5 Dark horse NFL Super Bowl contenders primed to shine in 2021

1. Cleveland Browns

After posting an 11-5 record last season, the Cleveland Browns not only made the playoffs but they even got their first win in the postseason since returning to the NFL in 1999. Once the year was over, the accolades continued as head coach Kevin Stefanski won the NFL Coach of the Year award for the job he did in his first season with the Browns.

Cleveland made it that far on the strength of their offense which featured arguably the best running back duo in the NFL with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They also saw Baker Mayfield take some huge steps forward as a player under the tutelage of Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

What held them back, however, was their defense. Already an average unit at best, the Browns suffered through injuries at every level of the defense which brought them from bad to worse. This is why general manager Andrew Berry focused heavily on the defensive side of the ball in both free agency and the draft.

Berry added Jadeveon Clowney, John Johnson, Troy Hill, and Anthony Walker in free agency to a team that already had Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward. Then in the draft, he selected Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome II in Round 1 and Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in the second.

Suddenly, the defense looks to be one of the more formidable units in the entire league — and the offense not only returns all their starters from 2020 but they’re also expected to get Odell Beckham, Jr. back after suffering a torn ACL in Week 7.

Cleveland is no longer a joke in the AFC North and they could be a dangerous team with Super Bowl aspirations as early as this season.