After a solid free agency that swelled the Cleveland Browns talent pool to epic proportions, everyone assumes they will be great. Everyone assumes a monster season. But the Browns hype machine is threatening actual success.
Whatever odds you’re getting on the Cleveland Browns to win the Super Bowl, they’re probably too low to offer a valuable return. The hype is uncontrollable at this point. The roster is loaded, sure. It is on the come-up with tons of young talent only getting better, and they’ve promoted their offensive man to head coach to fully unleash Baker Mayfield. What are the Super Bowl odds? Maybe they are too high!
In truth, the Cleveland Browns look like they will be a much improved football team continuing on the path towards the playoffs, but there are still some issues that remain. The hype machine is seriously threatening any real success before it happens. Cleveland must actually have a winning season, not just on paper.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Cleveland Browns in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
Trading draft picks or (supposedly) expendable pieces for stars is a sure way to improve the look and feel of your roster. Cleveland added both Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon from the New York Giants. It also signed free agent Kareem Hunt, who is set to serve an eight-game suspension, but will be available for the second half of the season. They are star players at impact positions, which means the roster looks much better on paper. But nothing is a given.
Beckham has struggled with injuries recently. He is also an out-sized personality that needs to be reined in. By all accounts, his Giants teammates loved him, but the front office decidedly did not, and he was a media headache at every turn.
There are already signs that he may not have been delighted by the trade to Cleveland. Vernon has been injured in recent years as well, and his production has dipped. Was it because of health or an overall decline? Having Beckham and Vernon is better than not, but this is no slam dunk.
The questions with Hunt are even more obvious. Was this a PR disaster to bring in a guy just cut and suspended for violence against women? Will he even be useful after sitting out half a season?
Other than the questions about the specific additions, the Browns sent a starting offensive lineman and starting safety out the door in the deals, as well as the 17th overall pick in the NFL Draft. They believe Austin Corbett can replace Kevin Zeitler and that there are options to replace what Jabrill Peppers brought to the picture. But all these factors remain to be seen.
What these additions clearly do is beef up already formidable units for Cleveland. There are a bevy of pass-catching talents on the roster for Mayfield to peruse. The running back depth chart could be the most talented in the league as well. The defensive front is also loaded with pass rushing, which is such a boon in this league nowadays. Those are all considerable positives.
The immediate reaction this offseason has been to praise and anoint Cleveland. That isn’t necessarily wrong. We’ve already stated how worried we were about the rest of the AFC North. But fans should simply tap the breaks. Heck, Freddie Kitchens is a first-time head coach to boot. We’ve seen the great minds fail when promoted to head coach too many times to think Kitchens is going to have no issues.
Go crazy taking Browns in your fantasy football draft, but it will take time before I’m ready to declare them a real-life powerhouse.
Dan Salem:
I think a distinction must be made between real-life powerhouse and favorite to win the AFC North. The Cleveland Browns have a lot to prove before anyone can realistically consider them a powerhouse. Making the playoffs and posting a winning season top my list of things to prove initially. But in terms of the division, Cleveland is clearly in the running to win things.
The AFC North favorite is currently the Browns, simply because everyone else has gotten worse, while Cleveland has gotten better. Baltimore lost its formidable defense and is also playing with a second year quarterback that must prove he can get better, rather than regress. Pittsburgh lost two of its best players and must prove they can be just as good without them offensively. Cincinnati is a dumpster fire.
Meanwhile, the Browns have brought in a few studs to add to their young and talented core. If we played things on paper…I’d still need to see more from Cleveland before trusting them to produce.
The issue here is consistency. Up until October of the last year, the Browns were awful. Mayfield had an excellent rookie season, but for every quarterback like Jared Goff who has a bad rookie year and stellar sophomore season, there is a player like Carson Wentz who had a great rookie season and struggled to regain his former level of success in year two.
Mayfield can easily be better or just as good, but the numbers say he’s just as likely to regress or struggle a bit this season. The first three years for quarterbacks have ups and downs. Everyone goes through downs. When will Mayfield have his?
No one likes to talk about it, especially not during the offseason, but offensive line is the most important facet of an NFL team’s success right now. You can get by with average talent almost everywhere else if your offensive line is superb. Your offense will run and pass the ball better, meaning they control the clock and keep the defense off the field and fresh. Your quarterback will stay off the turf and be able to operate, find a rhythm, and lead his team successfully.
A bad offensive line ruins everything. Does Cleveland have a good offensive line? We don’t yet know.