By: Ivan Mulinder

The Cleveland Browns beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24 – 13 on Friday, August 12th and there were a number of important takeaways from the game, some good, and some bad. Let’s have a closer look at some of the key analyses.

QB Deshaun Watson 

Deshaun Watson made his Browns debut and looked rusty. This is no great surprise when you consider that his last competitive game was against the Tennessee Titans in Week 17 2020/21 where he threw for 365 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 41-38 loss. Watson threw the ball 5 times with 1 completion for 7 yards, but Anthony Schwartz dropped three of these passes. The Browns have been clear that Jacoby Brissett is getting most of the first team reps in practice so it’s unsurprising that we saw him for such a short period in the game. The good news is his pocket presence looked good and he looked dangerous when scrambling – which is something the Browns lacked with Baker Mayfield. Once he’s back up to game speed Watson is going to be an excellent weapon in the Browns Offense.

C Nick Harris

Unfortunately, Centre Nick Harris suffered an ACL injury to his right knee. Nick had put on weight but kept his mobility and the Browns were hopeful he was going to have a good season. The way he was driven back wasn’t a good omen and now he’s going to have surgery on his knee and will be out for the season. Fortunately, the Browns brought in Ethan Pocic in Free Agency and his backup is Dawson Deaton. Deaton played Guard for Texas Tech and was the Browns 7th Round pick in the 2022 Draft going at number 246. This means he isn’t a starting caliber Centre.  Will the Browns move to bring back JC Tretter? I doubt it as they cut him from their roster, but Billy Price is still available in Free Agency so I wouldn’t be surprised if a move was made for him. 

WR Anthony Schwartz

I’ve mentioned already that Anthony Schwartz had a poor game. He didn’t register any yardage on Friday with multiple drops. Trying to look on the positive side, at least he got into positions to make catches which is more than he achieved in his rookie year in 2021. The Browns Wide Receiver Room remains a concern for me. Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and David Bell didn’t play and have had a good Training Camp so far, but there is little to excite outside of those three. Michael Woods II was having a good Camp but pulled his hamstring and Javon Wims is now in his 4th season, so if he was going to have an impact you would think he’d have made it by now. Personally, I’d really like to see the Browns move for Will Fuller who is still available in Free Agency. 

CB Martin Emerson Jr

The Browns Cornerback Room has to be one of the deepest, if not the deepest, in the NFL- Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Greedy Williams, AJ Green, and now Martin Emerson.  Emerson looked in total control all night and capped off a superb performance with a Pick 6 going 74 yards at the end of the first half to put the Browns in the lead. The only battle is going to be for the CB6 slot, but Herb Miller also looked good with a fine interception, and he is a 2-year veteran so he understands the game more and is learning from outstanding players. 

RB Jerome Ford 

The Browns love their Running Backs and Jerome Ford was motoring against the Jaguars. He had 10 carries for 57 yards, 5.7 yards per carry, and a rushing touchdown. In addition, he had 4 receptions for 45 yards, with an average of 11.2 yards per reception, and a receiving touchdown. Ford was selected by the Browns in Round 5 of the 2022 Draft with pick 156 and with this performance, and the Browns need at Wide Receiver, it could be that Kareem Hunt is traded to a team that is short of an RB1. With Nick Chubb, D’Ernest Johnson, Demetric Felton, and now Jerome Ford the Browns are loaded at Running Back, with an honorable mention to John Kelly. 

QB Battle

So, the Browns move on to a home game next week against the Philadelphia Eagles where we should begin to see more of their starters playing. However, don’t expect to see Jacoby Brissett on the pitch for long as the QB battle between Joshua Dobbs and Josh Rosen is a fascinating one from the evidence of Friday’s game. Dobbs completed 10 of 13 attempts for 108 yards and a touchdown whereas Rosen went 6 of 7 for 56 yards. It would appear that the Browns have much better depth at QB this season than last year where Case Keenum wasn’t even given the opportunity to start despite Baker’s horrendous injuries. As for all teams let’s hope there are no more serious injuries.

The post Takeaways from the Browns 24-13 victory over the Jaguars appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Michael Welsh

It is no secret that the Browns struggled on offense during the 2021 season. The quarterback play was the reason for some of this, and the other main reason was the lack of explosiveness at the wide receiver position. Odell Beckham Jr forced his way out in the middle of the season. Jarvis Landry missed several games due to injury and never quite looked explosive. He has always been better as a slot receiver than a number one. Donovan Peoples-Jones had some big plays and did take a step forward, but he still isn’t ready to be a game-changing option. Rashard Higgins was a non factor and will most likely be on another team in 2022, and Anthony Schwartz proved to still need a lot of development. Overall, there are more questions than answers at the receiver position. The good news is that this is a good off-season to have problems in that area because there are several free agents and players in the draft that could change it all for the Browns. Let’s take a look at two players in the draft and two players in free agency that Andrew Berry needs to consider going after.

Draft – WR Drake London – USC

Cleveland picks at 13, and there should be a few good options there. One of the best ones is Drake London out of USC. He hauled in 88 catches for 1,084 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2021. One of the most appealing things about London is his size. Standing tall at 6’5″ and 210 pounds, he could be a mismatch for NFL cornerbacks. He has strong hands, good route running skills, and is a big play threat. The Browns desperately need a player like that.

Draft – WR Garrett Wilson – Ohio State

If the Browns decided not to go with Drake London, Garrett Wilson would be another great option if he is still available. Perhaps a more sure thing than London, Wilson comes from Ohio State where WR coach Brian Hartline has a great reputation coaching up playmakers for the NFL level. Wilson had 70 catches for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns in the 2021 season. Standing at 6′ tall and 192 pounds, Wilson lacks the size London has, but he makes up for it with his quickness and yards-after-catch ability. His burst off the line and hands are fantastic and that should make his transition to the pro level easier. The biggest downsides with Wilson are the inconsistencies at his route running and his struggles against press coverage. Those issues are able to be fixed with coaching and experience, though. Andrew Berry will have a tough decision to make if Drake London and Garrett Wilson are both on the board at 13, but you can’t really go wrong with either of them.

Free Agency – WR Mike Williams – 2021 team, Los Angeles Chargers

For the record, the likelihood of receivers such as Davante Adams and Chris Godwin coming to Cleveland is extremely low. So let’s just pretend they’re not even free agents. This brings us to a fantastic option in Mike Williams. Coming off his second 1,000 yard season of his career, Williams can bring playmaking ability and a big bodied frame to an otherwise small Cleveland receiver room. The downside is that traditionally, spending big money on a free agent wide receiver in today’s NFL rarely works out. Williams would demand a contract at $16-17$ million a year. That is a pretty hefty price, so it’ll come down to how much money Andrew Berry wants to spend.

If Andrew Berry wants to go a slightly cheaper route while still getting a good receiver, DJ Chark Jr might be the way to go. He is another tall receiver, standing at 6″4″, and possess the ability to make contested catches. He didn’t see much action in 2021, but in 2020 he caught 53 passes for 706 cards and 5 touchdowns. There have been plenty of flashes, so signing him to a cheap, short term deal could be a good idea. He could be signed for anywhere from $10 million a year to $13 million, but I wouldn’t put it past Andrew Berry to get him for even cheaper.

The post Wide Receivers the Cleveland Browns should target this offseason appeared first on Pro Football Mania.