Cleveland Browns: Who called it Browns fans?

That’s right buddy boy, yours truly predicted Odell Beckham Jr. was coming to the Cleveland Browns before Jay Glazer did and John Dorsey made it happen.  Welcome OBJ!

Come on, what can I say? I’m good at these things. Cleveland Browns fans willed this into being possible. Browns fans have wanted something like this for literally decades now. OBJ coming to Cleveland is one of the most monumental moves in NFL history. Nobody actually knew for a fact it would happen, not even me, but I sure wanted it to, and if you’re a true Browns fan, you did too.

Losing Jabrill Peppers hurts, only until you realize that his back up, Derrick Kindred is no slouch. Kindred showed plenty of potential before the Browns drafted Peppers. Take a step back and look at how Peppers played though, he was more or less another linebacker on defense compared to a true safety.

In 2017, Peppers and Kindred were both starters until Kindred was hurt. Looking at their stats that year, they were comparable. Worst case scenario we have another player who will have roughly the same stats, but his name isn’t Jabrill Peppers. However, I would argue that Kindred will be a better player as the year goes. Peppers was coming into his own but that was due to how he was coached by Gregg Williams. Peppers will not produce those same stats without playing in the box like Williams had him playing.

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Kindred was ninth on the team last year in tackles and only started two games. Kindred has eight more tackles, four more passes defended, and all in twelve fewer starts. I mean Kindred had one more tackle than Myles Garret last year, so let’s give this guy a chance before we rule him out. The upside for Kindred is there, we all need to step back and appreciate that OBJ being in brown and orange is a miracle from the football gods.

OBJ being on the Browns gave the team 14-1 odds to win the Superbowl. Gaining this incredible playmaker give Baker Mayfield a true #1 receiver which helps open up opportunities for Jarvis Landry to be more productive too.

OBJ, healthy, is a leg up on every team in the NFL, pair him with his best friend and on a team that is projecting upward and you’re looking at a deep playoff run, in an AFC that is ripe for the taking. The Chiefs are about to lose their star receiver due to more off-field drama, and Tom Brady cannot continue to be amazing forever.

His receivers are all falling apart and his only bright spot on that offense is Sony Michel and he can’t carry the load for the entire offense. The Browns are staring the Superbowl in the face and people who downplay that do not see the AFC for what it is, wide open. The Steelers are not going to be half of what they were in the past decade. No team would recover from losing two pro bowl caliber players in the same offseason.

The AFC North is weak, Browns should win or it’s a bust year. Simple as that. That was also before the OBJ trade happened. The time is now for the Browns. Buckle up Cleveland fans, it’s going to be a great year.