Cleveland Browns quarter mark PFF grades very friendly to offense, defense less so

Pro Football Focus loves the Cleveland Browns offense through four games

The Cleveland Browns Pro Football Focus grades four games into the 2020 season are very positive (at least offensively), and that’s no surprise. When Andrew Berry was hired as general manager this past offseason, it signaled a return to an analytics-based approach for Cleveland.

So it only made sense that the Browns would end up with three of PFF’s top 25 prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft (that number has since increased to four of the top 26 with the waiver claim of EDGE Curtis Weaver). We are now one-quarter of the way through the season, so it’s worth taking a look at how the Browns stack up in PFF’s grading system.

Pro Football Focus may not be the end-all-be-all, but it’s an incredibly valuable tool that results from countless man-hours of pouring over game tape. If it’s good enough for all 32 NFL teams to use, it’s good enough for fans. For the most part, Cleveland’s grades reflect exactly what the team has shown throughout their first four games; one of the league’s best offenses, and a defense that is not nearly as good.

The 2019 Browns finished 26th in overall grade, 20th in offensive grade, and 28th in defensive grade. That roster was clearly talented enough to beat anyone, as evidenced by the game against the New England Patriots, but coaching held the team back. That’s changed in 2020, with Kevin Stefanski and Bill Callahan putting the offense in the best spot to succeed.