Despite Travis Kelce’s kind words, Cleveland does have flaws
The Browns have, or should we say, will have flaws in 2021. While it’s nice of Travis Kelce to say the Browns don’t have any flaws, the fact remains that every team does. This isn’t some shocking hot take. Injuries happen, declining play occurs, guys are forced to play out of their comfort zone, it’s bound to happen somewhere on the team. No NFL team is perfect, eventually, a position shows itself as needing improvements.
What the Browns have going for them is a strong offseason that seemingly closed the door on any position not being up to snuff. The problem is, is that not every off-season acquisition turns out to be a good one. Rookies fail to impress, free agents don’t pan out. It’s bound to happen with the Browns because it’s bound to happen with every NFL team. If a team didn’t keep having issues from year to year, then most teams would just trade away their draft picks.
Every team needs to re-load after the year is over. Kelce isn’t wrong that Cleveland is neck and neck with the rest of the league because they are. The AFC Championship game is the benchmark for a great season. If the Browns can get there, then they’ll have achieved a lot.
That doesn’t mean to get there they have to be perfect. No team is. What it does mean is that to get there, they’ll have to really rely on their strengths and ride that to victories.
Linebackers and defensive tackles
The Browns brought in two massive free agents to shore up safety and corner, but the defense still has lingering question marks. Usually, you’re going to be lucky to get two or three starters out of every draft class. That’s just the breaks. The Browns are going to try and get four starters out of this class alone and just on defense.
Greg Newsome, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Tommy Togiai, and Tony Fields are four names that many Browns fans think will make the starting lineup. It’s possible, it’s absolutely possible. It’s just not likely that every one of them turns into a starter, let alone an impact player. That’s the nature of the beast and anyone paying attention knows the odds aren’t in their favor, and that’s ok.
That’s why the front seven makes the list, and to be fair, you can throw Jadeveon Clowney into that quagmire of questions as well, as well as Anthony Walker. Clowney and Walker got one-year deals for a reason, they’re not exactly being looked at as long-term fixes as the position.
The hope is that all four rookies and the two big free agents all pan out, and all six do wonders on defense. It’s just not likely that it’s going to happen that way. That’s ok. Not every player the Browns acquire is going to turn into a Hall of Famer or even a starter. That’s why there’s always another offseason.
Yet if you’re looking for a position of worry, everyone in the front seven, save for Myles Garrett (for the most part) is going to be on the bubble in 2021. Garrett’s got his own list of things to prove, but that’s mostly being able to bounce back from COVID, staying healthy, and staying on the field. Something he’s struggled with from season to season for various reasons.
Unlike the others, there’s next to no chance Garrett isn’t on the team in 2022 as a starter. The others? The others may be on the team in 2022 but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be starters. Heck, they might not even be starters in 2021.
Special Teams
The Browns have fine special teams. That’s about it, however. The Browns used to have a great crop of special team players in kicker Phil Dawson, a slew of great punters, and of course Josh Cribbs, a player so good on special teams that he should seriously be considered a Hall of Famer.
The Browns don’t have that in 2021 and didn’t really have that in 2020. Cleveland has largely had a kicking carousel over the last few years, and the return men have been adequate at best. Part of the issue is the change to the kickoff and punt rules over the years, but another part of the issue is the reliance on late-round draft picks to fill the position.
There was a time when NFL teams would actually dedicate resources to finding good return men, but now that no longer appears to be the case. No one is asking that you take a long snapper in the fourth round, but drafting someone just because they’re a good return person, and not because they might be, has largely gone out the window.
The Browns’ last punt return for a touchdown came in 2015 thanks to Travis Benjamen, while their last kick return for a touchdown came in 2009 when Josh Cribbs did it three times. Six and 12 years respectively. Yeah, the Browns could do with some better crop of return men.
The problem isn’t just the return men or the kickers but the punting units as well. Jamie Gillan was 29th in the NFL in 2020 with punts that fell inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line. Now, most of the other punting stats are more akin to golf; you don’t want to have higher numbers in this category, so the lack of yards or punts or averages is actually a good thing for the Browns.
What you do want, however, is for the defense to be set up in the best position possible and Gillan couldn’t do that. Granted, he’s a very inexperienced player so maybe he can develop into that type of a punter, but facts are facts and in 2020 he didn’t do his job to the level expected of him.
Offensive Line
This is the one position that was arguably the best in football in 2020 and yet still makes the list. The defensive front seven and special teams have had their issues for years. The offensive line has always been one of the better positions on the team save for a handful of years. So that’s why it’s so interesting for them to make the spot.
So why do they make the spot? Well, it comes down to two things; health and consistency. The Browns got lucky last year with a few key backups who stepped up in big ways. Guys like Blake Hance and Michael Dunn helped make sure the team wasn’t hit too hard by the loss of Wyatt Teller and others. The big question is going to be will those guys continue to step up if the team is besieged with even more injuries in 2021? Or were they just one-hit wonders and played beyond their expectations?
The consistency also applies to Jedrick Wills who had a rough rookie year. Still an improvement over the man he replaced, but he was far from the best left tackle drafted, and all of the ones who played better than him went after him in the draft as well. Making it a double whammy. He needs to step up his game in 2021.
Then of course there are concerns about Joel Bitonio and J.C. Tretter’s age, and Wyatt Teller‘s injury issues. Bitonio is at that age where most guys hit the wall. It doesn’t mean Bitonio will, but there are concerns that he could start to regress, especially after all the years he played on this line. Tretter is another name that may regress due to age. He may also find himself not as embraced after the offseason the NFL has had, with him encouraging players to skip camps, and his own teammates ignoring him. Since Tretter is the president of the player’s union, he’s going to find himself in some uncomfortable positions and who knows how that will shake out.
Not to mention the fact that a lot of people are praising Teller for playing very well in just 11 games out of his career so far. Sure, maybe it was the system but who knows what Teller will show in 2021. Everyone is just assuming he’ll do more of the same and isn’t even considering the notion that maybe, just maybe, it was a one-year wonder. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t but considering he’s played well in just 11 games since he got drafted in 2018 is enough to be cautious about giving him huge money.
Letting him walk may be the best course of action after the 2021 season, depending on how he plays of course.
So yes, the offensive line seems great on paper but there are lingering questions that could thrust the stability of the line into question if things break the wrong way. You could make that argument for every position, sure, but these feel like the three most likely to need help with after the season is over.