Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (shoulder) was recently throwing during 7-on-7 drills. While that was a promising sign for fantasy managers, general manager Andrew Berry painted a more encouraging picture. "First and foremost, Deshaun has really worked his tail off," Berry told the media on Monday. "He's really actually ahead of schedule. He's thrown the ball well." The 28-year-old should be ready to go for Week 1 after undergoing shoulder surgery in November. But the real question is if he'll bounce back from a forgettable 2023-24 campaign. Although there's a good chance Watson will, he's still hard to trust to be the No. 1 signal-caller on any fantasy roster.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (undisclosed) is sitting out of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday with a minor undisclosed injury. Jeudy's injury doesn't appear to be serious at all, but the Browns aren't going to push their new receiver this offseason. The 25-year-old should be ready to rock for training camp at the end of July, but meanwhile, he's missing valuable repetitions with quarterback Deshaun Watson (shoulder) as he learns a new offense. Jeudy signed a lucrative three-year extension with Cleveland after being acquired in a trade with the Denver Broncos this offseason. The former 15th overall pick by Denver in 2020 out of Alabama has yet to play a full season in four years in the NFL and should be viewed as more of a WR4/5 with a low ceiling and floor in fantasy heading into his first campaign with the Jets behind Amari Cooper.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (shoulder) is throwing the football in 7-on-7 drills on the first day of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, which is something he didn't do at voluntary organized team activities last month. It's a big step for Watson, who required surgery last November to fix a displaced glenoid fracture in his right shoulder. The 28-year-old has tangible QB1 upside when healthy, but he hasn't really been healthy since returning from a suspension that kept him out for all of 2021. As long as he doesn't suffer any setbacks, Watson should be a full-go for training camp this summer and be ready for Week 1 of the regular season. Because he's dealing with a unique injury to his throwing arm, Watson should be considered a QB2 in fantasy in 2024 with upside for more if he proves he's completely past the injury.

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku said that he's looking to "just be better than last year" as an encore to his Pro Bowl season in 2023, and he's also excited about new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey's scheme. "It is juicy," Njoku said of Cleveland's offense. "I am not going to say anything else. Leave it at that. But I'm really excited for this year." The 27-year-old former 29th overall pick in 2017 out of Miami, Njoku set career-highs across the board last year and finished with a team-high 81 catches on 123 targets for 882 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 16 regular-season games, while playing with five different quarterbacks. Dorsey will be Njoku's fifth offensive coordinator in eight seasons in Cleveland. Most of Njoku's production last year came late with veteran Joe Flacco, but still, he's firmly on the TE1 map in 2024 and has been extremely durable in his career.

Cleveland Browns running back Pierre Strong Jr. (back) was participating in organized team activities on Wednesday. Strong appears to be recovered from a back injury that kept him out of the team's wild-card loss to the Houston Texans in the postseason. The 25-year-old was active for all 17 regular-season games in 2023 in his first year in Cleveland but only started one contest and had 63 rushing attempts for 21 yards and one touchdown while adding five receptions on eight targets for 47 yards through the air. Lead back Nick Chubb (knee) is recuperating from a gruesome knee injury and may not be ready to go by Week 1, but the Browns also added backfield depth this offseason in D'Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines. Even if Chubb isn't ready to go, Strong is merely going to be RB depth in Cleveland, and he's not a lock to make the roster out of training camp.