Cleveland Browns Offensive Mid-Season Awards

Our Browns Digest staff picks the offensive MVP, unsung hero, biggest surprise and most likely player to have an impactful second half of the season.

The Cleveland Browns are halfway through the 2023 season, so our Browns Digest staff decided to do a roundtable discussion to hand out some mid-season awards. It's obviously been a bumpy ride so far, with injuries in a number of critical positions. But Cleveland is two games over .500 and would be in the playoffs if the post-season started this week.

We will also pick our defensive, special teams and coaching awards as the week unfolds.

Browns Mid-Season Offensive MVP

Brendan Gulick: Offensive Tackle, Dawand Jones

Has anyone ever picked an offensive lineman as the team's Most Valuable Player? If not, I will gladly be the first. Think about how the season has gone for the 5-3 Browns so far and all of the injuries they've suffered at key positions. I don't care who is playing quarterback or running back, having both of your season-opening starting offensive tackles on Injured Reserve is brutal.

Big Thanos is a rookie from Ohio State and is playing at a borderline Pro Bowl level right now. There are exceptionally few teams around the league that have true depth on the offensive line. Jones has given Kevin Stefanski's offense a chance to have some stability during a season where it's been hard to keep the same guys on the field each week.

Spencer German: The Offensive Line

Is it a cop out to choose an entire group rather than one specific player? Maybe. Thing is, the Browns haven't had any sort of consistency under center, they lost the heart and soul of the team in Nick Chubb seven weeks ago, and somehow they've managed to get to two games above .500. Even without Chubb, Cleveland's run game is third best in the NFL, averaging 144.1 yards per game. None of this is possible without the consistent play from a banged up offensive line.

Anthony Moeglin: Wide Receiver, Amari Cooper

The success at wide receiver is predicated pretty much exclusively on quarterback play. For the Browns, the quarterback has been the most inconsistent position with starts from Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and PJ Walker. The staple for each of those three guys has been No. 2.

Entering Week 10, Amari Cooper is ranked 12th in the NFL with 617 yards. More importantly, in the past two weeks, he has accounted for 228 yards which is second best in the NFL. He has become Mr. Reliable for the Browns and is my Mid-Season MVP.

Nov 5, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) celebrates after scoring during the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns Stadium / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Poisal: Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver

With all the twists and turns that have happened at QB, Cooper has been the anchor the Browns have absolutely needed in the pass game. He was the entire passing offense when the Browns started P.J. Walker and stunned the 49ers, and he was immense in helping Watson ease back into life under center a week ago when he totaled 139 yards. The Browns passing offense might be dead last in the league without him.

Browns Mid-Season Offensive Unsung Hero

Brendan Gulick: Tight End, David Njoku

The flesh is weak. We've heard those words a couple times from the Browns starting tight end this year, especially after suffering critical burns to his hands and face. But he has showcased a toughness that most people can't quite comprehend and never missed a game. Njoku has 32 catches for 319 yards and two scores this season, but I think his impact has gone far beyond his statistical production. 

Spencer German: Running Back, Kareem Hunt

Hunt was a depreciating asset in the eyes of most team's scouting departments – including the Browns. But when Nick Chubb went down with a season ending knee injury, the stars aligned and Hunt was a natural addition to help ease the pain. His numbers aren't eye-popping (60 carries for 196 yards). His five touchdowns over the last four games though have been impactful. Oh, plus, he seems to have a refreshing attitude to the his second stint with the Browns that is resonating in the locker room.

Anthony Moeglin: Center, Ethan Pocic

Pocic came to the rescue last season when Nick Harris went down with a season-ending injury on the first play of the preseason. He put together a great 2022 campaign and entered this year in a battle for the position again with Nick Harris and new draft pick Luke Wypler.

He never flinched and has been a steady piece amongst all of the chaos that has occurred with the Browns offense. The offensive line is down its starting right tackle for the entire season, is missing the left tackle for at least the next four weeks, and has missed a game with their future Hall-of-Fame guard. Pocic has held the center position down and is playing very well.

Anthony Poisal: Running Back, Kareem Hunt

What a resurgence from the Willoughby native. After not being on the roster until Week 3 and spending all of the offseason as a free agent, Hunt has already exceeded his touchdown total from a year ago with five touchdowns — all in the last six games. He was (and might continue to be) the Browns’ top goal-line weapon as they navigated around Watson’s injury. The Browns didn’t need Hunt to be the flashy runner he was when he first joined the Browns, but they needed him to boost the Nick Chubb-less RB room, and he’s done that with his goal-line play.

