There's something appealing about waking up early to an end-of-summer morning. The weather is fairly cool although getting increasingly warmer but the frosty chill serves as a reminder that a jacket is still probably needed. It feels like it's going to be a great day. As a Browns fan, that's the feeling that I get going into the 2021 season.
I haven't been this excited about the Cleveland Browns for a long time. For the first time in my adult lifetime, we have a real chance to make it to the super bowl. A real chance. Not just a strong hope or maybe a delusional conviction. Don't be afraid to think this or say this statement out loud: the Cleveland Browns are currently super bowl contenders.
After defeating the Steelers in their own stadium and nearly pulling off an upset against the super bowl-bound Chiefs during the 2020 playoffs, the Browns found themselves with a lot less questions going into the off-season. We didn't need to worry about a QB for the first time since...I can't even remember. Despite the lack of needs, we were still able to pick up some valuable pieces especially on the defensive side of the ball. Due to our success the previous year, we picked 26th in the draft. As nice as it is to have a top 10 pick, it feels so much better to pick near the end of the draft.
My purposes for writing this article are (1) to get my thoughts out and clarify what it is I believe and (2) to demonstrate to others that the Cleveland Browns are a legitimate team worthy of all the recognition that they receive this year. Whether or not the team turns that potential into results remains to be seen, but the ingredients are all there to make a gourmet meal.
In the eyes of the national media, the Browns are all over the map. Most feel that the Browns are a playoff team but others think they could win it all. Some think that this team is the 'same old Browns' and don't really have a shot at doing much in the playoffs if they even make it there. ESPN's power index has the Browns as the 4th-best team in the AFC, 5th overall.
The Chiefs are the clear favorite in the AFC, and while most don't think the Browns are close, I want to explain why they are by going through each positional group. These are based on the 53-man roster projections by ESPN writer Jake Trotter.
Specialists: Chase McLaughlin, Jamie Gillan, Charley Hughlett
Cody Parkey was our kicker last year, but he's currently on IR. I don't have a ton of confidence in our specialists, but hopefully they won't be needed all that often. The Browns went from having a staple kicker in Phil Dawson for so many years and a lack of talent everywhere else to the exact opposite now. I'll take that. This unit may be slightly below average but as long as field goals are being made, it shouldn't have a large detrimental impact. [C-]
Safeties: John Johnson III, Grant Delpit, Ronnie Harrison Jr., Richard LeCounte III, and Sheldrick Redwine
This group has struggled with injuries, but barring those, this is a solid group. Johnson was the defensive QB for the Rams defense last year, one of the best in the league. He's an elite defensive player. Delpit is coming off an injury and so is Harrison. LeCounte has done well but is inexperienced. With Johnson solidifying the free safety spot, the Browns can rotate in the others for the strong safety spot until they find someone that can be the guy. With one elite safety and some other good ones to rotate in, this positional group is a good to really good unit. [B+]
Cornerbacks: Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Troy Hill, Greedy Williams, A.J. Green (not THAT A.J. Green,) and M.J. Stewart.
Most analysts will point to this group having been the weak spot for the Browns. The truth is that they weren't bad; they just had some major injuries to players like Ward and Williams and didn't have the depth that they currently do. I didn't like the Denzel Ward pick in 2018, not because he wasn't talented or I didn't like him, but with Bradley Chubb and Quenton Nelson there, I thought they would have made better picks. They probably would have been, but they did select Ward and he's an exceptional corner. Pro football focus ranked him the #8 CB going into the season. Troy Hill is one of the best slot corners and played a big role for the Rams last year alongside Johnson. Newsome is quickly becoming a starting-caliber corner given his progression. He's received a lot of praise from the veterans around him. Williams was a top pick last year but suffered an injury that kept him sidelined. He's got good size for a CB, so the long-term battle with him and Newsome will be a good one. With Ward and Hill being very good to elite corners as well as Newsome and Williams being good albeit young, this is a good to really good CB unit. [B]
Linebackers: Anthony Walker, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Sione Takitaki, Elijah Lee, Mack Wilson, Jacob Phillips
This might be the actual weak spot on the team even though it's not weak. Walker is a newcomer but has leadership traits that will help develop the younger players around him. These young players such as Owusu-Koramoah (JOK,) Takitaki, and Wilson. A lot of how the LBs will perform rests on the development of these three players in particular. Lee is a good rotational player and Phillips will likely miss major time due to an injury. With a great D-line and secondary, the LBs just need to perform adequately. This positional unit is fairly average but could evolve into a good unit if the younger players can develop quickly. [C]
Defensive Linemen: Myles Garrett, Andrew Billings, Malik Jackson, Jadeveon Clowney, Takkarist McKinley, Jordan Elliott, Tommy Togiai, Malik McDowell, and Porter Gustin.
