The Cleveland Browns have been one of the longest suffering franchises in US Sports history.
The Browns thought their fortunes had turned around after the 2018 season and the 2019 off season trade for Odell Beckham.
However, the Browns would finish 6-10 and head coach Freddie Kitchens was fired after just one season.
However, with the draft choices and free agent signings, the Browns are being vastly overlooked and should not be slept on as much as they are.
Baker Mayfield had an excellent rookie season in 2019 but struggled in his sophomore year.
Part of the reason for Mayfield’s disappointing season was his lack of support in the offensive line.
New head coach Kevin Stefanski has added former Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Jack Conklin through free agency and drafted offensive tackle Jedrick Wills our of Alamaba tenth overall in the 2020 draft.
That is just the offensive line. Stefanski also made Austin Hooper the highest paid Tight End in the league when he acquired the former Atlanta Falcon through free agency.
Stefanski made his name with the Minnesota Vikings after spending fourteen seasons in Minnesota. He was offensive coordinator in 2019 as they made the divisional round.
He was also Quarterback’s coach in 2017 for the Minneapolis Miracle.
Who was Quarterback in 2017?
Case Keenum. The journeyman back up was acquired by Stefanski for the Browns in 2020 free agency.
This also puts added pressure on Baker Mayfield to perform.
In 2019, Mayfield’s back up was Garrett Gilbert who has just two NFL career passing completions to his name.
Now he has a backup with plenty of experience and someone who Stefanski knows well.
Stefanski also helped Kirk Cousins win his first career play off game last season so can he help Mayfield improve in 2020?
Even with the additions in the off season, the Cleveland Browns already had a great roster. They already have wide receivers Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry who have over 12,000 career receiving yards and 80 career receiving touchdowns between them.
The Cleveland Browns also have the running back threat of Nick Chubb who ran for 1,494 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns in 2019 as well as Kareem Hunt who can come in and make an impact.
Hunt was one of the league’s best backs before being released by the Kansas City Chiefs following legal issues. He didnt see an awful lot of the ball in 2019 but recorded some excellent stats in 2017 and 2018.
If Hunt can get back to his old form, him and Chubb could look at sharing the load, which could be very deadly and would also ease the pressure on Baker Mayfield.
The Cleveland Browns also have the potential dual option at tight end. The aforementioned Austin Hooper will join a Tight End room with David Njoku if he decides to remove his trade request. The likely scenario is Njoku being traded but if he were to stay, that would be a pretty great dual threat.
The Cleveland Browns have also got stud defensive end Myles Garrett who has recently signed a five year $125 million deal. The 2017 number one overall pick has 30.5 career sacks to his name in just 37 career games.
In conclusion, the Cleveland Browns have a roster filled with talent. If they can get the team to play well together then they certainly should not be looked over.
They have a new head coach who will look to improve things in Cleveland and they certainly have the ability to be a team that can perform well in 2020.
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