5 Cleveland Browns whose stock is soaring through the first half.
Losing perspective on the 5-3 Cleveland Browns is easy. It’s an imperfect team. Serious questions remain about whether…STOP…this team can….RIGHT…contend…THERE.
There Browns are 5-3! Frankly, we should be screaming from the top of the Terminal Tower. This team was soo good at losing for so long, it wrote the book on how to be to the most hapless franchise in the history of sport.
But finally, those beloved orange helmets are starting to win more than they lose. Is it a perfect roster? No, there’s plenty that hasn’t gone right. But the Browns are giving their fan base a reason to watch in November, and the number of times that’s happened since 1999 can be counted on one hand.
Here’s five Cleveland Browns whose saw their stocks soar eight weeks through the season, as the team leaves the Week 9 bye seeking to end the franchise’s 18-season old playoff drought.
1. Wyatt Teller
Pro Football Focus will tell you that Wyatt Teller is the only “elite” graded player the Browns have, and it’s a big deal. There’s a ton of teams that don’t have a player who grades out in this rarified air.
Teller opened the season as one of the line’s biggest question marks. Most pundits assumed he’d start the season, because he had done a respectable job down the stretch in 2019.
But what’s transpired in 2020? Well, no one could’ve expected it, as Teller was the NFL’s top-graded rush-blocking lineman heading into Week 9. When he acts as the pulling guard, he looks like a run-away bulldozer clearing holes that even a Weekend Warrior could run through.
If Teller stays on track, the trade that brought him to Cleveland could go down as one of the greatest swaps in franchise history. Then general manager John Dorsey gave up a fifth- and sixth-round pick to pluck Teller out of Buffalo.
The downside to Teller’s first half is that he suffered a calf injury early in Week 5 and hasn’t played, since. He’s expected to return after the Bye, where he’ll be clearing holes for another returning-from-injury-teammate, Nick Chubb.
2. Jedrick Wills
The Browns’ No. 1 overall pick didn’t grade out favorably by PFF at the mid-way point, as he’s been playing at a replaceable level of 57.4.
That said, his pass blocking grades out at 79.8, which is considered to be “starter” level.
While we’d all like to be Wills an elite player in all facets of the game, his rookie status can’t be overlooked. The need to draft a left tackle was borne out of the necessity to protect Baker Mayfield, and Wills can say “mission accomplished” to this point.
Who would you rather have at this point? Greg Robinson? Desmond Harrison? I didn’t think so. Wills is, hands down, the best left tackle to suit up since Joe Thomas retired.
Ideally, he’ll get better playing for line coach Bill Callahan, who has done wonders with the unit since getting hired last winter.
3. Harrison Bryant
An immediate glance at Bryant’s stats won’t command a second look on the fantasy wire, but it’s clear to see why the Browns were interested in the Central Florida product.
Frankly, Bryant, a fourth-round pick, should be struggling to get on the field at this point. Fourth-round picks usually don’t produce early on, especially in a season where there was no rookie camp, mini camp, or OTAs.
Yet Bryant played so well, he’s made David Njoku expendable, although the Browns held onto their former first-round tight end.
Bryant’s displayed some nice chemistry with Baker Mayfield early on, and that was most evident in Week 7 against Cincinnati, when he caught two touchdown passes.
His catch percentage can’t be denied, either. He’s been targeted 21 times and he’s hauled in 15 of those passes. That’s exactly what Mayfield needs. Someone he can count on in a bind. It doesn’t hurt that Bryant has shown a knack for getting open.
4. Ronnie Harrison
The Browns didn’t make a trade at the deadline, but they did make an impactful deal at the start of the season, acquiring Ronnie Harrison from Jacksonville after Grant Delpit went down with a torn ACL in Training Camp.
It took Harrison a few weeks to get on the field, but ever since he’s become a regular, he’s one of those guys whose number you tend to see because he’s always around the action. He had a breakout game against the Colts in Week 6 with a pick-6, and then recovered a fumble against the Bengals the next week.
He probably should’ve had a pick against the Raiders in Week 8, but couldn’t come up with the catch. At least he got his hands on it, because if didn’t, there was nothing but open field between the intended receiver and the goal line had the receiver caught that pass.
Harrison, who has the team’s top tacking grade (89.3), has been playing strong safety, and that’s where he projects long term. When Delpit returns, the Browns could really have something cooking with their secondary.
5. Myles Garrett
Putting Myles Garrett on a list like this seems ridiculous, because everyone knows he’s good.
For what it’s worth, though, there were some wondering if his altercation with Mason Rudolph last season would change the way he plays.
That just hasn’t been the case, as Garrett is well on pace to shatter the Browns single-season record for sacks, which was set in 1984 by Reggie Camp (14).
But Garrett’s stock is soaring because not because he just sacks the quarterback, but when he gets his hands on one, he’s usually forced a fumble. When the Browns have recovered, they’ve scored. That’s impacting a game, and not many have done it better than Garrett on the defensive side of the ball.
It’ll be worth watching Garrett in re-matches against the Steelers and Ravens in the second half. He did get a sack of Big Ben when the teams first met, but he was relatively quiet.
That said, it’s hard to make an impact some times when you’re triple teamed, which is why it’s imperative someone on the defensive line steps up for the second half.