No Watson, But Browns Will Need To Find A Way

Well. it didn’t take long for the euphoria of a road win over Baltimore to be drowned out. Yesterday, the Browns announced that Deshaun Watson has a fracture in his shoulder and will miss the rest of the regular season.

Suddenly the Browns, sitting with the third best record in the AFC at 6-3 are unstable at the most important position on the field. Watson was coming off an excellent second half against the Ravens, completing all 14 of his passes and leading the team back from a 31-17 deficit in the fourth quarter.

It’s a tough blow for the Browns, but it will be interesting to see how the organization will go from here.

We understand that fans will be downhearted and thinking “woe is us”, but GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski will not be doing that. They will be figuring out how to win without their starting quarterback going forward.

We didn’t think Stefanski was thrilled with P.J. Walker’s play after the Seattle game because of all the turnovers, so apparently rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will get the nod vs. Pittsburgh.

We are sure the offense will also play it close to the vest in an effort to limit turnover opportunities and that’s fine. We saw in exhibition games that the rookie’s legs can be a weapon.

However, you would think Berry will be looking over what QBs are available now that the trading deadline has passed. The best candidates seem to be Joe Flacco, Colt McCoy or Nick Foles.

If you sign a veteran, it will take him some time to ramp up and learn the offense, so it would seem it’s DTR for the next few games, unless he plays good enough to win games.

Among the veteran free agents, Flacco is 38-years-old and played in five games with the Jets last season, famously guiding New York to a comeback win over Cleveland. He completed 57.6% of his passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He also brings the mobility of a flagpole.

McCoy is 37 and played in four games with Arizona last year, completing 68.2% of his throws with a TD and three picks. It would seem he could handle a short passing offense right now.

Foles is the youngest at 34, and he played in just three games with the Colts last season, completing 59.5% of his throws with no touchdowns and four throws to the opposition. Since leaving Philadelphia after the 2018 season, he’s been pretty mediocre.

Before the season started, we had the opinion the success of the Browns hinged on the play of Watson. If he was back to his Houston form, the Browns would be a very good football team in 2023. And if not, Cleveland made a big mistake.

Because the defense has played this well in ’23, we have changed our opinion. This team can still get to the playoffs without Watson this season. If Stefanski can coax decent quarterback play out of whoever starts, we still believe the post-season is in play.

The players and coaching staff are not going to give up on the season. Both groups understand how talented this football team is. We said earlier in the week that the Browns were a power running team and that hasn’t changed with Watson’s injury.

The timing of this, coming off a big win, does suck though. No disputing that.

Key Turnovers Cost Browns (Again!)

We agree with the premise that play calling is overrated in the NFL. What this means is the execution is more important than the play call.

We are in the minority on this though, and that’s why we are sure that Browns’ coach Kevin Stefanski will be hammered throughout the week about the third down play with two minutes to go and the Browns holding a 20-17 lead in Seattle.

We know no one will want to do this, but why doesn’t the coach get credit for an offense that gained 385 yards, the second highest total all year (week 2 vs. Pittsburgh) without their starting QB and without Nick Chubb.

The Browns also controlled the clock, chewing up almost 37 minutes in time of possession.

The pass that would up being intercepted (off the helmet of a Seattle player) was a safe throw, but not executed properly. We asked someone who played QB in college and NFL Europe if it was a bad play call and was told no, the passer has to know where pressure is coming from and go somewhere else with the ball.

And there were two other receivers open.

The people saying the Browns should have run the ball in that situation are using the same logic the head coach used. Stefanski called a safe play and if Walker completes it, the Browns run out the clock and win the game.

The “should’ve called a run play” folks are assuming if the Browns do, they make the first down. There is no guarantee of that either.

And we are sure Seattle was playing run first.

While that pass was kind of flukey, having it deflect off a helmet, having P.J. Walker playing quarterback continues to be a problem because of turnovers. He was responsible for three more yesterday, giving him seven in the three games he’s appeared in this season.

