The Browns have five players in 2021 who need to have a big year.
The Browns have a great-looking team for the upcoming 2021 season, barring injuries. That doesn’t mean that everyone is on the same level or has the same expectations for the 2021 season. Some guys aren’t going to be as heavily relied upon, D’Ernest Johnson comes to mind. While others may be the focal point of the offense, for instance, Baker Mayfield.
Then there are guys, who for one reason or another have been anything but advertised. Some of them are doing enough to be kept around, but there are others who are anything but reliable at this juncture. Some guys need to step up more than others in 2021, while others just need to keep digging in and doing their thing.
Today we’re looking at the talent who, for one reason or another, have not been as advertised when they came into Cleveland. We’re looking at five players who need to have big seasons for the Browns in 2021. These guys may or may not be in danger of losing their spots, but that’s not what we’re focusing on.
We’re simply focusing on the guys who need to prove their draft position or contract was worth the investment.
Jedrick Wills
A lot of fans get hurt when Jedrick Wills is criticized but they shouldn’t be. He had a fine, albeit lackluster season. Made worse by the fact that most of the players that outplayed him from the same draft class came after the Browns made their pick. That isn’t to say Wills is going to be trash, as he’s already an upgrade over the guy he replaced.
That doesn’t mean that Wills can continue to coast off of what he did his rookie year. If he plays like that over the next three seasons, not only should Wills not get an extension, but declining his fifth-year option would be a must. The Browns offensive line is going to look radically different in three years from now. By the time 2024 is here, guys like Joel Bitonio and J.C. Tretter will likely be retired or released. Jack Conklin may opt-out and leave Cleveland in 2023. Who knows if Wyatt Teller is even going to get another contract in Cleveland, let alone play as well in 2021 as he did in 2020.
The team will need to keep their options open long-term. If Wills can step up and dominate like he’s supposed to as a Top-10 pick and become the next Joe Thomas and not the next Robert Gallery, then he’ll make life for the Browns so much easier. He’s got to show immense progress in season two.
We’re pulling for him.
Jadeveon Clowney
It’s not being said by the national media but we’re saying it; this is it for Jadeveon Clowney. He was the overall pick in his draft class and he never once posted a double-digit sack season. He’s been a fine player, sure, but never to the level that the first guy taken overall should be at. He’s failed to live up to the hype playing next to J.J. Watt and now that he’s older, slower, and more dinged up than ever before, fans are expecting Myles Garret to cause so much disruption that Clowney benefits from it.
Seems unlikely. Yet, he’s on his fourth team in four years, he hasn’t played a full season since 2017, and if he doesn’t explode this year, he’ll not get another big contract. No matter how good he is against the run.
Clowney has to prove that he’s still got it, and he’ll need Garrett to be healthy to do so. Clowney has shown everywhere he’s gone that he’s not the number one guy on defense. No one is doubling Clowney. He needs that extra force and Garrett is that guy. So if Clowney can’t succeed with Garrett and Watt? Then it’s time for everyone to accept that Clowney is an average player.
He’s got a lot to prove this year, or he’ll be on his fifth team in five years.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Unlike Jadveon Clowney, who was in the same draft class as Odell Beckham Jr., Beckham has shown his true potential and it’s very good. The problem Beckham has is similar to Clowney’s. Beckham can’t stay healthy. Only twice in his career has he ever played a full season. Just twice. Four times he missed a quarter of the season or more.
Not just that, but in the games, he’s played, he’s not the same freak athlete he used to be back in the early days with the New York Giants. Beckham still has supporters and those who believe the injuries haven’t caught up with him just yet and sapped him of his skills, but more and more are seeing the value in moving on from Beckham Jr. Especially in Cleveland.
If Beckham is unable to return to form, stay healthy for the whole 17 game season, or continues to be a problem behind the scenes, then even more people will want to move on from him. Beckham has already gone through four down seasons, and no amount of treadmill videos are going to change the fact that he’s not been playing at an elite level since the Obama Administration was in the White House.
It’s been three Presidents since Beckham was last truly “great”. Even though this writer thinks it’s already too late, others haven’t given up hope. That’s what name value will get you, a near-endless amount of opportunities.
David Njoku
It seems unlikely that David Njoku is sticking around after the 2021 season regardless but for the former first-round tight end, a strong showing this year is exactly what he needs. He needs to get reps, opportunities, stats, and tape for him to really get a nice contract in free agency (or if he’s offered a new deal from the Browns).
Njoku, for one reason or another, has not been someone the Browns have gotten the most out of. Unlike other first-round flops, Njoku has had more than his fair share of excuses. He was in the dog house for his behavior in 2019. He was a poor blocker the first few years of his career. He was sitting third on the depth chart behind Harrison Bryant and Austin Hooper. He was injured. If it wasn’t something, it was another.
Drama followed him like a reality TV wife.
He’s looking at a season in 2021 that could very well be his last chance to make an impact on Cleveland and its management. Otherwise, he’s going to be moving on, hopefully for him to be TE1 for another team, but likely not.
Njoku has all the potential in the world but it’s got to be cashed in eventually.
Austin Hooper
Austin Hooper was a two-time Pro Bowler before coming to Cleveland. A shift in schemes from the Falcons to the Browns, two other tight ends who took up significant amounts of time, injuries, and heightened expectations due to his contract have many wondering if Hooper has what it takes to be the guy in the Browns passing game offense.
The guy at tight end, that is.
For Hooper to stand out, he has got to start making some plays. Part of the issue came up with scheme-fits in 2021, no doubt about it. He’s not an overly fast player and he was playing alongside receivers wh were slower or as slow as he was. That’s not exactly a deal-breaker but if you don’t have anyone who can command on a double-team, and the Browns didn’t in 2021, then you’re going to have a rough time getting guys open.
Hooper isn’t exactly on the chopping block in Cleveland and the Browns and fans still have high hopes for him. Like Jedrick Wills, there isn’t a fear that he’s going to be bad, but will he be good enough to warrant his spot as a top guy on the team, and as a guy who has a huge contract.
Season two is going to be a big one for Hooper.