Browns’ Offense Needs A Total Overhaul

We think everyone would agree the Cleveland Browns have a terrible offense, and the statistics back that up. They were third from the bottom in total yards, ahead of only Tennessee and Las Vegas, 27th in rushing offense, and ahead of only the Jets in terms of passing yards.

How a team builds a great defense but has really, a pathetic offense is a question that should be directed at the front office, but of course in the times we live, they will not give you a straight answer.

Looking at the offensive side of the football, the only player who really should have a starting position locked up is TE Harold Fannin, who caught 72 passes a year ago for 731 yards and six touchdowns. If Joel Bitonio decides to come back for one more season, he can be locked in at left guard too.

That would still leave nine spots up for grabs, including quarterback. It appears GM Andrew Berry has his work cut out for him this off season.

The good news is the free agency period in the NFL starts this week and the Browns have nine picks in this year’s draft to fill all of the holes. Signing free agents is important because obviously you can’t start all rookies.

And yes, there are players who should have a leg on on starting positions. RB Quinshon Judkins was solid running behind perhaps the worst pair of tackles in the NFL. He gained 827 yards. but averaged only 3.6 yards per carry. Cleveland could use another runner to pair with Judkins, and we liked what we saw out of Raheim Sanders, a 230-pound back who was inactive (for some reason) for much of the 2025 season.

Berry did swing a trade last week, bringing in offensive lineman Tytus Howard from Houston. Howard is regarded as a very good pass blocker, but not as good in the running game playing right tackle for the Texans. Browns’ QBs were sacked the 7th most times in the league last year, so keeping the passer upright was definitely a priority.

So, if Bitonio comes back and Luke Wypler can hold down the center position, that’s three starting offensive linemen, and we would guess high picks will be used to fill the other two spots. Plus, you need depth, if there is anything we have learned from the Browns, it’s that injuries will happen.

We hear many people talk about Dawand Jones, and we think the tackle out of Ohio State has ability, but in three years, he can’t stay on the field. Todd Monken and the brass simply cannot rely on him. They have to plan that he will miss time, so perhaps being the sixth lineman would be a good spot.

So, the offensive line needs to be rebuilt, but don’t distract you from realizing the wide receiver position is also terrible. Don’t know the salary cap ramifications, but we’d move on from Jerry Jeudy. Isaiah Bond has big play potential. Cedric Tillman seems injury prone.

We’d like to see what Malachi Corley can do in the passing game, but that’s another spot to be addressed in both the draft and free agency, and maybe the trade market. There should be a lot of openings there.

Note, we haven’t even mentioned quarterback, but we’ve touched on that spot before. We’d get a veteran, like maybe Geno Smith and have him and Shedeur Sanders compete for the job. Maybe draft another QB on day three.

And we are intentional about not talking about anyone else.

It is doubtful a juggernaut can be built this spring, but the AFC North is in flux and as former Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin said last year, the Browns’ defense is probably the best unit in the division.

With the right moves, they can compete. Don’t let them tell you about kicking the can down the road again. It’s a loser’s lament.

Browns Are Just Tough…To Follow As A Fan

Although we remain a fan of the Cleveland Browns, we have to admit it is tough to keep following them even though we are a lifelong resident of northeast Ohio. Every time someone from their front office speaks publicly, our BS meter soars.

And we absolve new coach Todd Monken from this. He just got here.

We have said many times over the past few years the Browns are like the sign in the bar “free beer tomorrow”, meaning we’ll be good next season. They seem to always be telling their fan base they have a plan to get good, and we will see that plan in a year. If we hear one more fan or media person talking about “kicking the can down the road” one more time, we will scream.

We understand an NFL team is not likely to win a Super Bowl unless they have great quarterback play, but this is also true: Just because you have a great QB doesn’t mean you are going to win the championship.

Here is a list of current quarterbacks who haven’t won the Super Bowl: Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff. And of that group, Jackson, Allen, Herbert, and Prescott have never played in the title game. Now, we agree the teams they play on have a better shot of getting to the big game because they are the starting QBs.

