access our full Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings along with our buy, hold, or sell recommendations!

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*
 

 
QBDeshaun WatsonShedeur SandersDillon Gabriel  
RBQuinshon JudkinsDylan SampsonJerome FordRaheim SandersTrayveon Williams
WRJerry JeudyJamari Thrash   
WRCedric TillmanGage LarvadainDeAndre Carter  
WRIsaiah BondMalachi Corley   
TEHarold FanninDavid NjokuBlake WhiteheartBrendan Bates 

TE

David Njoku

Blake Whiteheart

Brenden Bates

  


 

Cleveland Browns Depth Chart 2026 (Fantasy Football Relevant)

Key

  • White = free agent
  • Green = role is safe
  • Yellow =  role in flux
  • Orange = likely a depth piece
  • Red = roster spot not guaranteed

Cleveland Browns Free Agency 2026

  • CURRENT PROJECTED 2026 SALARIES: $330M
  • CURRENT ESTIMATED 2026 CAP SPACE: -$6.5M

Free Agent Types

Unrestricted free agent: Any player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract has expired. They are free to negotiate with any team.

Restricted free agent: A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. The CBA allowed for NFL teams to tender these players to one-year qualifying offers to retain them. Another team can sign them, but would need to provide the tendering team with compensation. In layman’s terms, if a new team signs a player, the current team can match it, or they receive the corresponding pick from the new team. These are the projected RFA tender levels per OverTheCap.com:

  • 1st Round - $7,893,000
  • 2nd Round - $5,658,000
  • Right of First Refusal - $3,453,000

Exclusive rights free agent: Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum, the player cannot negotiate with other teams. If the team wants the player back, these contracts are a no-brainer, as the player either needs to play on the contract or sit out. 
 

 

 

Browns Quarterback Depth Chart

Deshaun Watson

An interesting phenomenon happens in the world of very niche jobs. If this were accounting, you might just say, “Let’s find someone who isn’t a jerk”. But, in football, the skill gap between elite players and even the very good players, especially at the insanely specific job of NFL quarterback, can be very real. And that’s where the problem lies.

In this case, the contract for Deshaun Watson has been fully guaranteed, with really no real way to get rid of him. And, if you put him into a QB competition head-to-head with second-year Shedeur Sanders, the truth is that he will probably win. That doesn’t mean he’s the best long-term solution or even the better player long-term. But my bet would be that the 30-year-old Watson is currently better than 5th-round Sanders after only seven starts. Believe it or not, Watson is still fourth all-time in fantasy points per game. It might be a controversial take, but I actually think there is a very real chance that Watson starts for the Browns this season if he’s healthy - unless they intervene and move on from him. 

Shedeur Sanders

Shedeur Sanders is a polarizing player, but that’s mostly because of who his father is. And I think arguments could be made that Sanders would have gone higher than the 5th round if he didn’t have the distraction aspect, but if the talent and the profile were there, teams don’t just pass up on great players over that. We saw Joe Mixon go in the second round after he was caught on camera punching a woman in the face. 

That said, there is hope for Sanders if the Browns give him the chance again. Winning cures everything, and they do have an elite defense and some exciting young weapons. Given the fact that he doesn’t really run much, you’d need him to develop into an elite passer like Joe Burrow or Patrick Mahomes to really have big upside in single quarterback leagues. Could he get to the level of, say, Jared Goff or Brock Purdy, where we are really happy in superflex leagues? Hard to say for me, so I’d probably sell if there’s a buyer.   

Dillon Gabriel

Gabriel got about as big an opportunity as third-round NFL quarterbacks usually get - a chance to start briefly. Here are the top 12 third-round pick QBs in terms of career fantasy points drafted over the last 25 years. Starting only six games, Gabriel is actually 22nd on the list. The vast majority of fantasy-relevant QBs are picked in the first two rounds. I’m just not sure he gets a chance to start again for Cleveland, so now you are rooting for a trade.

