Cleveland Browns Offensive Thoughts Headed Into Season
The Cleveland Browns offense is loaded.
There are mitigating factors that could limit how effective it can be, but pure from a talent perspective, it's really impressive what the Browns have assembled. Everything about this season is the time it twill take for them to gel, able to run on all cylinders.
Healthy, the Browns have the personnel on that side of the ball to go against anyone. Star power on the offensive line, receivers, arguably the best running back tandem in the NFL and a really talented group of tight ends. Even their fullback Andy Janovich is a stud.
Everything was done to put Baker Mayfield in the best possible position to succeed. And despite the issues the team dealt with last year, there is everyone reason to believe he will.
News Channel 5 was rerunning the first game of Mayfield's career because they didn't have preseason games to air. Mayfield, after taking almost nothing but second team reps all camp long, entered the game against the New York Jets on Monday Night.
Coming off the bench cold, down 14-0 in the first half, Mayfield electrified the crowd and his team, helping lead them to a 21-17 victory.
The Browns offense included Desmond Harrison and Chris Hubbard at tackles, Antonio Callaway was one of his receivers, and Carlos Hyde was his main running back. Orson Charles got a target as a fullback.
Nick Chubb made an appearance in the game, which reminded me of the fact that Hue Jackson thought Hyde was better able to help the Browns that year, which was bad enough in the moment, but so much worse in hindsight.
Save for Kevin Zeitler at right guard, every single one of those positions is better now than it was when Mayfield was able to set the rookie record for touchdowns in just 14 games.
Rashard Higgins and David Njoku are still on the Browns, but their positions have been improved, adding Odell Beckham and Austin Hooper to the mix. Jedrick Wills replaces Harrison and Jack Conklin takes over for Hubbard, who is now the team's swing tackle.
So, I don't worry about Mayfield. I will be nervous when they start the game, but as soon as he completes his first pass and they get going, that will pass. Honestly, he may feel the same way. And so much of this season is about just getting the ball rolling. Mayfield has everything necessary to be the great quarterback he was expected to be last year. Nothing from that standpoint has changed except perception.
Beckham must be great this year. Last year was a nightmare. He's looked great in camp, fully healthy and having fun, but until he catches that first pass and looks like Beckham in a game, there will be that slight hesitation.
For whatever reason, I don't have the same feeling with Hooper. Save for one practice where the whole offense looked terrible and he dropped two passes, he's been fantastic. It's been a hand in glove relationship in camp. Whatever they accomplished in the two weeks they spent in Austin, it feels like they've been together for years.
Nick Chubb is the most predictable, bankable player on the team. He will be great. Jarvis Landry will be Jarvis Landry. He will never be a super star, despite being paid like one, but If he can play like he did last year, that would be great.
I never know what to expect from David Njoku, but he should be a productive player this year simply based on matchups. He flashes what he can be as a receiver, but he's a far better blocker than anyone gives him credit. It's also possible he continues to be infuriating with inconsistency as a pass catcher.
Jedrick Wills really should be the worst player on this offense, which is saying a lot. The unique offseason and abridged training camp hurt him the most. It's not because he's moving from right tackle to left tackle. It's because the NFL is really difficult for a 21 year old kid to block the best, most athletic pass rushers in the world, which he was subjected to everyday in practice.'
Wills went from blocking an underwhelming class of SEC pass rushers to dealing with Olivier Vernon, Adrian Clayborn and Porter Gustin on a daily basis. Later, he was facing Myles Garrett, who is as good as any pass rusher in football with an elite mix of speed and power. Wills should struggle in that environment.
Hopefully, he didn't allow it to hurt his confidence and he learned from it, because he's going to have to face talented pass rushers right out of the gate starting with Matthew Judon of the Baltimore Ravens. And Wills is going to get beat at times. The key is that if the interior of the line can do what it did Mayfield's rookie year, not giving up ground, Mayfield will be able to step up in the pocket and avoid pressure. Harrison was genuinely terrible and Mayfield still excelled. It should be no different with Wills.
The goal for Wills is he improves over the course of the season. He can't get faster or stronger, but he can trust his technique and get accustomed to the speed of the game.
My main concern is simply the time frame the offense was tasked with coming together. I've been impressed with how quickly the rookies have adapted this camp. That suggests to me that the plan the coaching staff put in place was successful. Drafting well didn't hurt, but none of them looked like a fish out of water at any point.
It doesn't change the fact that they are installing a new offense. And however good they feel about it, they aren't as comfortable in this offense as the Baltimore Ravens or Pittsburgh Steelers are in their defense. They didn't change schemes nor did they overhaul their personnel. Even in a normal offseason, the Browns would be at a disadvantage, but COVID-19 exacerbates the situation.
It's a question of whether it takes the Browns two weeks or a month or half the season to hit their stride and really become dangerous. The other potential stumbling block is if they suffer an injury in the wrong spot, they could be altered significantly in a hurry.
J.C. Tretter missing a few weeks with a knee scope showed just how delicate this team can be. Yes, Nick Harris was impressive in how quickly he picked up the blocking scheme. I also don't want him playing against Brandon Williams of the Ravens or D.J. Reader of the Cincinnati Bengals if I can help it. I don't love those matchups for Tretter if he is less than 100 percent.
The Browns can't really afford an injury to Joel Bitonio, Tretter or either of their top receivers. Losing Austin Hooper would be pretty devastating as well. They have depth everywhere else to at least survive.
I don't get caught up in who's going to call the plays between Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt. Maybe I should be more concerned, but I'm baking that in to the gelling process. The issue of play calling isn't really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things when everyone is working from the same gameplan.
Freddie Kitchens effectively making it up as he went along after the initial script, ignoring sound input from Todd Monken, put a spotlight on the role and highlighted the dysfunction last year. Play calling is somewhat of an art, but it's also a collaborative process. Whether Stefanski or Van Pelt is the one making the final call, it's going to be with input from multiple sources.
Did I mention Kareem Hunt yet? No? That's how much talent this offense has. Hunt can be a traditional running back in this scheme and can be the best running back in the AFC North not named Chubb. Hunt has looked like a different player compared to last year in terms of his quickness and overall speed. Hunt stands to benefit more than anyone else from the presence of a true fullback in Janovich.
He can also be used as a receiver or joker type role. The Browns kept trying to utilize players like Jojo Natson and Taywan Taylor as these types of players in practice, which never seemed to work. Donovan Peoples-Jones could do some of this as well, but when the Browns want to put their best 11 players on the field on offense, Hunt is certainly one of them.
The dynamic allows the Browns to put five skill players on the field that can all win an individual matchup. That's incredibly difficult to effectively defend even if this was backyard football. As this offense comes together, it's going to create opportunities for easy yardage and explosive plays.
I have every reason to believe this offense will get where most people expect it can. The question that no one can really answer is how long it will take to be the well oiled machine that can make the Browns a threat to win any game and a team that can do some damage in the playoffs.