But it seems the Browns’ plan to win is get a draft pick in the top three selections in the draft, take their guy and everything will fall into place.

Except they did that before and it didn’t work. Remember 1-31? We do, and the Browns got Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick.

How can we forget the parade in downtown Cleveland when they won their first Super Bowl? It’s easy. It never happened.

First, you don’t need a top three or even five pick to get a great quarterback. You need someone who can tell a great one when they see one, and to be fair, you do need a fairly high draft choice, although you don’t need to go 3-14 every year to get one.

Patrick Mahomes is the best QB in the NFL, right? He was the 10th overall pick and Kansas City did not have an extended span of losing when they took him.

Allen was the 7th overall pick in 2018. This after the Bills were stuck in mediocrity but weren’t terrible. They won six or more games in seven straight seasons before taking Allen.

The current champion Seattle Seahawks do have a top three pick at quarterback in Sam Darnold, but they didn’t draft him. And the last time the franchise won less than six games? Try 2009. And they won 10 or more games ten times in that span.

It can be done without putting your fan base through seasons where they don’t play competitive football. It starts with putting an emphasis on winning. It’s having a culture.

We will be interested in seeing how the Steelers and Ravens do in 2026 because they have a winning culture in their organization and now, they will both have new coaches.

As for the Browns, how about making winning a priority, now! Stop talking about new dome stadium, future draft capital, salary cap manipulations and justifying terrible trades and say we are going to compete for a playoff spot next season.

It’s starts there and it’s really simple. Winning football cures a franchise malaise.

Browns Keep Bringing Up Watson. They Are Fooling Themselves

For the most part, no professional sports team should make decisions about who is on team based on the fans. There is an old saying that if you cater to the ticket holders, you will soon be sitting with them.

Over the past six months, there seem to be a lot of stories out of Berea about Deshaun Watson, who since he arrived in Cleveland via one of the worst trades in NFL history, has been more unavailable than able to play.

Near the end of last season, we heard about how he was able to practice, and at least one scribe asked if he would be activated before the end of the regular season. He was not.

Now, since Todd Monken has been hired as the new coach, it was reported that he is “intrigued” with the idea of Watson being the starter when the 2026 season begins this fall.

If you are a Browns’ fan and we are, you want the Browns to win, to be the franchise they were when we grew up in the late 1960’s when they were perennially in the mix for the NFL Championship.

That said, it can also be true that most fans are done with Watson. They don’t care if he never plays another down with the team and many think the Browns should do what Denver did with Russell Wilson, just release him, take the massive cap hit and be done with it.

And although part of the reason is the legal issues Watson had after leaving Houston, but it is also what Watson represents–failure. He is a reminder that the Browns gave up three first round picks and put themselves in salary cap hell with the trade.

As for whether or not Watson can still be the guy who threw for a league leading 4823 yards in his last year with the Texans, let us remind everyone that is happening in 2020. That’s six years ago!

Among the other top ten passers in yardage in that season were Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Philip Rivers. They are all retired.

In the 85 regular season games played by the Texans (’21 when Watson was still there) and Browns, the quarterback has been available for 19 due to a variety of injuries, a suspension, and that he sat out his last season with Houston.

His passer rating from ’20 and before was 104.5, among the best in the NFL. Since, the rating drops to 80.7.

He had 19 games of 300 yards or more passing with the Texans. None with the Browns. He had 15 contests where he threw for three or more touchdowns before the trade. None since. His completion percentage prior to 2021 was 67.2%. Touchdown to interception ratio in Houston was 104:36, with the Browns 19:12.

His average yards per attempt has dropped from 8.3 to 6.0.

And perhaps the most telling numbers? He was 25 years old in 2020 and when the ’26 season begins, he will be 31.

We understand guys are still playing effective quarterback in the NFL into their late 30’s. Matthew Stafford was the league MVP this past year at 37. Aaron Rodgers took Pittsburgh to the playoffs at 42. But neither of them had a five-year span where they were ineffective and then came back to be very good again.

