Cleveland Browns: 3 storylines to watch in Week 1 vs. Pittsburgh
By Randy Gurzi
No. 1 Tyrod and his command of the offense
The Browns decided they were done with having quarterback issues this offseason. They traded a third-round pick for Tyrod Taylor, who was 22-20 as a starter for the Buffalo Bills in three seasons. They didn’t stop there as Dorsey also used the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to select Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Cleveland is now starting Taylor and putting Mayfield on ice — they hope until next season. What could change that plan would be if Taylor isn’t able to run the offense the way Todd Haley wants him to.
Taylor is a respected quarterback, but he’s clearly been a game manager to this point in his career. In his three seasons with Buffalo, he averaged 2,952 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. What that means is he will play it incredibly safe and won’t turn the ball over. He also won’t light up the scoreboards.
Haley doesn’t work like that. He’s historically put points on the board and likes to move the ball downfield more than Taylor has in the past. This isn’t to say Taylor can’t do it, but this offense is going to be different than what he’s used to.
Sunday is our first chance to see how he’s adapting to that. We can see how much command he has in the huddle, how he and Haley communicate and get plays in, and most importantly how he works with his pass catchers.
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Josh Gordon, David Njoku, and Jarvis Landry can all have big seasons working under Haley — as long as Taylor has this offense figured out and is in full control.
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference