Making early bold predictions for the Cleveland Browns in the 2020 season.
No one could stop the Cleveland Browns heading into last season — or at least that’s the way it seemed. With quarterback Baker Mayfield entering his second year after a phenomenal rookie campaign and adding Odell Beckham Jr. to an offense that already boasted the likes of Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry, the Dawg Pound appeared that they were in for a treat.
As we all know, the reality was much different for Cleveland than the expectations. Whether it was Freddie Kitchens’ shortcomings as head coach, the offensive line’s abysmal performance or incidents like Myles Garrett swinging his helmet at an opponent’s head, the Browns were the living embodiment of Murphy’s Law.
Kevin Stefanski, formerly of the Vikings, has replaced Kitchens, the offensive line has been improved drastically and holes have been plugged. Yet, it feels like everyone is hesitant to believe in this team due to getting burned a season ago.
Let’s blow that out of the water, though. With training camp just a few weeks away, we’re making some early bold predictions for the Cleveland Browns in the 2020 NFL season.
Browns early bold prediction No. 5: Run defense is league average
To put it plainly, running on Cleveland’s defense was not a difficult task last season. Despite the talent on the defensive line, Kitchens’ club struggled mightily to consistently stifle opposing rushing attacks.
In 2019, the Browns ranked 30th in rushing defense, allowing opponents to run for 5.0 yards per carry over the course of the season. So it’s no surprise that they also had the fifth-most rushing attempts against them in the NFL. Teams knew they could have success handing the ball off, so that’s what they elected to do quite often.
While the organization let Joe Schobert walk and there are questions about the young linebacker group, the Browns should have a better shot against the run. With an improved offense, they may see fewer rushing attacks take advantage. Meanwhile, the addition of veteran Andrew Billings at defensive tackle should help tremendously as well.
Though it may not seem that bold, Cleveland finishing as a league-average run defense in the 2020 season would be huge for this team. That’s an improvement of over 10 spots from where they were in 2019, which is the type of turnaround this team needs to see.