Fantasy Upside
Tyrod Taylor is in line to start the season for the Browns, who have high hopes. Cleveland has a solid group of wideouts that includes Josh Gordon, free agent pickup Jarvis Landry, and former first-round pick Corey Coleman. Cleveland also improved its backfield, signing Carlos Hyde and drafting Nick Chubb.
Taylor joins Cleveland after a productive three-year stay in Buffalo where he had 65 total touchdowns (51 passing, 14 rushing) with just 21 turnovers (16 interceptions, 5 fumbles) in 44 games. He’s an accurate passer, who adds plenty on the ground, averaging 525 rushing yards per season in Buffalo.
Fantasy Downside
Although this isn’t fair to Taylor, Cleveland has typically been a place where quarterbacks go to die. It’s been a while since there’s been a reliable QB for the Browns, and although this doesn’t really reflect on Taylor in 2018, it’s hard to ignore.
Having said that, there are some reasons to be skeptical of Taylor this season. For starters, there’s always the threat of Cleveland wanting to turn to its No. 1 overall draft pick, Baker Mayfield. Also, while Taylor has been a serviceable fantasy option in the past, he’s not really an elite option who will put up big numbers. In his three seasons with Buffalo, he had just one 300-yard passing game.
2018 Bottom Line
Taylor likely won’t be a QB you draft to become your full-season starter. If you’re looking to stream quarterbacks, then Taylor would be a great late-round option. He’s surrounded with more talent in Cleveland than he ever had in Buffalo, so he could end up being a sneaky option in 2018.