Add into the mix that 2026 is Watson’s last year on his contract so if he plays and recaptures his pre-Cleveland form, he will not likely be resigning with the Browns.

We aren’t a salary cap guru, but the best thing to do for the franchise and the fan base is to forget Watson is still on the roster and work out something with him.

The Browns need to move forward and not have a reminder of a terrible mistake hanging around.

Monkin Is Here, Now Comes The QB Obsession

Now that the Cleveland Browns have hired a head coach in Todd Monkin, the next obsession for the fans of the team is quarterback. Of course, many have tied the hiring of Monkin into an endorsement of Shedeur Sanders, who started the last seven games for the Browns last year.

The rookie’s statistics were not great. A 56.6% completion percentage. His touchdown to interception ratio was 7 to 10.

On the other hand, when he played, the Browns did score 20 or more points in four of his starts and managed to go 3-4, which isn’t great, but remember, Cleveland did go 5-12 last season.

So, the maniacs out there have concluded that Monken got the job because he thinks Sanders can be the starting QB in 2026, and the proof (in those eyes) is the Ravens, Monken’s last employer wanted to draft him last season. Something alluded to in the video released by the Browns on the coach’s first day in town.

We did see a lot of good things from Sanders, but we are not in the camp that thinks he is the next Dan Marino either. In terms of passer rating, his fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel ranks better and his QBR is also better.

However, the eye test says Sanders was the much better player. You know, “lies, damn lies, and statistics”.

Still, the Browns should readjust their quarterback room going into 2026.

Yes, we know the team and Monken continue to mention Deshaun Watson in the plans, and to that we say, he could return to his old form in the same way we can buy a lottery ticket and perhaps we will win the Mega Millions jackpot. It’s been six years since he was a very good player.

It could happen, it’s just not likely.

And for the umpteenth time, we think the Browns should reach some kind of agreement with Watson where he gets his money and stays home. The people who think Sanders would be a huge distraction is he isn’t the starter, what do they think Watson is or would be?

But if we were the new coach, we would not want to cast the lot of our first season in the hands of Sanders alone. We would want to bring in a veteran to compete for the job. Perhaps it is free agent Malik Willis, a prize on the market, or maybe someone like a Geno Smith, who can go out and give the Browns decent production at the position if Sanders doesn’t show well in camp.

And we would also look to draft someone, not with one of the two first round picks (get offensive linemen and/or wide receivers), but maybe on day three. Remember, Monken was the offensive coordinator at Georgia when Carson Beck was there.

One other comment about QBs. These pundits who keep writing about Arch Manning, please do not give the Browns another excuse to be terrible next year, which is likely the only way to be in a position to draft him.

The organization has to be out of the mentality that the only way to solve the QB issue is to get the first pick in the NFL Draft. Of the top five passers in the NFL, only Joe Burrow was obtained that way.

Yes, you probably have to be in the top dozen picks or so, but you don’t have to be first. The Browns need to start winning games and make progress toward being a playoff team on at least a semi-regular basis.

Going 4-13 or 5-12 every year and making that your expectation? That’s not helping your new coach or the GM.

Should Browns Look Within If Schwartz Is Out?

Apparently, all the rumors about the Browns telling coaching candidates they wanted Jim Schwartz to stay on as defensive coordinator were a bunch of baloney.

Or the Browns did tell the interviewees they would like to keep the veteran coach on staff, but they didn’t let Schwartz in on the plan.

According to reports, Schwartz was angered that he didn’t get the job, left the facility and told the staff goodbye. At 59, he probably thought this was his best shot to get a second chance at being a head coach, but the Browns seemed to prefer an offensive head man.

We thought Schwartz would be a good hire as the head coach, and pairing him with a younger offensive coordinator would have been a solid plan, but the front office had to know this was a possible consequence to naming Todd Monken as the head coach.

Of course, we have seen the print and broadcast media saying the Browns should work things out with the man who guided a very good defense in his three years here, because he’s under contract, but do you really want someone who is disgruntled around your football team?

That would be another odd circumstance in the story of this franchise.

