Fantasy Football: Assessing Kareem Hunt's value if he returns to the Cleveland Browns

In the wake of Nick Chubb's serious knee injury Monday night, the Cleveland Browns and Chubb's fantasy owners need to find another plan for the rest of the season. Even those who have Chubb in a dynasty league need to re-consider their plan with him.

In terms of real life fill-ins for Chubb, the Browns appear set to turn to Jerome Ford as their new lead back. But adding someone is a virtual certainty, and among available free agents Kareem Hunt makes a lot of sense.

Right on cue Tuesday afternoon, Hunt is apparently visiting the Browns.

Hunt of course spent the 2019-2022 seasons with the Browns, forming a nice backfield duo with Chubb for much of that time. But his usage really dropped last year (123 carries and 35 catches in 17 games), and there were some indications the Browns thought he had lost a step or two. Hence why they didn't bring him back during the offseason.

Fantasy Football: Would Kareem Hunt have any value back with the Browns?

In the wake of an incident that led to the Kansas City Chiefs to part ways with him. Hunt started his Browns' career with an eight-game suspension in 2019. From Week 9-17 that season, he was a top-30 fantasy running back per-game in PPR scoring. He missed nine games in 2021, but when he was fully healthy from Week 1-6 he was RB9 in full PPR.

2020 was by far Hunt's best season as a Brown (841 rushing yards, six touchdowns; 38 receptions for 304 yards, five touchdowns). He finished as RB10 across the board (standard, 0,5-point PPR, full PPR), one spot ahead of Chubb in full PPR.

Hunt is of course available in most fantasy leagues right now (5.9 percent rostered in ESPN leagues; 14 percent rostered in Yahoo! leagues). Until he signs somewhere though, he's not worth adding with any great priority.

The Browns would clearly be the best fit for Hunt now, since he could presumably step right into an offense he spent the last three season in. In fantasy terms, with a nod toward 0.5-point or full PPR, he'd be nothing more than a low-end flex option in leagues with 12 or more teams if he returns to Cleveland.