Ignore the Browns Haters: “It Looks Good on Paper”
Well duh, of course I’m excited as a Browns fan. It’s the most anticipated season since at least the Browns’ return to the NFL in 1999, but I actually think the Browns might even be underrated. I’m not just buying into the hype. I’m saying the current hype isn’t enough. I will certainly admit I’m a Cleveland homer, and I’m fully ready to have this take blow up in my face a few months from now. But as things currently stand, I couldn’t be more optimistic. This series of posts (and the first posts of this blog) will address all the arguments against the Browns hype in the national media.
“The roster looks good on paper but they gotta do it on the field.”
I know. I get it. There are plenty of examples in sports of teams with good rosters that failed to perform. I’m not saying that’s impossible for this team, but this is a lazy take that people only resort to because the Browns have been… well the Browns over the last 20 years. People know this is a very good roster but they’re afraid to put their chips down on a team that’s been so bad in recent years. They’re afraid of being wrong and feel like they have to hedge their bet by adding the “on paper” qualifier.
If you want to talk about what’s on paper though, just look at this roster. There are stars and potential breakout stars everywhere, especially at the most valuable positions.
We know it all starts with the quarterback. Coming off a record setting rookie season, Baker Mayfield is already an above average QB. I would argue a top 10 QB with all the tools to work his way into the top 5 conversation by the end of the season. People are still underestimating how quickly he makes decisions and gets the ball to his target. People are still underestimating how accurate of a passer he is, especially deep downfield. With Todd Monken coming to the Browns with his big play offense, I fully expect Baker to put up huge numbers this season.
Continuing with the offense, I think the Browns have the best receiving corp in the entire NFL. In my view, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry are the clear cut best receiving duo, and I think people are sleeping on Rashard Higgins. He’s such a smooth receiver who has obvious chemistry with Baker. I think he’s poised for a breakout year with much of the attention on the other two guys. On top of the best receiving corp, when the second half of the season rolls around, the Browns will have the clear cut best running back duo in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Either of these guys could pop a long touchdown run on any given carry. They both proved that last year. They’re certainly no slouches at tight end or offensive line either. David Njoku has all the athletic ability to make a lot of big plays, especially in the red zone. People like to point to the offensive line as being a weakness of this team, but remember the Browns still have JC Tretter and Joel Bitonio to protect Baker up the middle and a lot of people don’t realize this line gave up hardly any sacks after Kitchens took over the offense last year.
Looking at the defense, this is one of the best defensive lines and best secondaries in the NFL. Olivier Vernon on the edge and Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi up the middle are a formidable group on their own. The other end also has a legit defensive player of the year candidate in Myles Garrett and make no mistake about it, he’s motivated to win that award. Backing them up you have Damarious Randall and Denzel Ward who has the tools to be the best cornerback in the NFL. Beyond that, you have Greedy Williams, who many people thought was the best cover corner in the draft. I don’t want to forget about Terrance Mitchell as well. This is a guy that I think has been seriously underrated, even by Browns fans. It’s partially because he was injured for most of last year, but he is a very good cornerback who might end up splitting starting time with Greedy. Oh, and they have a couple of former pro bowlers at linebacker too in Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert. This is going to be a fun playmaking defense to watch.
So no, it doesn’t JUST look good on paper. This isn’t a random collection of good players. This is a team of players with complementary skill sets. It’s a team with it’s best players at all the premium skill positions. If you stop the passing attack, good luck stopping the run. If you can manage to block this monster defensive line, good luck getting open receivers against this secondary. That’s not something many teams can say.
