Cleveland Browns sign Austin Hooper, Jack Conklin: Free agency grades

Andrew Berry’s time with the Cleveland Browns is off to an aggressive start in free agency, landing Austin Hooper and Jack Conklin. Grading each signing.

After an offseason in which the Cleveland Browns traded for Olivier Vernon and Odell Beckham Jr., in addition to other moves, it doesn’t seem like Andrew Berry taking over as general manager is going to change their approach. With the legal tampering period for 2020 NFL free agency getting underway on Monday, the Browns were aggressive with two of the biggest names on the market: tight end Austin Hooper and offensive tackle Jack Conklin.

Hooper was the first domino to fall for the Browns with, as first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the former Atlanta tight end agreeing to a four-year, $42 million deal with $23 million guaranteed, all in the first two years. Next up was Conklin, who agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract with $30 million guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense struggled immensely last season but adding the top right tackle on the free-agent market and the top tight end on the market as well could certainly help. But were these good moves for Cleveland? Let’s give each a grade.

David Njoku has not lived up to his potential as a former first-round pick by Cleveland and, after aggressively upgrading the offense with Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt last offseason, the Browns have again gotten aggressive to upgrade their weapons again. This time, it’s signing the best available tight end on the market in free agency, Austin Hooper.

The four-year, $42 million deal that Cleveland signed the former Falcons tight end to makes him the highest-paid player at his position in the league. From that view, this signing is pretty bad for the Browns. Hooper is a good player and pass-catcher but saying he’s worthy of being the top-paid tight end in the NFL is beyond far-fetched.

While that may be true, new head coach Kevin Stefanski showed he loves to use his tight ends in the offense while with the Vikings. Bringing in a proven pass-catcher like Hooper will fit right into his stylings and help Mayfield and the offense thrive. Add in that the guaranteed money is all in the first two years and it’s a nice move for Cleveland, even if an expensive one.

For my money, Jack Conklin has proven that he’s a terrific offensive tackle when healthy and his injury history shouldn’t give anyone concerns about earning the injury-prone label. And with the Browns’ immense issues with protection from the offensive tackle spots last season, adding Conklin will be massively important.

If that weren’t enough, the structure of the deal makes a ton of sense. As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, while $30 million of the deal is guaranteed, $20 million of that comes in the first year. It’s a phenomenal short-term option to address the biggest need on Cleveland’s roster with the potential to turn into a long-term option if he stays healthy and perform after three years.