Cleveland Browns: The window is wide open, starting now
The Cleveland Browns have been a laughingstock for nearly 20 years. But with a hot young quarterback and a terrific offseason this year, the’ve pushed their window wide open.
The Cleveland Browns are legitimate contenders for the AFC North this season. When was the last time fans could say that with a straight face? The Browns have forced their window of contention open over the course of the last 12 months, and the fruits of general manager John Dorsey’s labor are now fully ready to be harvested.
Taking a look at how they did it, the Browns built this team through what many fans would call “the right way.” Rather than buying a whole new team and being strapped for cash later down the line, the Browns built a young core brimming with talent.
Starting in 2017 with Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku in the first round, the Browns began to put pieces all over the field. But they never had the main cog to make the machine function correctly in 2017.
Enter the golden goose, and the piece that makes it all go: quarterback Baker Mayfield. The No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield quickly proved himself worthy and ended the season with 27 touchdowns over 13 starts, an NFL rookie record. Mayfield, along with newly-christened head coach Freddie Kitchens, helped reinvent Cleveland’s offense in the second half of 2018, making the Browns truly something to keep watch for next year.
But even with Mayfield in place, the Browns didn’t feel quite like the real deal just yet. That is, until John Dorsey made a flurry of offseason moves in March that totally bolstered the Browns’ roster on both sides of the ball.
Adding Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon and re-signing Greg Robinson certainly helped to morph the Browns into a true contender. And then, of course, the Browns acquired the NFL’s rock star wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr.
Combining Beckham with Mayfield gives you one of the best young combinations in the NFL. But slotting Beckham into an offense that includes Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb could be deadly with Mayfield at the helm.
Not only did the Browns get much better, but the rest of the AFC North looks wide open and ripe for the taking in 2019. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost both Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell this off-season, and Ben Roethlisberger is only getting older. The Baltimore Ravens, although they did add Earl Thomas, lost much more on defense than they gained. The Cincinnati Bengals, until they show otherwise, are not in the divisional picture.
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The Browns got better on both sides of the ball this offseason, and their window of contention in their division is wide open. Cleveland football fans have been patient, and their reward is right around the corner. The Dawg Pound is ready to come alive, finally, after two decades of waiting, because the Cleveland Browns have arrived, and they should be around for a while.