This will be the strength of the Browns defense both figuratively and literally. The first five on this list are locks while the last four are probables. Garrett is arguably the best D-lineman in the NFL. Clowney hasn't gotten to play with someone of Garrett's caliber, which means teams won't be able to double-team him AND Garrett without bringing in an exceptional blocking TE, something that most teams don't have. The Browns will run either a 4-3 or 4-2-5 defense, but in both cases, they'll have four men up front. Clowney is likely to have a breakout season as most teams will focus double-teams on Garrett. This isn't even including Jackson and Billings who are nine and five-year veterans, respectively. Malik Jackson was, at one point, considered the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL. He's not at that level anymore, but even if he's close to that, he'll make some big plays this year. This is a scary group of players to go up against. McKinley is a very talented rotational player who can make plays. Elliott is young but has a lot of potential, especially with great veterans to mentor him. With Garrett and (arguably) Clowney being elite players and Jackson, Billings, and McKinley being good to very good, this defensive unit is really good to great. [A-]
Offensive Linemen: Jedrick Wills Jr., Joel Bitonio, JC Tretter, Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, Chris Hubbard, Nick Harris, James Hudson III, Michael Dunn
This was pro football focus' top-rated offensive line last year. It has one pro bowler and three all-pro members. Wills, Bitonio, Tretter, Teller, and Conklin will all return as having formed the #1 pass-blocking offense and #2 run-blocking offense. Hubbard and Hudson can both rotate from the tackle to guard positions. Bitonio is arguably the #1 guard in the NFL (Nelson is the other consideration) while all of these starting linemen are great to elite. [A+]
Tight Ends: Austin Hooper, David Njoku, Harrison Bryant
Stefanski loves to use multiple TEs in his schemes, which he did over 50% of the time last year. Hooper was a top-rated TE when in Atlanta and suffered some injuries last year. However, with Njoku and Bryant being reliable receivers as well as decent blockers, the Browns' TE group is top five. It may be #5 after the Buccaneers, Colts, Patriots, and Eagles, but it's still arguably a top five group. [B+]
Wide Receivers: Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz
I would also include KhaDeral Hodge in here. OBJ is returning from injury, and is one of the league's best WRs when healthy. They keyword "when" is important. The Browns also added Schwartz who is a track star needing to develop into a WR. I have thought of Landry as elite ever since he was in Miami. He's a leaders in the locker room and he consistently steps up to make big plays. He can even make long TD throws to OBJ if necessary. Higgins and Peoples-Jones have built a good rapport with Mayfield which is great. Higgins is a great route runner and can make difficult catches. Peoples-Jones showed off his blazing speed at the end of last year and in training camp this year. With him opposite OBJ, that will be a lot of speed for defensive secondaries to handle. And to think that Schwartz is actually faster than both of those guys, we won't be lacking for speed with this unit. The chemistry between OBJ and Mayfield needs to improve for this group to reach its potential so we'll see how that goes. As a unit, there are two elite WRs in OBJ and Landry and two good to very good receivers in Higgins and Peoples-Jones. [A-]
Running Backs: Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Demetric Felton, D'Ernest Johnson, Andy Janovich
Everyone knows that Chubb and Hunt, both #1 RBs on most NFL teams individually, are the best RB duo in the NFL. Period. Maybe of all time, I don't know. Hunt was considered one of the best RBs with Kansas City and Chubb is atop the RB charts of some experts, but usually no lower than 6th. Hunt is from Cleveland, which makes it even more awesome! This RB group is easily #1 in the NFL, but the surprising emergence of Felton being as versatile as he is means the Browns may or may not get to keep Johnson depending on how their roster plays out. Janovich is technically a fullback and provides great blocking for Chubb and Hunt. Two elite RBs, a very good FB, and two very good RBs gives the Browns an edge at RB over every team. [A+]
Quarterbacks: Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum
I would also include Kyle Lauletta in here as he had a very good training camp and preseason. He'll likely end up on the practice squad if he stays with the Browns. Case Keenum is one of the best backups in the NFL and a decent starter. He was already in Stefanski's system while they both were in Minnesota.
The real question here is Baker Mayfield. For everyone saying it's obvious that he's great, you're wrong because it's not obvious. For everyone saying he's obviously a bust and we need to get rid of him, you're wrong because that's not obvious, either. Baker is somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to starting QBs. He's in a gray area which is why it's so difficult to pinpoint exactly how good he is. He's usually ranked somewhere in the 12-18 range. He finished strong at the end of last year, but he hasn't been consistent which opponents will use against him. He has also had a ton of head coaches and offensive coordinators which supporters will strongly point out.
He did a good job last year, and I just want to make sure that he can play more at that level (especially when OBJ comes back) than at a low level such as a couple of years ago. Baker has an A+ O-line, an A+ RB unit, an A- WR unit, and a B+ TE unit. I would also argue that he has an A- head coach. He has the pieces around him to make him great, let's see what he does with them. [B]
Head Coach/GM: Kevin Stefanski, Andrew Berry
It's been a while since we've had a good coach for the Browns. I would argue that Mike Pettine fell into the 'good' category. Stefanski isn't just good, he's really good and could soon become great. He's the adult in the room, he's serious, and he works hard. He is respected by the players and can manage egos. Despite the coaching carousel that the Browns have had over the past ten years, I'm glad we did it because we ultimately ended up with a potentially great coach in Stefanski. Andrew Berry has made a ton of great decisions for the Browns personnel. He also drafted well this past year as Newsome and JOK have a chance to start or play significant minutes. Look for more great things from the front office. [A-]
Obviously these grades will fluctuate throughout the year based on injuries, development, trades, acquisitions, cuts, and poor performances. But as they stand, these grades are pretty good. We have A-, B, A+. A-. B+, A+, A-. C, B, B+, and C-. That would make five As and four Bs with only two Cs, and one of those Cs is special teams. That's a GPA of 3.27 on a report card in which no teams have As across the board, and most great teams would fall into the 3.0 - 3.5 range. So the Browns are right there.
No matter who is on our team, as long as they put on a Browns uniform and helmet, I will always be rooting for them to succeed. Largely due to good off-season pickups, smart draft choices, Baker Mayfield's current contract, and a little bit of luck, the Browns have a great team this season. Our window may not stay open long, so let's take advantage while we can!
Believe, Cleveland. This year, we can believe.
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