FYI, that’s way too many.

Really, it’s amazing Cleveland is 4-3 on the season considering they have lost the turnover battles in six games in 2023! They are -9 on the season, and that simply isn’t a recipe for winning games in the NFL.

If Andrew Berry doesn’t trade for a veteran QB by today’s deadline, why not take another look at rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson against Arizona this Sunday? We know the rook struggled in his first start vs. Baltimore, but he didn’t get all the practice reps that week because the organization thought Deshaun Watson was going to be able to go.

Maybe, DTR can hold on to the ball better, and yes we know what he did against the Ravens.

And if you want to second guess Stefanski for something in Sunday’s game, we are curious as to why Kareem Hunt wasn’t in the game in the fourth quarter.

Hunt was Cleveland’s leading rusher on the day, and as usual, ran hard, getting 55 tough yards on 14 carries. This isn’t to denigrate Jerome Ford, who gained four yards per carry playing most of the final quarter, but Hunt is a dependable back for sure.

All in all, a victory next Sunday at home puts Cleveland at 5-3, and only the division leaders in the AFC have less losses and they all have two. Without Watson and Chubb, that’s not bad.

And we will say the same thing as we said after the week two loss to Pittsburgh. Eliminate the mistakes and things will be okay.

Browns Have To Improve Passing Game…By Trade?

The NFL trading deadline is on Halloween and there are rumors the Cleveland Browns will be active. However, if they are active, what will they focus on.

With Deshaun Watson’s shoulder issues, they should be on the hunt for a serviceable backup quarterback.

The Browns are built to win this year. They have a tremendous defense and GM Andrew Berry spent a lot of salary cap space on that side of the football, bringing in several defensive linemen to help out new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

Simply put, the Browns do not have a functional pass offense. Even with Watson playing the first three games, Cleveland ranks second last in the NFL in passing yards, ahead of only the New York Jets.

They won the last two games with yeoman efforts from the defense, not allowing San Francisco to move the ball after an opening drive and creating turnovers against the Colts which led to at least 17 points.

Logic says that is not likely to continue.

P.J. Walker inspires no confidence even though he was at the helm in the last two games. He’s completed just 50% of his passes, hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass, but he has thrown three interceptions.

And it’s not like Walker is a running threat either. He’s run the ball just six times for four yards.

When Watson returns to the field again is anyone’s guess, and that’s not an insinuation that he doesn’t want to play, which we agree is total nonsense. It just seems like this is an injury where he could return next week against the Cardinals or he could be out another month.

No one seems to want to set a firm timetable, and we get that.

Because of that, Berry has to go out and get another quarterback. There is too much at stake for this season.

This may sound contradictory, but we also don’t want to pay an exorbitant price in a deal either. This is because we don’t want to replace Watson, we simply want to find someone better than Walker.

Here is what we mean about having a professional passing attack. The Browns’ opponent today, the Seattle Seahawks have five receivers with 10 or more catches and averaging over 10 yards per reception.

Cleveland has one, Amari Cooper who has caught 24 balls for 389 yards. Donovan Peoples-Jones is averaging 12.1 yards per catch but has just nine receptions on the season.

The Falcons rank middle of the pack in the league in passing yards and they have four receivers who fit this profile.

Elijah Moore and David Njoku rank first and third in terms of receptions for the Browns and both average just nine yards per catch.

Since Watson has been out, Cleveland QBs have not thrown a TD pass and has six picks. That’s just not acceptable, let alone for a team poised to make a playoff run.

Berry has to find someone who can complete simple 10-15 yard passes on a regular basis, something that shouldn’t be difficult to do.

We know coach Kevin Stefanski said he is happy with the quarterback room right now, but really what is supposed to say?

We don’t want to hear about trading Josh Dobbs, because no one was outraged about it at the time, and although Dobbs hasn’t played poorly, Arizona has only reached 20 points once in the last four games.