Now, here’s the part the Browns need to learn from past mistakes.

When Bill Callahan left the Browns to go to Tennessee to coach with his son before the 2024 season, Cleveland went out and hired Andy Dickerson to coach the offensive line. By the middle of the season, he wasn’t really involved with that job with assistant line coach Roy Istvan and consultant Mike Vrabel handling the duties.

We always wondered why they didn’t hire Scott Peters, Callahan’s assistant, who went on to New England and is currently the Bengals’ O-Line coach. The thought was continuing the scheme and work habits put in place by one of the best coaches for that position in the business.

So, for us, the logical person to take over the defense would be linebackers’ coach Jason Tarver. We always hear the people involved with the team raving about his ability, and he has defensive coordinator experience with the Raiders from 2014-16.

You would think Tarver has learned a lot from his time with Schwartz and he has been with mainstays like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, being on the Browns’ staff since 2020.

And he could continue the scheme that Schwartz has put in place.

We get that this would have to be signed off with Monken, who may have someone else in mind to run the defense.

And not to diminish Schwartz’ contribution over the last three seasons, there are probably several defensive minds who given Garrett, Ward, Carson Schwesinger, Mason Graham, Tavin Campbell, etc.

There is a lot of talent on the Cleveland defense.

For the Browns, much like Callahan, let Schwartz move on and be happy coaching at his next stop. As we said before, it would not be fair to Monken to have someone who was forced to be there on his staff.

Jim Schwartz is one of the best defensive coordinators in the business, but he is hardly the only good one out there. The players are in place and why not try a little continuity instead of a totally new system that might take half a season to figure out?

After A Weird Process, Browns Go With Monken

The Cleveland Browns finally came to a conclusion on their head coaching search, hiring Todd Monken for the job.

Our reaction to the hire will be reserved until Monken actually coaches a game because despite what everyone will read over the next five months until training camp starts, no one really knows what kind of job he will do.

Monken, who will be 60 a week from today, has been an offensive coordinator in the pros with Tampa from 2016-18, with the Browns in 2019, and with the Ravens for the past three years with the three years in between spent at Georgia.

He ran a passing offense with the Buccaneers and a running offense with the Ravens, so he seems like someone who can adapt, which is always a good trait.

He’s only been a head coach at the college level, three years at Southern Mississippi where he took over an 0-12 team and led them to a 9-5 record in his third year.

However, the month long process is something we have to take issue with because it points to the reason as to why this organization has been stuck in the mire for the last 14 years, since Jimmy Haslam bought the team.

“A camel is a horse designed by committee” – Alec Issigonis
“If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it” – Charles Kettering
“If you see a snake, just kill it, don’t appoint a committee on snakes” – Ross Perot
“A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours” – Milton Berle

There are hundreds of quotes criticizing committees out there, yet that’s how the Browns continue to look for head coaches.

They started out with nine candidates, whittled it down to six. Two of the half-dozen dropped out, one because they took another head coaching job, leaving four to undergo second interviews.

That field was narrowed to three.

This seems like a process where either too many people are involved or the person/people making the decision are afraid to make a mistake. That’s because it’s a committee making the decision.

We haven’t hired an NFL head coach, but we have hired people and the process the Browns went through seems incredibly unwieldy. First, if we had a pool of nine candidates, we would probably narrow it down to three or four right off the bat.

Of course, that’s just one person doing the review. If you have three, four, or even five people involved, each of those people are going to have their own favorites.

Then after the second talk, you would have two candidates and then pass the decision over to the ultimate decision maker, in this case, ownership.

It points out once again that what the Browns really need is a head of football operations, who then hires a GM and a coach and they all work together, having one vision for how to build a winning team.

Instead, we have another cliche: “too many cooks spoil the broth”.

With the current set up, we fear the only way the Browns will succeed is by luck.

On the other hand, Monken is a veteran coach, and we agree the Browns need that. They need to win and we believe they couldn’t afford to go through a learning curve with a younger first-time head coach.