  • Reserves/Futures: N/A

BROWNS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: I truly believe this was the Browns' plan all along. You have a guy who has guaranteed money that you can’t get rid of. You don’t want to spend up on another quarterback. So what do you do? You make a minor trade for Kenny Pickett. You sign Joe Flacco. You don’t use a meaningful pick but instead draft not one but TWO quarterbacks in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. And, at the end of the day, you say, “We tried everything, and nothing worked, so I guess we have to give Deshaun Watson one last chance”.

That chance probably would have come last year had he not gotten hurt. That said, GM Andrew Berry has made it clear that everything is on the table, from trades to the draft to free agency. So here are the top free agent quarterbacks if the Browns want to go in that direction. They need a starter, though, not a development project. This is probably the one team where Aaron Rodgers would only be the third most-hated QB on the roster.  

Browns Running Back Depth Chart

Quinshon Judkins

We got some good news from the combine on Quinshon Judkins, as GM Andrew Berry mentioned that he’s out of the walking boot and on track for camp. The surface-level stats for Judkins at 3.6 yards per carry weren’t great, but the team was terrible, so it’s hard to produce at a high level. The fact that he showed chops in both the run and pass game while putting up almost 1,000 yards from scrimmage in 14 games has us bullish on Judkins moving forward. 

Dylan Sampson

Judkins wasn’t the only rookie back who looked promising, as Dylan Sampson showed he had some chops in the pass game as well as returning kicks. The one question for Sampson (and Judkins as well) is whether they can really handle pass blocking duties or not at this level. Jerome Ford graded out much better in that regard and got more work there than all other backs on the roster combined (65 vs. 59 snaps). We’ve seen better backs falter over this crucial skill.   

Jerome Ford

As we mentioned above, the one spot Jerome Ford shone brightest was in pass protection. He’s an unrestricted free agent and, if they re-sign him, we can be fairly confident why that is. For his own fantasy value in your dynasty leagues, we’d like to see him test out the market and find a new home. 

Raheim Sanders

Raheim “Rocket” Sanders was initially picked up by the Chargers as an undrafted free agent, then scooped for depth by the Browns. He had some hype pre-draft, but it was disappointing that he couldn’t carve out something in Los Angeles despite numerous RB injuries. He’s not a roster lock for 2026. 

Trayveon Williams

Williams spent time on the fringes of a few different teams and, like Sanders, that included the Chargers. He was called up for depth, but isn’t much more than a practice-squad type guy.  

BROWNS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Browns invested pretty heavily in running back in the last draft, and I think it would be wise to see what they have in Judkins and Sampson. If they don’t think Sampson can handle pass protection, bringing back someone like Ford would make sense. If they REALLY wanted to push that aspect and split the backfield, guys like Rachaad White and Kenneth Gainwell are out there. But they want bigger roles themselves, so I doubt they’d want to be behind Judkins on the depth chart. So I don’t expect a major splash here.

  • POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: N/A

 

 

 

Browns Wide Receiver Depth Chart

Jerry Jeudy

Jerry Jeudy demanded a trade on multiple occasions in Denver - so they shipped him off to Cleveland. And, against the odds and terrible QB play, he proceeded to put up his best season with 90 catches for 1,229 yards and 4 TDs. Then, in 2025, he came back to earth with only 50 catches for 602 yards and 2 TDs in 17 games.

That has the 27-year-old Jerry Jeudy tapped as a trade candidate for 2026. They wouldn’t actually save any cap space - in fact, they would technically lose about ~$350K. But they would get an asset back and move on from a player that might not be part of their future. He would make a good slot/flanker pairing alongside a big split end. 

The thing is, some of the trade destinations that have a big split end already don’t necessarily make sense. The Browns probably don’t want to help the Steelers by pairing Jeudy with DK Metcalf. Kevin Stefanski might not want to bring Jeudy with him to pair with Drake London. And Jeudy already wore out his welcome with the Broncos. Teams like the 49ers, Saints, or Seahawks could make sense. It doesn’t help them financially to release him, so they’d need a partner. 