The Browns and Berry simply can’t take any chances. They have too much at stake to not have a decent passing attack.

Garrett Wills The Browns To A Road Win

If you read this web site on a regular basis or follow us on social media, you know we are very critical of the NFL officiating. We believe it is the worst in all of professional sports.

Someone on X (Twitter) made a comment that they saw Browns’ running back Duke Johnson holding the football at the bottom of a pile and an official award the ball to the opponent.

So yes, the Cleveland Browns were probably the beneficiaries of some poor calls by the officials. But they happen all around the league every week, so there is no need to feel remorse about a win on Sunday if you are a fan.

As Bill Parcells famously said, you are what your record says you are, and the Browns are 4-2 after a 39-38 win over Indianapolis on Sunday.

Even though they gave up 38 points, the story of the game was still the Cleveland defense. Over the first five games, opponents couldn’t move the football with much success, but Sunday, the Colts did move the ball, getting a handful of big plays to help them amass 456 yards.

They flipped the script because they created turnovers, four of them in fact, scored a defensive touchdown, blocked a field goal, and had the best player on the field in Myles Garrett.

Garrett’s first half was unbelievable, Lawrence Taylor-like if you will. Immediately after the pair calling the game said they hadn’t called Garrett’s name; he recorded a strip sack which led to the Browns’ second touchdown, tying the game at 14.

Next, he leaped over the offensive line to block a field goal, which Denzel Ward picked up and moved into Colts’ territory, setting up a Cleveland field goal.

Then right before halftime, he did it again, this time in the end zone and Tony Fields recovered the ball for a defensive touchdown, putting Cleveland up 24-21.

So, while the defense had its worst game of the season in terms of giving up points and yardage, it scored a touchdown directly, and set up at least 10 more points. We say at least because after the Fields score, the defense forced a three and out, setting up another Dustin Hopkins’ field goal.

Can speaking of Hopkins, how big was the trade for him before the season started? Andrew Berry knew he couldn’t go into the season with Cade York’s lack of consistency, so he acquired the veteran from San Diego.

His statistics showed he was good inside the 50 (almost 90% for his career), but so-so beyond that distance at 15 for 30.

However, he’s become a tremendous weapon for Kevin Stefanski, making 16 of 18 field goals, including 7 for 7 from 50 yards or more. He made four kicks Sunday, three from past midfield, including a career long 58 yarder.

The Browns have won two straight games without much of a passing attack, and everyone know that cannot continue. Hopefully, Deshaun Watson continues to get better and can play going forward, but he may have to change his style.

If he can’t put as much zip on the ball because of his shoulder, then he needs to make an adjustment. Plenty of quarterbacks have been successful later in their career despite losing MPH on their throws. Peyton Manning and Joe Montana come to mind.

But the offense needs to be better in the passing game for sure. We were happy to see David Njoku used more because we continue to believe he is only behind Amari Cooper in being a big play threat.

As Stefanski said last week, the Browns need to continue to stack wins, and they have another opportunity to do just that in Seattle next Sunday. It won’t be easy because the Seahawks are 4-2 and they have one of the game’s best coaches in Pete Carroll.

On the other hand, their last three wins are against Carolina, the Giants, and Cardinals.

We will bet the Cleveland defense will be much better next week.

Browns Defense Is Best We’ve Seen

If Sunday’s win over San Francisco doesn’t convince people that the Cleveland Browns have a good team, we don’t know what will.

We’ve heard people saying Niners’ QB Brock Purdy isn’t a very good QB, but they weren’t saying that the previous game when they walloped Dallas 42-10. Such is the life of a Browns’ fan, even when they are good, they can’t just admit it.

The critics of Kevin Stefanski also are forced to put a sock in it right now. The “too cerebral”, “non-emotional” coach had his football team ready to play a superior opponent without their starting quarterback and All Pro running back, and All Pro guard.

He had a good game plan, stuck to it, and defeating a 5-0 football team, the first time Cleveland defeated an undefeated team with five or more wins since 1969!

