Overall Fantasy Impact: Above Average

Offensive Outlook: Coming off a surprising season in which the Browns ranked 8th in the NFL in points and yards with a young offense, it makes sense that they chose to pretty much stand pat on that side of the ball in the offseason. They picked up some key defensive components instead, which should help to get the offense on the field much more often.

There are a few worries (lack of depth at running back, health concerns for Kellen Winslow), but continued improvement by the young stars should mean more big numbers emanating from Cleveland this year.

QUARTERBACK: Derek Anderson’s emergence was one of the most surprising developments in fantasy football last year. Most assumed he was just keeping the seat warm for Brady Quinn, but 3,787 yards and 29 TD passes later, Anderson is now on the short list of the best fantasy options at the position in 2008.

Quinn’s presence is a bit worrisome for Anderson owners. What if Anderson stumbles a bit out of the gate? The pressure will mount quickly for Coach Romeo Crennel to give the Golden-Domer a chance, which could mean that Anderson could go from hero to bust in fantasy circles very quickly. As such, he is much riskier than some of the other top QB’s on the market.

RUNNING BACKS: Jamal Lewis proved a lot of folks wrong last year with his big numbers (1,304 yards and 9 TDs despite missing nearly two full games.) Along the way he had some huge games (216 yards one week, 4 TDs another) which singlehandedly gave a lot of his owners wins on those weeks. He finished strong with 100-yard efforts in 4 of the last 6 weeks, and, at 28, he should have at least one or two more years at a similar level. He shouldn’t get past the second round of your draft.

Jason Wright is the main back-up, but he hasn’t distinguished himself when given a chance to play in Lewis’ absence, so he might not even be worthy of even a handcuff pick by Lewis owners.

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT ENDS: The third year was a charm for Braylon Edwards. He was the best fantasy receiver not named Randy Moss last season, with 1,289 yards and 16 scores to his credit. Fully clear of the injuries of his first two seasons, he lit it up big-time, and there are enough weapons around to make sure that opposing defenses can’t overcrowd him. He’s a number-one fantasy receiver who should be a 3rd-round pick, at least.

Joe Jurevicius is now 33, and while valuable to the Browns, his fantasy value at this time is minimal (no TDs after week 4 last year.) Donte Stallworth, arriving from the New England, is a better fantasy option at this time. He should get more balls thrown his way this year, but, despite a world of promise, he’s never managed a 1,000-yard season in his career. He’s no better than a 4th receiver for fantasy purposes.

Kellen Winslow topped 1,100 yards last year as his yards per catch shot up from 2006. His yards might go down but you can expect a lot more than 5 TDs this year if you draft him. If you can handle his constant presence on the injury report (even though he didn’t miss a game last year, he had more offseason knee surgery), you should be looking at him at the very top of this year’s tight end class.