4 Players to Stash in Fantasy Football From the AFC North

Terrell Watson, RB, Cleveland Browns

The Player

Terrelle Pryor has been the clear offseason star for the Cleveland Browns, causing his stock to climb quickly, but the player who intrigues me on this roster is former Hue Jackson pupil Terrell Watson.

Watson followed his coach from the Bengals to the Browns after Jackson claimed him off Cincinnati's practice squad and is now waiting for his opportunity as the third back on the depth chart.

Watson's story is fascinating, and his desire to overcome obstacles and prove the naysayers wrong has led him from a basket on someone's doorstep as an infant to tiny Azusa Pacific University and now the National Football League.

Academic issues kept him from being recruited to any Division I program, and so he found his way to Azusa as an unheralded player with an unrelenting will. As a senior in college, in 2014, he led all NCAA levels with 2,212 yards and scored 29 touchdowns.

Strong, fast, and powerful at 6'1", 236 pounds, Watson ran a 4.55-second 40-yard dash at his pro day and may possess the type of no-nonsense power that Jackson seems to covet in players such as Jeremy Hill, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and Michael Bush (who he had in Oakland). And for a player with the type of past that Watson has, he is not a guy to doubt when it comes to his will on the football field.

The Opportunity

In his two years in the NFL, Isaiah Crowell has been a decidedly average runner. In terms of Net Expected Points (NEP) per carry, he ranked alongside Eddie Lacy, Jeremy Hill and T.J. Yeldon in terms of efficiency (-0.06) in 2015. While he certainly hasn't been a bad player, he also has demonstrated that he is replaceable and certainly doesn't have a stranglehold on the starting job or perhaps even a roster spot.

Duke Johnson will see his role in the passing game continue to mirror the Giovani Bernard type of role that Jackson had for the Bengals, but there still are questions as to whether he can be a feature back or if the coaching staff even wants him to handle a larger rushing workload. While many saw Crowell's season as average, Johnson was actually worse on a per carry basis, scoring just -0.09 in our Rushing NEP per rush metric.

So who will take the reigns as the power back and goal line weapon? We know head coach Hue Jackson has a history of leaning on the running game, so there is value to be found. If Crowell continues to toil in mediocrity or wears out his welcome with another off-the-field mistake, don't be surprised if Watson gets an opportunity. And if there's one thing Watson has demonstrated the ability to do over his life it's take advantage of opportunities.