Was he a compromise between the owner who wanted Jim Schwartz and the GM who wanted Nate Scheelhaase? Maybe. But that’s not going to matter to Monken, who is getting the biggest opportunity of his career and will want to make the most of it.

Baker Deserves The Benefit Of The Doubt, But Still A Big Year For Him

There is no question that the Cleveland Browns were a disjointed mess in 2019. If you think of them as a jigsaw puzzle, there were just too many pieces that were either missing or didn’t fit together.

It didn’t seem like the offensive coordinator fit with the head coach, and the general manager traded for an elite wide receiver for a group which had success running the football during the second half of the 2018 schedule.

Because of inexperience or perhaps star worship, head coach Freddie Kitchens and offensive coordinator seemed to feel obligated to force the ball to Odell Beckham Jr., and as a result the Browns got away from the things that led to a solid finish the year before.

All of this contributed to second year quarterback Baker Mayfield taking a step backwards.

The former first overall pick in ’19 saw his completion percentage drop (63.8% to 59.4%), his yards per passing attempt diminish (7.7 to 7.2), and his interception rate increase from 2.9% to 3.9%.

Not exactly what you want to see in terms of growth from your supposed franchise quarterback.

Did Mayfield prepare his body for the rigors of an NFL season during his first off-season? We believe he would admit (and has) he should have worked harder.

Did he let his success as a rookie go to his head a bit? Look, part of the reason John Dorsey chose him first overall was his self-confidence, so without question, he likely felt pretty good about himself after leading the Browns to their best record since 2007 as a rook.

This season, the chaos surrounding the team seems to be gone. Expectations has been tempered by last year’s disappointing 6-10 record, and new coach Kevin Stefanski seems more like a CEO than a football coach.

Stefanski came from Minnesota, where they loved to run the football (4th most attempts in the NFL in 2019) and so we would anticipate the emphasis in Cleveland will be establishing the run, much like it was in Mayfield’s first season.

That reliance on the ground game doesn’t mean Mayfield isn’t a “franchise” quarterback either. The Seahawks ran the ball the third most times in the league a year ago and no one thinks Russell Wilson is just along for the ride.

So, while some fans and media members have written off Mayfield as the future for the Browns, we chalk up his performance as a by product of the mess surrounding him last season.

The offense was different and you can’t tell us everyone in the organization felt pressure to force the ball to the shiny new toy that was Beckham. We think you could feel it from the moment the season kicked off in Cleveland against the Titans.

However, there is no question this is a huge year for the third year passer. A season that looked more like 2019 than 2018 will no doubt put question marks in the heads of the folks who run football operation in Berea. Andrew Berry didn’t draft him and Stefanski wasn’t given input on the choice either.

So, there is pressure on Mayfield to perform well this season, and without a normal training camp and even a half of pre-season play (probably the only action he would have seen), he is at a slight disadvantage.

But it seems the things the new coaching staff want to do offensively should emphasize the quarterback’s skill set. And certainly, the talent the Browns have accumulated helps immensely.

We are willing to write off last season as a result of the dysfunction within the building for Baker Mayfield. He won’t have that benefit this season. He has to produce.

Passing League? Browns Should Emphasize The Run.

It has been well documented over the past decade or so that the NFL is a passing league.

The game has been dominated by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and more recently Patrick Mahomes, and their expertise in finding open receivers down the gridiron.

However, is the pendulum starting to swing back to the running game? And if so, is that another reason the Browns made the correct hire in Kevin Stefanski, and will he be able to maximize the talents of Nick Chubb (second in the NFL in rushing last season) and Kareem Hunt (former NFL rushing champion)?

Let’s look at the best running teams in the league last year–

Baltimore (14-2)
San Francisco (13-3, and Super Bowl participant)
Tennessee (9-7, played in AFC Championship Game)
Seattle (11-5)
Dallas (8-8)
Minnesota (10-6)
Indianapolis (7-9)
Buffalo (10-6)
Houston (10-6)
Arizona (5-10-1)

That’s seven of the 12 teams that advanced to the playoffs a year ago, and eight of the top ten had non-losing records.