We say that knowing the next time the Browns lose a game, it will be entirely the fault of Stefanski. Such is being a football fan in Cleveland.

And we are sure we will hear some people saying perhaps Cleveland doesn’t need Deshaun Watson after all, because they defeated a quality opponent without him.

However, let’s talk about the defense. We are ready to say this is the best defensive unit the Browns have had since we started following the brown and orange in 1965.

Jim Schwartz’ unit has allowed just 1002 yards in their five games, the first time any unit has allowed so few in 50 years. And because of that, the Browns are 3-2 today despite not winning the turnover battle in any of the five games they’ve played to date.

Last season, we wondered (we weren’t alone) why the Browns played so much zone pass defense when they drafted several cornerbacks who exceled in man-to-man coverage during their college careers. This season, we are seeing that was a huge mistake.

To us, that’s the problem with coaches who have a “system”. That “system” is all they know how to teach and coach. Which pretty much is the opposite of what we feel coaching should be, which is looking at the talent at hand and getting the most out of it.

Yes, GM Andrew Berry added a lot of talent on the defensive line, but perhaps that was at Schwartz’ request. We often said in the past it seemed like the plan was if Myles Garrett can’t get to the quarterback, they needed to rely on the zone coverage.

Schwartz didn’t want to depend on just Garrett. He wanted a bunch of players with the ability to get to the passer. Last season, Taven Bryan was second on the team with three sacks. In 2023, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo already has 2.5 and LB Sione Takitaki has two.

Keep in mind that Za’Darius Smith doesn’t have one yet, and Shelby Harris has just a half sack. You know they will get on the board soon.

Opponents are converting just 23.1% of third downs against the Browns’ defense, which is amazing. The next best rate? Atlanta is holding their opponents to just 31.1%.

Also, opponents have ventured into the Cleveland red zone just nine times, also the lowest in the NFL.

Stefanski told his team in the locker room after the game that the Browns need to start stacking wins and he is 100% correct. They have to follow up a great win over San Francisco by going to Indianapolis and beating a rebuilding Colts’ team.

And stop turning the ball over.

The Browns’ World Isn’t Ending Folks

We understand that 24 seasons of pretty much horrible football has made Cleveland Browns’ fans very sensitive. Three winning seasons since 1999 will do that to you.

However, logic seems to have gone out the window concerning this version of the Browns. Not to ignore the entire history of the expansion Browns, but the last three seasons have resulted in a 28-26 record under the Andrew Berry/Kevin Stefanski regime.

While not great, it’s a far cry from the 4-44 record from 2015-17 or the 27-69 mark from 2008-2013. Cleveland football fans have seen plenty of not just bad football, but historically bad football.

They should know better that that’s not the 2023 Cleveland Browns.

First of all, this team has a great defense, and by the end of the year, we might be able to say it is the best defense the Browns have had since we can remember, which dates back to 1965.

They have an excellent pass rush, led by Myles Garrett, who is the best pass rusher the franchise has ever had. And he has a lot of help in Za’Darius Smith, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Shelby Harris, and Dalvin Tomlinson.

They are good and deep. Jim Schwartz’ unit also has an outstanding secondary. Last year, Martin Emerson and Denzel Ward led the team in passes defended with 15 for the entire season. And only Grant Delpit also was in double figures with 10.

This season, Ward already has 5, Emerson 3, and three other players have 2. We understand the Baltimore game was a disappointment but check again. It was really one bad quarter.

Good defense keeps you in every game and gives you a chance to win. And barring injuries, the Cleveland Browns are very good on that side of the football.

Fans are convinced there is something seriously wrong with Deshaun Watson, and maybe there is, but we doubt it. He won’t play tomorrow, but should be back in a week or two, and let’s not forget he is coming off his best game as a Brown.

If he’s out for a longer period, the team is pretty much screwed offensively. But that’s nothing new, we have been saying that since the end of last season. He is the key to making a playoff run.

