NFL Offseason 2019: Ranking the 5 most improved AFC teams

1. Cleveland Browns

Just two years ago, the Cleveland Browns were still the laughingstock of the NFL and sat at an 0-16 record for the 2017 campaign. Now, the Browns have seemed to have found their franchise quarterback and are now one of the most hyped teams coming into the 2019 season.

The Browns didn’t do much in the 2019 NFL Draft. Cleveland entered the draft without a first-round pick this year after they traded it to the Giants — we will get into that later, though. Ultimately with the Browns second-round pick and their first selection, they landed Greedy Williams. Williams is by far the best pure press-man corner in the 2019 draft class. Zone coverage is a different story, though. Outside of that, they made a few good selections elsewhere, highlighted by Mack Wilson, who was a good value in the fifth round.

In free agency, Cleveland did well, but that’s not where they succeeded the most. They made nice pickups in Morgan Burnett and Sheldon Richardson. The Browns really hit the mark this year, however, with two big trades, both of which were with the New York Giants.

The first trade was the Browns shipping out Kevin Zeitler, an elite level guard. In exchange, they got Olivier Vernon and a fourth- and fifth-rounder from the Giants. Nobody on the Browns defense got pressure on the quarterback consistently in 2018 besides Myles Garrett. But after adding a very good pass rusher in Vernon opposite of him, the Browns will be able to terrorize NFC North quarterbacks

That would be a good offseason for the Browns alone but the other blockbuster deal with the Giants made it even better. The second trade consisted of the Browns sending Jabrill Peppers, their 2019 first-round pick and 2019 third-round pick and getting one of the best receivers in the league, Odell Beckham Jr., in return. Giving Baker Mayfield more weapons is always a good thing, but now the Browns gave him one of the best weapons in the entire NFL.

This Browns team started off slow in 2019 with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. When Mayfield got thrown into the mix, though, the Browns turned this around. Now, with an improved defense and an improved offense, the Browns are primed for a playoff run.