Now, let’s look at the five worst running teams in the NFL:

1. Miami (5-11)
2. New York Jets (7-9)
3. Atlanta (7-9)
4. Pittsburgh (8-8)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (5-11)

No winning teams. Now, we understand some people will say those teams were behind a lot and so they were forced to throw the football, and that is true to some extent.

However, so is a statement made many, many years ago–If you can’t run the ball, and you can’t stop the run, it is difficult to win in the National Football League.

One of the things that didn’t make sense with the Browns’ offense a year ago, is they ranked fifth in the league in yards per rushing attempt, which makes sense since Chubb is on their roster.

Unfortunately, Cleveland ranked 22nd in the league in trying to run the ball. Remember, Hunt was active for the second half of the year, meaning coach Freddie Kitchens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken had two elite runners at their disposal.

So, the many fans who railed week in and week out about the ignorance of the running game were smarter than the people who were actually making decisions on a weekly basis.

Enter Stefanski. Notice the team he was the offensive coordinator for in 2019, the Vikings, ranked 6th in the NFL in rushing yardage, and also ranked fourth in rushing attempts.

Any questions on what will be the focus of the Browns’ offense this upcoming season?

The Browns ranked 19th in passing attempts last season, despite their 29th ranking in passing efficiency. Minnesota had the 6th best efficiency rating, but only two teams, Tennessee and Baltimore, threw the ball less often.

The only possible problem is Stefanski’s inexperience as a head coach, so you have to question will he give in to the constant carping from his wide receivers and outside the building to air it out and get the ball in the hands of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.

Our guess is Stefanski is already selling his receivers on the additional big plays they can make after establishing a run game. Would they rather catch seven passes for 85 yards or catch five for 120 yards, or something to that effect?

Baker Mayfield looked very good in the play-action game in his rookie year, and we bet Stefanski will put that skill to good use this fall.

As for stopping the run? That’s something new defensive coordinator Joe Woods has to work on. The Browns were third worst in the NFL a year ago, and if you can’t put opponents in unfavorable down and distance situations, your best players (Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward) can’t do what they do best.

Mayfield’s Problems In ’19 Based In Browns’ Dysfunction?

It is amazing to us that so many people have soured on Browns’ QB Baker Mayfield. At this time last year, he was the toast of the town in Cleveland, setting the record for touchdown passes by a rookie.

He was brash, cocky, and he won games. Cleveland went 6-7 in his starts, and while that’s not even above .500, when the team won a single game in the previous two seasons, you appreciate it.

Many of the fans who now want to replace Mayfield at the position also are highly critical of Freddie Kitchens, which doesn’t make sense to us.

If you think Kitchens was a terrible head coach, then doesn’t it follow he adversely affected the quarterback as well?

We said early in the 2019 campaign that it did not appear the Browns were running the same offense that was so successful in 2018 after Kitchens became the offensive coordinator.

Cleveland ranked 15th in the NFL in rushing attempts during the 2018 season, they ranked 22nd last year. In ’18, the Browns ranked 11th in yards per attempt at 4.6, and last year, they were even better at 4.8, ranking fifth in the NFL.

When Gregg Williams took over for Hue Jackson, and Kitchens inherited the OC job from the dismissed Todd Haley, the Browns became a running team, and they were successful. Mayfield benefited from this and played off the success of the running game.

But when Kitchens took over, and GM John Dorsey hired Todd Monken as offensive coordinator, the Browns got away from what allowed them to win in the second half of the 2018 season.

It didn’t help that Dorsey traded for Odell Beckham Jr. which influenced both the head coach and the OC to emphasize the passing game even more.

When you talk about the dysfunction of the Browns’ franchise, this should be presented as Exhibit A. Stop doing something that worked because the GM wanted to make a big splash, and the head coach and offensive coordinator felt obligated to the GM.

As stated previously, you could see it early in the season last year. Receivers were running downfield patterns with no outlet for Mayfield, and the offensive line wasn’t strong enough to block for those longer routes.

