The NFL trade deadline doesn’t usually have the juice that the same date has in baseball, basketball, or even hockey, but in recent years there has been more and more activity.
With the loss of Odell Beckham Jr. for the season due to a knee injury, there has been much speculation the Cleveland Browns could be in the market for a replacement for one of their offensive playmakers.
However, would that be the best move GM Andrew Berry could be making?
You see, the Browns are the second highest scoring team in the AFC, behind only the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Overall, they have scored the fifth most points in the NFL, topped only by the Buccaneers, Chiefs, Seahawks, and Cardinals.
Outside of the game in Dallas, Kevin Stefanski’s crew has done it without a huge contribution from Beckham, who scored three times that day.
The former Giant is second on the Browns in receptions, behind Jarvis Landry, and just one catch ahead of TE Austin Hooper. He’s also second in receiving yards.
We are not trying to insinuate the Browns won’t miss Beckham. None of the players Cleveland will use to replace him are close to him in terms of talent.
But the team is getting KhaDarel Hodge back from IR and we saw what Rashard Higgins and rookien Donovan Peoples-Jones did against Cincinnati. Higgins had over 100 receiving yards last Sunday, and we would remind you Beckham has just two in 22 games with Cleveland.
Our point is the Browns have plenty of weapons on offense, even without Beckham. Assuming Nick Chubb can return after the bye week (or shortly thereafter), Stefanski still has Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Landry, and Hooper. We would also envision a bigger role for David Njoku and rookie TE Harrison Bryant.
If Berry is going to make a deal, we would look at a defensive unit that has allowed the second highest point total in the NFL, ahead of only Dallas.
That puts a lot of pressure on the offensive to score 30 points virtually every week. In fact, the Browns are 5-0 when they score 30+, and 0-2 when they don’t.
Right now, the Browns have two very good players on that side of the ball. Let us correct that. They have one superstar on defense and a very good cornerback. We are obviously talking about Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward.
There shouldn’t be a debate that if Berry makes a deal, it should be with an eye on improving this area of the team.
Another pass rusher would be ideal, but right now, only Garrett is making his presence felt, and no doubt future opponents see the same thing. Being double teamed is one thing, but the former first overall pick might start seeing three men blocking him, because no one else is applying pressure.
Sheldon Richardson has 2.5 sacks, Adrian Clayborn has 2, and no other defensive lineman has one. In fact, the only linebacker on the board is B.J. Goodson, who has .5. The rest are from blitzing defensive backs.
We certainly aren’t saying to give up high draft picks, but in the past couple of days we’ve seen two pass rushers (Everson Griffen and Carlos Dunlap) go for lower round picks. So it can be done without a high cost.
Another receiver would be nice, sure. But the biggest area of need for the Browns is fixing the porous defense. It probably wouldn’t put Cleveland on par with the likes of the Chiefs, Steelers, or Ravens level, but it would take pressure off the offense to score every time they get the football.
And if you get to the playoffs? Why not win a game or two?
Cleveland Sports Perspective 