Browns Mid-Season Offensive Biggest Surprise

Brendan Gulick: Running Back, Kareem Hunt

How lucky were the Browns to have Hunt still available a couple weeks into the season when Nick Chubb went down with injury? Hunt's offensive numbers this year haven't been electrifying (60 carries for 196 yards), but he's been really productive in the low red zone. Hunt has punched in five total touchdowns over the last four games.

Spencer German: Offensive Tackle, Dawand Jones

When Jack Conklin went down with a season ending knee injury in Week 1 it looked like a devastating blow to an offensive line that was under a lot of pressure to protect the team's star QB. In stepped fifth-round pick Dawand Jones and there's barely been a dropoff, if at from that side of the offensive line. Regardless of what his Pro Football Focus Grades say (Jones is graded as the 48th best pass blocking tackle, and the 105th best run blocking tackle) his impact each and every game has been evident. What a steal of a draft pick Jones has turned out to be for Andrew Berry and the Browns.

Anthony Moeglin: Offensive Tackle, Dawand Jones

Big Thanos has stepped in and been a difference-maker for this Cleveland Browns offense. That rainy day in September, when Jack Conklin went down for the season, felt like a death sentence to this season. Instead, the rookie tackle from Ohio State came to the rescue.

Jones' career arc to this point has been a heck of a story. He was passed by in the first four rounds of the draft because GM's feared his lack of commitment. He then gets picked by Cleveland and showed up out of shape to Rookie Camp. He responded and showed up to fall camp in great shape. He then stepped into the starting right tackle role and has been amazing. The sky is the limit for Dawand Jones!

Anthony Poisal: Wide Receiver, Elijah Moore

I’ll veer a different direction here and pick a negative surprise: Elijah Moore. The fresh start in Cleveland has been underwhelming so far for the 2021 second-round pick — he’s caught 29 passes for only 270 yards and hasn't found the end zone. The Browns have tried to give him the ball via the pass and run (he has eight carries for only 11 yards), but he hasn’t generated over 59 total yards in a game yet. Those numbers certainly aren’t what the Browns signed up for when they traded a second-round pick to the Jets to acquire him last March.

Browns Mid-Season Offensive Player Most Likely to Have Major Impact in the Second Half of the Year

Brendan Gulick: Quarterback, Deshaun Watson

Kevin Stefanski is arguably doing an even better job coaching this Browns team than he did when he won NFL Coach of the Year in 2020. He managed to squeeze two wins in three weeks out of a team that was playing with a practice squad quarterback, and nearly pulled off a third victory.

If the Browns are going to make a playoff push this year, it starts with their franchise quarterback playing at a high level. While nobody can predict the future, I believe he is past the shoulder injury that hampered him for more than a month and I think Watson is primed for a big second half of the year.

Nov 5, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) celebrates during warm ups before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns Stadium / © Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Spencer German: Tight End, David Njoku

The obvious answer here is Deshaun Watson, but what's the fun in picking the obvious answer? I'm honing in on David Njoku here. Over the first five weeks of the season, the former first-round pick was targeted 22 times, caught 19 passes for 162 yards and no touchdowns. Over the last three weeks, he's been targeted 23 times, has caught 13 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. 

Njoku's usage has been on the rise for weeks already, and with Watson seemingly still getting in rhythm with receivers like Elijah Moore and Marquise Goodwin, among others, the Chief could be an important weapon in this offense.

Anthony Moeglin: Wide Receiver, Elijah Moore

Eli Moore has the potential to unlock another level of this offense and this passing attack. He has been open all year long, but the lack of consistent quarterback play has led to a slip in his production. At the halfway point he has 29 catches for 270 yards.

If the Browns want to get to where they want to go, Elijah Moore is going to have to have to make a big impact in the back half of the year. Look for him to be used more and more as this year progresses.

Anthony Poisal: Deshaun Watson, Quarterback

Watson is the easy pick, and we can look at the word “impact” here in a good or bad way. If he stays healthy and plays well, the passing game should climb from the basement of the league in efficiency rankings and the Browns should cruise to the playoffs. If Watson remains inconsistent — or aggravates his shoulder injury — then the Browns could be headed for another December of unsettling vibes and uncertainty in their QB room.