NFL
By: Greg Rector
Maybe the most talked about franchise this offseason is the Cleveland Browns. They certainly made one of the biggest splashes by trading for controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson and the football world is waiting for his fate to be decided as far as a possible suspension for his off-the-field issues. Signing Watson to a fully guaranteed contract also made the headlines. By dealing Baker Mayfield to Carolina that experiment is over and now the direction is set for the future with Watson. Who knows how many games Watson is going to be suspended for? That alone makes it very hard to predict what will unfold for the Browns in 2022.
Cleveland Browns 2021 (8-9) Missed the playoffs
Offense
Coming off a very disappointing 2021 season the Browns’ offense still has major question marks thanks to the Watson situation. Enter former Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett as the first in line to hold down the fort. The Browns will also need their large running back by a committee group of Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and D’Ernest Johnson to be effective. The wide receivers room was added to with the acquisition of Amari Cooper (Dallas) and drafting a solid but unspectacular David Bell (Purdue) to play alongside Donovan Peoples-Jones who many believe is a possible breakout candidate. I would like the chances of that happening a lot more with Watson at the helm. Cleveland’s offensive line is a strong group and they are a definite strength. Tight end David Njoku signed a large deal seeing former tight end Austin Hooper’s Browns tenure come to an end. It’s a unit that simply has the ability to be fairly good but the play at quarterback is going to determine their fate. Brissett put up a couple of decent seasons for the Colts and needs to play well or much like last year this offense will be an enigma.
Defense
Myles Garrett is the unquestioned leader of the Browns’ defense. Simply one of the best at his position and for a second year he’s bookended by Jadaveon Clowney the defensive line is solid. The play of second-year Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will be paramount. If he lives up to his potential to play multiple spots depending upon the situation the Browns have an absolute gem in the mold of a Micah Parsons in terms of versatility and impact. Greg Newsome II can also build upon his rookie campaign and be a very tough corner to play against. Grant Delpit will need to be a more consistent presence as well. Since the Browns traded away draft picks in the Watson deal they will also need Perrion Winfrey to help the interior of the defensive line. One thing that must change is the penalties and their red zone defense. Too often the mental mistakes made by the Browns’ defense cost them dearly last year even though they gave up the second lowest yards per play (5.0) in the NFL last year.
Outlook
If Cleveland could stop having so many soap opera-like situations they might finally live up to their potential. On paper, the Browns should not be a team that missed the playoffs. Like last year, however, there’s too much going on with internal issues. Last year many questioned allowing Baker Mayfield to continue to play with obvious injuries. This year the biggest investment in team history has an undetermined status. I think the Browns do not overcome those issues in 2022. Unfortunately the Cleveland fanbase especially those that inhabit the “Dawg Pound,” are going to see a team that underperforms. I think the Browns will go 7-10 this year. With the Watson situation not any of his fault head coach Kevin Stefanski is going to be hard-pressed to see his team compete.
