Browns could be right back in it by making a swing for this injured Pro Bowler

The Cleveland Browns would be wise to make an offer for Christian McCaffery.

Oh, I can feel the little taps of keyboards and screens already as Cleveland Browns fans type furiously in retort. Christian McCaffery? “But the Browns already have Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb!”. Well, sure, but also, no. The Browns proved that this roster, as currently constructed needs work. Not a lot of work, but work.

They need speed on the edges, which is something they haven’t had in years. Jarvis Landry is average in speed, and I don’t mean average NFL player, I mean average Turkey Bowl player fast. He’s not cutting it. When your top receiver is slower than all three of your tight ends, you need more speed.

McCaffery on his own would improve that for the Browns. The biggest issue about making a swing for the receiving/rushing threat is that he won’t come cheap and he has been injury-prone the last two years. That’s certainly a reason to hold off on making moves but keep in mind that McCaffery isn’t just a good running back, he’s a good receiver.

So before you get mad, listen to the three reasons why McCaffery makes sense.

Three reasons why Christian McCaffery works for the Cleveland Browns.

Firstly the Browns offense is slow, real slow. So slow that the fastest reliable player on it was probably David Njoku, and he wasn’t exactly blazing fast either. So adding Christian McCaffery makes sense in that one aspect alone; he’s fast, the team needs to get faster. It’s a solid opinion. While the Panthers say he’s not being shopped, they also said they’d listen to phone calls about him. They’re about to start their second rebuild and they still haven’t found even an average quarterback. Matt Rhule has probably one more year before he gets fired and then they’ll blow up and ship out guys like McCaffery. He’s probably more available than people think.

Secondly, getting McCaffery doesn’t mean you move on from Chubb or Hunt, because McCaffery would probably be best as a slot receiver at this point in his career. He’s been banged up a lot as a running back, but with his hands and speed, he could easily come in and be the Browns’ best receiver on day one. That said, McCaffery is what Browns’ fans had hoped Hunt would be as a backfield pass-catching option. Sending Hunt, this year’s third, next year’s second, and maybe a first in three years would be worth it; if McCaffery stays healthy. And admittedly, that’s a big if.

Thirdly, the Browns could easily move on from Kareem Hunt and not miss a spell. Hunt has not been the target out of the backfield many had hoped he’d be and if anything was proven this year, it’s that it’s far easier to find a player to replace Hunt than it is to find a player to replace Chubb.

The Browns need to get faster and if they can get someone like McCaffery without breaking the bank, they should consider doing so.