Look, the Browns handled the situation poorly. Before the Ravens’ game, we are sure they were betting on Watson’s durability and history of pain tolerance. Once he didn’t play that game, they should have been more transparent. Not doing so, opens the organization up for questions about being secretive.

And if he’s back, look at the rest of the schedule. Now, we don’t like to play the “schedule game”, but it would seem to us that after tomorrow’s game, the schedule isn’t overly difficult.

We also know you have to play the game on the field (which we would also say for today) but we see some teams we would classify as terrible remaining: Arizona (sorry, Jon Gannon), Denver, Chicago, and a Jets team without Aaron Rodgers.

Also, we would consider the games against the Rams, Texans, and Colts very winnable, especially if Watson is playing. If they emerge victorious in those contests, that’s nine wins and that makes them a playoff contender.

Again, there are a lot of variables to consider, especially injuries. However, even with a loss tomorrow, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the Cleveland Browns.

Imagine that…the words optimism and Browns in the same sentence.

No Chubb, No Watson, No Offense, No Surprise?

When the Cleveland Browns lost Nick Chubb a couple of weeks ago, we said Deshaun Watson had to take more of the offensive burden for the team.

With Watson out last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, the offense was without both of their foundations, and the result was a 28-3 loss at home to their division rivals, dropping them to 2-2 on the season.

When GM Andrew Berry traded Josh Dobbs to Arizona before the regular season started, it left the Browns without an experienced back up. It was a gamble, and one that many people would have made, but it came back to bite them against the Ravens.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a rookie fifth-round draft pick, and he played like a…rookie fifth round draft pick, hitting 19 of 36 passes for just 121 yards.

The rook hit a couple of throws early, and then started missing targets resulting in an interception which set the Ravens up for their first touchdown. And with Cleveland in Baltimore territory, tried an ill-advised lateral that went out of bounds and was ruled an illegal forward pass.

We would have considered going to P.J. Walker in the second half had the score remained 14-3 after the second quarter. Someone who has played in the NFL before.

The Kevin Stefanski play calling critics are out again and strangely they only come out when the Browns lose. Weird how that works out, isn’t it?

Here’s what we think happened. The Ravens, knowing Cleveland was starting a QB who hadn’t completed a pass in an NFL game, loaded the box to shut down the run. Stefanski saw this and tried to give Thompson-Robinson some easy throw to keep him out of third and long situations.

The coach tried to do the same thing when Baker Mayfield was at the helm. He doesn’t want to be in third and long. By the way, do you know any coaches who like to be in that situation?

Besides the first offensive play, a 25-yard run by Jerome Ford canceled because of a dubious holding call on Amari Cooper, the Browns couldn’t run the ball before Pierre Strong Jr. ripped off a decent run in garbage time.

Ford had 9 carries for 26 yards, gaining 10 on one carry. Kareem Hunt? Five carries for 12 yards.

And we are pretty sure the coach didn’t tell Elijah Moore to run 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a jet sweep.

Perhaps the offensive line isn’t as good as advertised. The Browns have played two games without Chubb and have had trouble running in both games. And you know what happens if you can’t run the ball and stop the run.

You don’t win.

The defense sprung a leak for one quarter in the loss, allowing Baltimore to gain 206 of their 296 yards in the second quarter, resulting in two touchdowns. The good news? They adjusted in the second half, allowing just 42 yards after halftime.

They are entitled to have a bad quarter every once in a while.

If Watson is healthy enough to play the rest of the season, this is just a blip on the radar.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t things the coaching staff and front office need to figure out. Should they bring in another quarterback? The offensive line has to get better.

The defense is just fine though.

Another tough test comes after the bye week when San Francisco comes to town. If Watson is back, it will serve as a measuring stick to see how good this Browns team is.

We remain optimistic.

Browns Keeping A Low Profile Right Now

The Cleveland Browns started training camp a couple of weeks ago, and have already played an exhibition game last Thursday, but it just doesn’t feel like there is any buzz right now.

