Hooper (illness) returned to practice Friday, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.
Hooper was out for only one or two days. He was disappointing for fantasy managers last season, unable to overcome the challenge of joining a new team with a new coaching staff in a year without spring practices or preseason games. However, Hooper had a better year from the Browns' standpoint, with competent blocking helping the team's prolific rushing attack and a late flurry of receiving production contributing to a playoff appearance. He's locked in as a starter for the second season of a four-year, $42 million contract, but there's no guarantee of improvement on his 2020 average of 5.4 targets per game, considering the Browns also have David Njoku and Harrison Bryant at tight end, not to mention WR Odell Beckham returning from an ACL tear. 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.