Coach Kevin Stefanski said he'll expand Hooper's role this year, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. "We're going to grow [Hooper's] role,'' Stefanski said last week. "He really understands now in Year 2 how we plan to use him, and again, I do believe his role can grow."
Hooper was disappointing in fantasy last year, but he had a better season from Stefanski's standpoint, with solid blocking helping the team's prolific rushing attack while a late flurry of receiving production contributed to a playoff appearance. He's now locked in as a starter for the second season of a four-year, $42 million contract, but regardless of his coach's intentions, there's no guarantee of improvement on Hooper's 2020 average of 5.4 targets per game. The Browns also have David Njoku and Harrison Bryant at tight end, not to mention WR Odell Beckham returning from an ACL tear as well as Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt gobbling up volume from the backfield. On the other hand, Hooper does have plenty of room to improve his efficiency after posting career lows for both catch rate (65.7 percent) and yards per target (6.2) last season. He had a 77.3 percent catch rate and 8.1 YPT in four years with the Falcons, highlighted by a breakout 2019 in which he averaged 60.5 receiving yards per game while sharing the field with WRs Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones.