by Nick Broulis
BEREA, OHIO– Here in this edition of The Broulis Beat Report, I take a look at the Browns offense, a unit that lacked a lot of talent and a bad QB situation. But, thanks to an aggressive offseason, Browns fans should see a big improvement.
In 2017, Cleveland’s offense was unwatchable. I know I fell asleep at times. How couldn’t you? Thankfully, Browns new general manager John Dorsey addressed the offense.
Let’s start with the QB. Cleveland brought in Tyrod Taylor from Buffalo. Taylor is no Tom Brady, Drew Bree or any of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL, but Taylor is good enough to help get Cleveland back to winning games and a great person for rookie Baker Mayfield to learn from and look up to. In 2017 Taylor had a 62.6 completion percentage, threw for 2,799 yards and 14 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. All those stats are a huge improvement over anything that was seen last year. Not all of that was Kizer’s fault.
OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
Cleveland will have its most talented backfield, on paper, since their return in 1999. Carlos Hyde was brought over from San Francisco and is your Do-it-all RB. From running the rock to pass catching and yes, a good blocker. Duke Johnson has good vision, hands and will be used in passing situations. Rookie back Nick Chubb is a pounder and can also make defenders miss. I’ll be curious when they use Chubb.
David Njoku is very athletic but needs to prove his reliability when it comes to catching the ball and making plays. Seth DeValve showed signs of promise and Darren Fells is also a player to watch. The Browns expect big things from this group.
Going from likely the worst wide receiving core in the NFL, to one that might command some respect and cause defensive coordinators to game plan for, this might be a good year for Cleveland’s wideouts.
Jarvis Landry is the best WR on the team, unless Josh Gordan is playing. Jeff Janis was brought in from Green Bay. Corey Coleman must stay healthy and have his best season. Also, in the mix are Rashard Higgins and rookies Damion Ratley and Antonio Callaway.
CLEVELAND PROTECTION
Joe Thomas is no longer on the line protecting the blind side. For now, Joel Bitonio will play left tackle. That opens the door for rookie Austin Corbett to start at left guard. JC Tretter is at center along with Kevin Zeitler at RG and former Steeler Chris Hubbard at RT. Hubbard should be able to help everyone on offense with the play calls considering Todd Hayley was his OC last year in Pittsburgh. With Kevin Zeitler out for awhile with a calf injury, Spencer Drango will fill in at RG. The Browns have, on paper, a good starting O-line, but depth could be an issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I expect this new offense for Cleveland to be much improved. Tyrod Taylor alone gives this offense an upgrade. Add a quality backfield, a few good receivers and tight ends for Taylor and they should be able average more than 12-17 points a game. And if the line can do a decent job with both run blocking and pass protection, I finally see some good things happening on offense in Cleveland.
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