The Cleveland Browns have been the laughing stock of the NFL for as long as I can remember (15 years give or take). Plenty has changed throughout the league over the past couple of decades, and with modern free agency teams can look vastly different from season to season. But if there’s one thing you can count on every year, it’s the Browns being bad.
Last season they hit rock bottom when they fired Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown mid-season and finished as the fourth team in NFL history to go an entire season without winning a single game. It was an impressively terrible campaign, even by the Browns’ standards.
On a positive note, there is literally no way the Browns can be worse next season than they were last. In fact, there is actually reason to believe that they will be a substantially better in 2018.
This offseason they have taken steps to improve, specifically on offense. They traded away quarterback Deshone Kizer to Green Bay and replaced him with veteran Tyrod Taylor. Taylor will likely act as a short term solution for them unless he shows that he’s capable of leading the team while protecting both himself and the ball.
The Browns also signed running back Carlos Hyde from San Francisco, who has been good-- and at times, great-- in his three years in the league. They traded for pro bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry as well. Landry is great in the slot, runs sharp routes, and has some of the most reliable hands in the league.
Near the end of last season, we saw the return of Josh Gordon, who was at one point one of the league’s elite receivers and looked like he could potentially return to that level in the three games he appeared in. Duke Johnson has also been excellent in his role as a utility player since the Browns drafted him in 2015.
Tyrod Taylor will have weapons at his disposal. While Taylor can run the ball if he needs to, he also can deliver the ball to his teammates accurately and is an above average deep-ball passer.
They have quality backs, a great playmaking wide receiver, and a reliable slot man. Head coach Hue Jackson, who is entering his second year, has hired new quarterback and wide receiver coaches and seems to be ready to turn the franchise around.
The Browns’ next logical move would be to draft a future franchise quarterback, which they have the means to do with the top pick in the upcoming draft. Granted, Cleveland’s had a few “future franchise quarterbacks” who haven’t quite panned out (Brady Quinn, Robert Griffin III, Johnny Manziel… yikes).
The team has infamously gone through 28 starting quarterbacks since the franchise was reestablished in Cleveland in 2018.
Of course, they still have holes to fill. While their young offensive line should be able to create space for Hyde and Duke Johnson to run, their pass protection on the edges will be much weaker now that Joe Thomas has retired.
This is something they desperately need to address. They should be able to do so, as the Browns currently own 12 picks in the upcoming draft.
On the defensive side, they are solid up front. They gave up the 7th least amount of rushing yards last season. However, they were middle of the pack in yards allowed and gave up the second most points in the league.
They were especially lousy defending the pass and had trouble creating turnovers; they only produced 13 in 2017 and finished with a -28 turnover ratio. To address the need for playmakers in the secondary, they recently acquired safety Damarious Randall from Green Bay, who started in 12 games last season and came up with 10 interceptions and a fumble recovery since he was picked in the first round of the 2015 draft.
Again, the Browns will need to make moves in the draft to address this issue. They own two of the first four picks and 12 picks total.
NFL draft analysts do, in fact, expect the Browns to take a quarterback first overall, and they anticipate that it will be Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, or Baker Mayfield.
If the Browns’ QB selection isn’t forced to play before he’s ready and is given time to develop (i.e.. Tyrod Taylor can stay healthy), he could be eased into the offense and will be properly equipped with weapons that will allow Cleveland to compete.
Keeping their starting quarterback healthy is one of the biggest problems the Browns have faced over the years, and their young quarterbacks have often been forced into situations they aren’t prepared for. For this reason, acquiring more/better pass protection will be critical to their success.
At fourth, they may consider taking Saquon Barkley, the star running back from Penn State who dominated at the combine and is regarded by many scouts as the best running back prospect the league has seen in years.
Despite their signing Carlos Hyde, the Browns have suggested that they would still take Barkley (although this could simply be a smokescreen tactic to throw off other teams—who knows?).
It is likely that with the rest of their picks Cleveland will stockpile offensive linemen and defensive backs while also simply looking to pick the best prospects available, regardless of their position.
Hear me out now. I’m not saying the Browns will have a winning record this season. I don’t think they will. However, with all the hopeful new rookies coming in and the other additions to their team, Cleveland will have a chance to change the culture of their locker room.
We will undoubtedly see vast improvement from last year’s winless campaign, but we could also see the beginning of a turnaround that could lead to playoff appearances in coming years.
With the talent they now possess on the offensive side of the ball, a foundation to build on defensively, and a boat load of draft picks at their disposal, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for the Cleveland Browns. They’re ready to move from a perpetually hopeless, bottom-feeder team to a team in transition. At this point, what more could Browns fans ask for?