Cedric Tillman

Tillman has been the de facto WR2 for Cleveland, but injuries have derailed him over his three-year career so far. In 2025, he did manage to appear in 13 games and, in eight of them, he posted either one or zero catches. Tillman could end up with a role in 2026 by default, but the plan has to be to overhaul things in this wide receiver group at some point. 

Isaiah Bond

Bond got a slow start as legal troubles delayed him from getting picked up by a team. But the Browns gave him kind of an unprecedent offers for an undrafted free agent to secure his rights. And he quietly finished with the third most receiving yards despite playing less than 50% of the snaps on the season. He probably does not need to be rostered unless it’s a deep dynasty league, but if I’m stashing any Browns WR besides Jeudy, it would be Bond. 

Jamari Thrash

Jamari Thrash was banged up for portions of the season, but even when he returned, he was made a healthy inactive at times. He’s a free agent, and I don’t expect him back in 2026 given that info.

Gage Larvadain

Larvadain was the main punt returner for the Browns, and he’s under contract for 2026, so I expect him back in that capacity. 

Malachi Corley

The former Jet was touted as a slot guy, but primarily just returned kicks. He’s an unrestricted free agent and could be part of the discussion for kick returns, but does not have much fantasy upside. 

DeAndre Carter

Carter is a return specialist. He’s an unrestricted free agent, but could also be signed for that job. 

BROWNS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Browns' wide receiver situation is pretty dire, especially if you think Jeudy gets traded. It really does not help them to release him, though, so it’s trade or nothing. The Deshaun Watson situation not only hurts their cap space but also their ability to attract free agents.

Let’s assume Jerry Jeudy is there, and they want a big body on the outside. They aren’t going to be in the running for guys like George Pickens, Mike Evans, Alec Pierce, or even Romeo Doubs. These are the best names left - it’s not great. Perhaps the best possible move would be if Deshaun Watson could convince a possibly desperate DeAndre Hopkins to run it back one more time. 

 

 

 

Browns Tight End Depth Chart

Harold Fannin

Another “rookie ray of hope” in Cleveland as Harold Fannin essentially took over the TE1 spot while putting up a big season - and not just for a rookie. We have to feel pretty good about him in dynasty, despite the QB situation, as I don’t think the WR situation sorts itself out overnight either. The odds of the Browns having two WRs that command more targets than Fannin in 2026 are not particularly good, especially if they trade Jeudy.  

David Njoku

David Njoku said his goodbyes, and GM Andrew Berry acknowledged that he probably won’t be back. That makes Njoku one of the better free-agent tight ends available this offseason. 

The landing spot is going to be crucial, as there are spots with a job and a lot of targets available (like the Dolphins or Commanders). But there are some traps out there, too. If he follows Kevin Stefanski to the Falcons to be the inline tight end with Kyle Pitts in the Harold Fannin role, that would not be good. Some teams also have multiple high-end WRs, so even if playing with Joe Burrow sounds nice, we don’t want him stuck as the third fiddle to guys like Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. When you consider what actually creates elite tight ends in fantasy football, there are fewer good landing spots than you think. 

Blake Whiteheart

Blake Whiteheart is a blocking tight end who plays a ton of special teams. With Njoku gone, I expect him back, but I could also see Todd Monken and company wanting a better primary inline tight end so he's probably more depth here.

Brendan Bates

The Browns claimed Brenden Bates after he was waived by Houston to serve as depth. He appeared briefly and primarily on special teams, so his roster spot is not safe.  

BROWNS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: Of the reserves/futures tight ends out there, Sal Cannella is one of the few I like. But his skills overlap with Harold Fannin, so he’s not an answer to their problem. With what Toddy Monken likes to do and the issues they may have attracting WRs, grabbing a second inline tight end could make a lot of sense. They don’t need to be big pass-catchers since you have Fannin, so here are some names.

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