The Cleveland Browns added a lot of talent to the roster in the 2017 NFL Draft. Here are some early predictions for the starting offense.
Another year, another draft. Isn’t interesting that when football is in the offseason an NFL event that’s not a game could gather the same attention and viewership?
The Cleveland Browns may not have made the playoffs in 15 years, but they always seem to be at the forefront of the teams being talked about and the teams making moves in the offseason. After this year’s draft, many Browns fans and writers are filled with a combination of excitement and concern after seeing the selections.
The front office may be done with its heavy lifting for now, but the work for the coaching staff and players has just begun.
From rookie minicamp to OTAs, training camp to the preseason, a lot will happen between now and the final decisions to trim the team down to the 53-man roster. Along the way, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will shape his side of the ball into something resembling an NFL defense, while players – both old and new – will need to take on new roles and fill different positions to fit into the team.
What is very exciting is predicting the starters and what the team really could look like to start the season.
With all that, let’s start with the offense.
Quarterback: Cody Kessler
Let’s take a step back and relax a little when talking about second-round pick DeShone Kizer. Even Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has said he wished Kizer had come back for another college season and that he was not ready yet for the NFL.
However you feel about the selection, the general consensus is that Kizer is not ready. The good news is that Cleveland has a reliable starter in second-year quarterback Cody Kessler, who last season posted a 65.6 completion percentage and a 92.3 passer rating. This next season will belong to Kessler as the starter going in.
Running back: Isaiah Crowell
Isaiah Crowell had a quietly solid season in 2016, posting 952 yards and seven touchdowns plus 40 receptions for 319 yards. Some believed that the Browns would spend a premium pick on a running back with the likes of Dalvin Cook or Joe Mixon available. However, the only pick the Browns used on the position was Matthew Dayes from North Carolina State in the seventh round.
This is a huge vote of confidence for Crowell – now he just needs to sign his second-round tender offer.
Expect Duke Johnson to get his fair share of rushes and catches out of the backfield to mix it up, but Crowell’s starting job is 100 percent secure.
Tight end: David Njoku; Seth DeValve
One of the more celebrated picks in the first round was Cleveland trading their way back into the first round for a third pick and selecting Miami’s David Njoku, a serious receiving threat at the tight end position.
To complement him is second-year receiver turned tight end Seth DeValve who, like Njoku, gives the Browns another athlete at the tight end position, along with the opportunity to run a deadly two-tight-end system similar to what New England runs. Look out AFC!
Wide receiver: Corey Coleman; Kenny Britt
With Terrelle Pryor leaving for Washington in free agency, Corey Coleman, last year’s first-round selection, needs to step up this season. Last year Coleman missed time with an injury, finishing with 33 receptions 413 yards and three touchdowns. He’s going into the season as the team’s No. 1 receiver and needs to play like it.
Luckily, he’ll have some help.
Kenny Britt came over from the Los Angeles Rams in free agency on a four-year, $32.5 million contract to fill the hole left by Pryor. In 2016, Britt became the first Rams receiver since Torry Holt in 2007 to post a 1,000-yard season, posting 68 catches, 1,002 yards and five touchdowns.
Hopefully Britt can continue his success and Corey Coleman can live up to where he was drafted.
Offensive Tackle: Joe Thomas; Shon Coleman
Joe Thomas is a future Hall of Famer and continues to be an elite left tackle. Sorry Roderick Johnson, you’ll have to wait a while before you get your chance.
The real competition is at right tackle between former first-round pick Cameron Erving and Shon Coleman. The knock on Erving is that he has played both center and guard and was awful at both. It wasn’t until he was switched to right tackle for the season finale that he finally looked decent.
Erving will get his shot in training camp, but Coleman was projected to be a late-first or early-second-round pick out of Auburn, so he is talented. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and looks more natural at the position than Erving. It’ll be close, but Coleman should earn the starting nod.
Related: Is Roderick Johnson the left tackle of the future
Guard: Joel Bitonio; Kevin Zeitler
Both players got a nice pay day this offseason. Bitonio got a six-year extension worth more than $51 million, and Zeitler moved from the Cincinnati Bengals for five-year, $60 million deal. Not only are these guys being paid like starters, they very much earned it.
Zeitler is a player Browns fans should get excited about as he is an immediate upgrade on the right side and a valuable use of the team’s enormous cap space. The one caution is Bitonio’s health, having been placed on season-ending injured reserve each of the past two seasons. If he can stay healthy, there’s no doubt he’s a great player who will help improve the line from a year ago.
Center: J.C. Tretter
J.C. Tretter signed a three-year, $16.75 million contract to leave Green Bay, and while he may not be Alex Mack, he is certainly a step up from Cam Erving.
However, like Bitonio, Tretter too has been on injured reserve more than once in his career and will be closely monitored throughout the season. Also like Bitonio, his skills and talent warrant the money he received and Tretter should give Browns fans optimism that he’s a great upgrade at the position from last year.
This offensive line should be very good.
The Browns improved dramatically on the offensive line this offseason through free agency and the draft. They also have solid depth behind the starters. Clearly the only spot open for competition is the right tackle but the rest is secure.
Tight end also got noticeably better. I made the argument on a few occasions that the Browns should stay put at No. 12 overall and select O.J. Howard to improve the position, realizing Gary Barnidge was getting older. Somehow, they still managed to still get arguably the second-best player at the position who looks like the team’s new Jordan Reed. You’ll notice as the season goes along just how good these units are.
The biggest concern would have to quarterback.
Don’t get me wrong, I have faith in Cody Kessler as a competent starter, but the depth behind him is less than ideal and their second-round draft pick, DeShone Kizer, doesn’t appear to be ready. He’ll need time to develop, so don’t get too excited just yet.
I thought that after they avoided a quarterback in the first round that they would go and see what they have in Kessler in 2017 and focus on the 2018 draft for a quarterback, which looks like a better draft for the position, if Kessler didn’t show improvement.
This just leaves Kevin Hogan and Brock Osweiler as the only other QB options on the roster, and anyone who saw Osweiler play in Houston doesn’t want anything to do with that.
Next: Browns rookies feeling uniform number pressure?
Hopefully the new and improved O-line can keep the quarterback upright, and possibly allow one player to start all 16 games in 2017.