Perhaps that will change this weekend when the Browns play their only pre-season game at home against the Washington Commanders, but the starting lineup is pretty much set on both sides of the football, so everything seems to be anticlimactic until the orange and brown take the field for real on September 10th against the Bengals.

We continue to say the Browns’ fortunes rest mostly on how Deshaun Watson plays. If he plays like the guy who completed 67.8% of his throws with Houston from 2017-2020, the Browns figure to be in the mix for a playoff spot, Kevin Stefanski keeps his job and GM Andrew Berry solidifies his position in the front office.

If Watson plays like he did when he returned from a year and a half layoff at the end of last season, then the franchise has a rather large problem considering how much draft capital was spent.

One area that should be much improved is the defense, particularly against the run. The Browns hired highly decorated defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Cleveland allowed 150 or more rushing yards seven times a year ago. They went 1-6 in those games.

By the way, the league average in yards allowed on the ground in 2022 was 121.6.

Schwartz’ defenses have ranked in the top half of the league in ten of his 19 seasons where he was either head coach or defensive coordinator.

We expect the defense will be much better both in stopping the run, where really, they couldn’t get much worse, and in pass defense. Schwartz likes to have depth on the defensive line, so he can keep people fresh, and the defensive backs are already talking about how playing more man-to-man coverage plays into their strength.

The only news that can come out of this year’s training camp is bad, and that would be injuries. Already, we have seen two defensive linemen go down and will miss the opener but should be back early in the season.

And to that point, although some of the starters, most notably Watson, probably need to be on the field a bit during pre-season play, there are a few who shouldn’t see any action until week one.

In particular, we are talking about Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, and Joel Bitonio. We don’t live in fear of injuries, they can happen without contact, but we don’t need to see this trio until Cincinnati visits for the first regular season game.

After Friday’s game, the Browns will have a controlled scrimmage against the
Eagles next week, so the starters will play in that and not the game.

It’s very likely fans here won’t see the true Browns squad after Friday
until the season opener. And that explains why there isn’t the usual buzz
around the camp.

But maybe there should be. This might be the most important season the
Cleveland Browns have had in many years.

In Evaluating Stefanski, Look At All Head Coaches

The Cleveland Browns seemed to have pushed all chips to the center of the table. Over the weekend, GM Andrew Berry traded for three-time Pro Bowl DE Za’Darius Smith from the Minnesota Vikings for some mid-level draft picks.

Smith has accumulated ten or more sacks in three of the last four years, and in the one year he didn’t, he played just one game due to injury. We would seem to be a perfect complement to Myles Garrett, and also is another defensive lineman, which new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz loves to collect.

However, the thing that most of the local media comes back to in evaluating the Browns is Kevin Stefanski, and is he a good enough coach to lead the Browns deep into the post-season.

Our opinion on coaching in the NFL is that in no other sport can coaching make as much of a difference as it does in pro football. It happens all the time. Heck, it happened to Stefanski. Don’t forget he took over a 6-10 team and went 11-5 and made the playoffs.

But we also believe there aren’t many difference makers among the head coaches in the NFL. We believe there might be five coaches who are special.

Of course, Bill Belichick is on that list. And unfortunately for the Browns, two of the other ones play in the AFC North, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh.

That duo has put together a “culture” that winning must be attained, and they will do everything they can, including playing non-traditional football in order to win.

Certainly, Andy Reid is one of the sport’s top coaches. His success in two different places, two Super Bowl wins, three championship game appearances, and his consistent style of staying ahead of opposing defenses put him on the list.

And that last comment about Reid is key. A lot of the coaches who make an early difference do so because they do something so one has seen before, but when opposing coaches figure out a way to combat that, and they usually do, they have nothing.

As a result, the winning ends, and they are looking for a new gig in three to four years.

