Cleveland Browns in 2017 similar to 2016 Jaguars

The Cleveland Browns season has been horrible, managing to under perform even modest expectations, but it’s similar to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were 3-13 last year.

The Cleveland Browns didn’t come into this season with the goal of tanking. They genuinely ran into some bad luck as well as some awful decisions. Corey Coleman breaks his hand again, Isaiah Crowell has been a disaster in a contract year and Kenny Britt has been a uniquely terrible decision for the organization. DeShone Kizer has been historically bad as well.

This team was never really expected to be good, but it seemed like it could win four or five games. And I suppose that’s still possible, albeit unlikely. In either case, the Browns were expected to finish last in the division and one of the worst teams in the league. And they are still going to do that.

Having this extremely young team experience success is important and the hope is they do it. All of that said, the Browns may well find themselves in position to have their choice of every quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft, despite the fact they’ve improved the team.

The Browns spent a ton of resources to build and improve their defense and it’s not a finished product, but the early results are extremely encouraging. They have one of the best run defenses in the NFL and the best in the existence of the “new” Browns.

They have one of the most attractive players in the league in Myles Garrett as well as a pile of other young, talented players that are making an impact already. Larry Ogunjobi, Joe Schobert, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Derrick Kindred, Emmanuel Ogbah and Trevon Coley have been added to inherited players like Danny Shelton and Chris Kirksey.

Coleman’s hand is terrible luck. Crowell’s season is a massive disappointment. Britt’s tenure has been nothing short of disaster and reflects poorly on the team. And Kizer’s struggles have been unfortunate but predictable.

None of these things hurt the Browns in the longterm and in the case of Britt, the sooner they admit that mistake and rid themselves of it the better. Every single hole on the roster the Browns were expected to have entering the upcoming offseason is still there. No more. No less. So while the record is disappointing and is incredibly frustrating for fans and the team itself, it doesn’t prevent the Browns from making a big leap forward in 2018.

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In many ways, the Browns resemble the 2016 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars have routinely been in the basement for the past several years and finished last season with a 3-13 record. They had a quarterback in Blake Bortles that would pile up garbage stats but was never very effective.

Their running game was as a whole was reasonably productive but piece-mealed between a few backs. T.J. Yeldon led the team with 465 yards. Bortles was third on the team with 359 yards.

They had some promising weapons, though Allen Robinson blew out his knee just one catch into the 2017 season eliminating any impact he might make. Marqise Lee had his best year and Allen Hurns isn’t bad.

Really, the defense was the best thing going for the Jaguars. They were one of the better passing defenses in the league, ranked highly overall, but gave up 25 points per game, which ranked 25th in the NFL. Eight games into this season, the Browns are giving up 25 points per game.

The Jaguars took a top defensive player with their pick in 2016 in Jalen Ramsey. The Browns did the same in 2017 adding Myles Garrett. Both appear to be superstars in the making.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – SEPTEMBER 17: Jalen Ramsey #20 of the Jacksonville Jaguars waits for a play on the field during the first half of their game against the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The Jaguars still have Bortles, but they added Leonard Fournette, brought in more pieces to their defense and have started this season 5-2. This season, the revamped defense still struggles to defend the run, but their pass defense is among the best in the league and their overall yardage is sixth, giving up 300.3 yards per game. The biggest change has been in points per game, where they are now second at 15.7 per contest.

A big reason for this is because they’ve reduced their reliance on Bortles, opted to bank on the running game led by Fournette with some help from players like Chris Ivory, Yeldon and again, some from Bortles. They now lead the league in rushing, are third in yards per attempt and their passing game is 28th in yards per game at 193.

The Browns have the makings of a strong defense, just like Jacksonville does, but they, like the Jags did last year, need to reduce the amount of points they give up. Rather than improve their run defense, the Browns need to improve their pass defense and pass rush.

Offensively, the Browns aren’t getting anything from the passing game or running game. They have a few weapons like Duke Johnson, David Njoku and Seth DeValve but with the injury to Corey Coleman, no one except Johnson is on the same level as those the Jaguars had in 2016. They need more help there.

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The challenge for the Jaguars this past offseason is going to be the same for the Browns this coming one; help the defense take another step forward while getting the offense to function enough to compete.

It remains to be seen if the Jaguars will be able to stay in first place in the AFC South, but their model is a sustainable one. They need to replace Bortles if they want to become a serious contender, but nevertheless, they went from worst to first in the AFC South.

The AFC North isn’t likely to be toppled so easily, but the opportunity to make a huge step forward is there for them. They can make a substantial leap forward with investment like the Jaguars made, albeit in the draft as opposed to free agency. The Browns don’t necessarily need to add a Leonard Fournette type back, but they do need to find a feature back or combination of backs that can give them a consistently effective ground game, which can extend drives, shorten the game and keep their defense off the field.

Just having that element will make a big difference, just like it has for the Jaguars. The difference is the Browns will be able to address the quarterback as well, hopefully with the success some of these other teams have been able to do. They need more weapons and development from those they have.

But so far, the Jaguars are on pace for just 3,081 passing yards on the season and their leading receiver, Marqise Lee, is on pace for just 830 yards for the year. Neither of those is going to be considered an outstanding year. For Bortles, it would be his lowest output since his rookie season. As long as they win, that’s all anyone is going to worry about.

Even as miserable as this season has been, Duke Johnson is on track for 718 receiving yards while Ricardo Louis, at his current rate, will hit 571 yards. That’s awful, but it wouldn’t take much improvement to reach where the Jaguars receivers are, regardless of which player is producing the yardage.

The Browns have to make those picks count. This is what the front office amassed their assets for, so they should be afforded the opportunity to use them and be judged accordingly. They have 12 selections presently, including a pair in the first round and three in the second, likely with one of the top overall picks in the draft again. They’ll be in position to make a massive impact and failing to do so would have ownership be justified in replacing them.

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If the Cleveland Browns can get a good quarterback and find a talented running back, add a weapon or two and round out their secondary with a free safety, the team can make a jump in 2018 not unlike the Jacksonville Jaguars have this year. This season’s been frustrating to watch, particularly on offense and in the standings, but because of what’s in place on defense as well as the pieces assembled on offense, the Browns can go from worst to…at least respectable next year with an arrow pointed up towards truly competing in the near future.