Mayfield ranked 13th in the NFL last year in intended air yards per pass attempt, while Kirk Cousins, running Kevin Stefanski’s offense in Minnesota, ranked 25th.

Although Mayfield ranked 5th in this category in ’18, his completed pass yards per attempt dropped from the year before, and the number of times he was sacked increased from 25 in 2018 (in 14 games) to 40 last season.

To us, it’s because the offensive line couldn’t hold up for the longer routes without the play action. And the play action worked better because the Browns became a running team when Williams and Kitchens took over.

Last season, teams knew Cleveland was going to try to throw first, and run second.

Enter new head coach Kevin Stefanski, and a front office which right now seems like they want to maximize the things this team can do best.

Under Stefanski, Kirk Cousins had his highest passer rating of his career and the lowest interception rate of his career.

He also threw the least passes per game since he became a starter in 2019.

That’s because the Vikings were 4th in rushing attempts (behind Baltimore, San Francisco, and Seattle) and 6th in rushing yards (adding to those teams Dallas and Tennessee).

Coincidentally, the Browns have the second leading rusher in the league in Nick Chubb, and a former NFL rushing champion in Kareem Hunt.

Guess what the Browns are going to do this year?

If Mayfield can’t be at top efficiency this season, then the Browns may need to be on the lookout for a new QB come next year’s draft. It’s all set up for him to succeed.

Odd Reasons To Doubt Mayfield

Cleveland sports fans are sometimes a different breed. Especially when it comes to the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns are quite frankly, one of the worst franchises in professional sports when it comes wins and losses. They haven’t made a playoff appearance since 2002, haven’t won a playoff game since 1994, and have had just two winning seasons since then as well.

We know, if you are reading this, that you know this too, but it is a huge reason for the skepticism and doubt surrounding the franchise.

Why would you trust anyone in Berea, especially after 2019, when it looked like the Browns were poised for a playoff berth after a promising second half in 2018, and a trade for Odell Beckham Jr. signaled the organization was all in.

Unfortunately, a brutal early schedule got the team in a bad direction to start, and Freddie Kitchens didn’t know how to handle the situation.

It seems the current angst among Browns’ fans and media alike is directed toward Baker Mayfield, who you may recall was the toast of the town a year ago at this time.

What is weird is the mixed message you get from the Baker detractors.

For example, if Kitchens was as over his head as everyone believes and there was a conflict between the head coach and offensive coordinator Todd Monken, wouldn’t that be reason enough for the second year QB’s struggles?

There is no question we did not see the Mayfield who set an NFL for most touchdown passes as a rookie in 2019. The only statistic he improved upon last season was yards/completion.

He had a lower completion percentage, more interceptions, lower yards passing per contest, and a lower passer rating than his first season in brown and orange.

We still insist it was a different offensive system than in 2018, and this version did not incorporate what Mayfield does well, which was being very accurate.

Too many times in long yardage situations, there did not appear to be a short route available to the quarterback, so he was forced to either take a sack, or force the ball to a receiver that wasn’t open.

Also, in spite of the Pro Football Focus rankings that had the Browns’ offensive line ranked in the middle of the pack, the eye test says they were a below average group, particularly on the outside.

You could see Mayfield being skittish in the pocket if the receiver didn’t break open right away, worried that he was going to take a hit. He needs more confidence in his linemen, particularly his left and right tackles.

This will be addressed before next training camp begins.

The other weird reaction to Mayfield’s second season as Cleveland’s signal caller are the folks who worshiped former GM John Dorsey.

If Dorsey was the man, don’t you trust the player he picked first overall in 2018? He’s the guy who looked at all the passers picked in the first round and decided the best player was Baker Mayfield.

Keep that thought in mind. Dorsey wasn’t a perfect as many made him to be, but he does have an eye for talent, and he chose Mayfield. Shouldn’t that count for something?

The guess here is the Browns have their quarterback of the future and his name is Baker Mayfield.

He had a large dose of reality in his second season and we think with better guidance provided by Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, he will look more like the guy who we saw in 2018.

This is a big season for Mayfield. Our guess is he will be ready.