Dawgs By Nature
The Browns roster has talent but needs to be put in a position to succeed
What is defined as a talented football team? A recent example is the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. If you look at their roster, they have a talented offense led by multiple superstars and a star-studded defense.
Say what you want about head coach Nick Sirianni, he’s a good coach with a quality staff around him.
The focus now shifts to the Cleveland Browns. Overall, the Browns are nowhere near what the Eagles are, but they hope to get there (Browns subtly gave the Eagles the blueprint on how to build a solid defense line). Pro Football Focus recently ranked the Browns as having the 32nd most talented roster in the league, but it’s hard to believe that the roster is that bad/lacks talent. The Browns have talent on this roster, but that doesn’t mean it is a great roster:
From an offensive standpoint, the unit is pretty rough.
At quarterback, when you have two veterans who aren’t particularly viewed highly and two unproven rookie quarterbacks, it is hard to have any form of optimism. Considering how the quarterback play was last year, all fans want is competent play after going through that.
The entire offensive line is getting older and had its fair share of struggles last year. It is possible that the unit looks better this year under a familiar offensive scheme, but age does catch up at some point, considering how guard Joel Bitonio contemplated retirement this offseason but chose to come back.
The skill position group is young but unproven. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is the best receiver in the room by far. 2nd best? It’s hard to tell. Diontae Johnson has more of a liability recently than an asset, and Cedric Tillman has shown flashes but needs to get more opportunities by staying on the field in terms of health. Tight end David Njoku is one of the best tight ends in the league, and rookie Harold Fannin Jr has the talent to be great.
As a whole, the unit has talent. Still, it’s more unproven in most areas, uncertainty about who the starting quarterback is, and an aging offensive line leads to cause for concern. Still, it’s not necessarily the worst unit in the league. Bottom 5? Maybe, but not the worst.
If there is one unit that is carrying this team, it’s the defense. Since the hiring of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2023, the Browns defense has transformed into an upper-echelon unit.
As far as their defensive line goes, it’s a top 10 group in the league led by defensive end Myles Garrett. Rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham is expected to make an impact along the interior alongside Mike Hall, while the depth for both the edge rushers and defensive tackles have been solidified.
Despite the loss of linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the linebacker room is solid with veterans and young upstart talent. Rookie linebacker Carson...