So, being able to adapt is what makes a good coach in our opinion. We don’t like “system coaches”, ones who have a certain style of play and can only coach that style. We think the epitome of coaching is looking at your talent and designing a plan that gets the most out of those players.

Putting players in positions where they cannot succeed is bad coaching.

Can Stefanski someday be in the class with Reid, Tomlin, and Harbaugh? Probably not, but our point is those guys are rare finds. If the Browns make the playoffs this season, he will no doubt return for a fifth year as head coach, and likely go into his sixth season.

He has two new coordinators this season, and of course, adding Schwartz is a huge move. As for why he didn’t change defensive coordinators sooner. It’s tough to fire people you work with every day, especially for a long time.

We understand the fans and media want to be cold blooded, it’s football after all, but remember than coaches look at the games differently than fans do. They have to.

Stefanski was part of the reason the Cleveland Browns didn’t succeed last season, after all, he’s the head coach. But it is also true the players weren’t good enough, there wasn’t enough depth, and the defense wasn’t up to par.

And if they don’t make the playoffs this season, he will likely be fired and a new coach will be brought in. Unless you are in the upper echelon of head men, that’s the way the NFL works.

Can’t Argue Browns Draft Picks At Least Make Sense

For more years than we care to remember, the NFL Draft has been sort of the Super Bowl for Browns’ fans. With the trade for Deshaun Watson last year, the front office decided to pretty much do the same thing the organization has done with the championship game, that is, sit it out.

We also feel that some Browns’ fans watch the selection process and feel that every player picked by the team’s divisional rivals are destined to be inducted in Canton someday, while Cleveland’s picks will never pan out.

That’s what three winning seasons in the 21st century will do to a fan base.

We aren’t going to sit here and pretend we know how the players the Browns just selected will turn out. That can’t be done for several years. What we can comment on is whether or not the picks make sense.

And quite frankly, we don’t have any beef about the players making any sense.

Yes, you can argue about the lack of linebackers, a position group the Cleveland front office seems to not value, and we can see the point of the discussion. They did sign Utah LB Mohamoud Diabate after the draft to a guaranteed deal.

Their first selection at pick #74, WR Cedric Tillman battled injuries last year, but in 2021 he caught 64 passes for 1081 yards and 12 touchdowns for Tennessee. More likely than not (and draft experts agree), he would have been drafted much higher had he been healthy in ’22.

Stopping the run was a problem for the team last year and they did address the situation in free agency by inking Dalvin Tomlinson, but they added a defensive tackle that should help in 6’4″, 358 pound Siaki Ika out of Baylor.

We don’t think you can ever have too much depth at certain positions on the football field. Teams should always be looking at players who can get after the opposing quarterback and also guys who protect the passer. And like pitching in baseball, you can never have enough cornerbacks.

GM Andrew Berry addressed those spots as well, drafting a pass rusher in Isaiah McGuire from Missouri, and two Ohio State offensive linemen in T Dawand Jones and C Luke Wypler. Jones is intriguing just by his size, listed at 6’8″ and 350 pounds, but likely more than that.

If offensive line coach Bill Callahan works his magic with Jones, Cleveland likely has found its ultimate replacement for Jack Conklin.

And they also added another corner, Greg Newsome’s former teammate at Northwestern, Cam Mitchell.

We would guess the pick debated the most is the selection of UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the fifth round. No problem here, we kind of agree with former Green Bay GM Ron Wolf in believing a team should take a quarterback every year.

Josh Dobbs is Watson’s back up in the short term and we would guess Thompson-Robinson will compete with Kellen Mond to be the long-term guy.

And best-case scenario is one of those QBs has a great exhibition season and a desperate team offers you a draft pick for him. It could even be better if Watson misses a game or two (that’s not the good part) and the substitute plays great in the regular season game.

You just never know.

You also won’t know about this draft for a few years. One thing we do know is that Berry is going to have to make some tough decisions this upcoming season on players he selected. For the first time, he will have to cut a few of them it would seem.