How will Cleveland Browns offense adjust with multiple injuries?

The Cleveland Browns offense is without some key players

The Cleveland Browns have fallen victim to the injury bug on both sides of the ball. However, the effects of it are showing most from the offensive unit.

The first major injury the Browns suffered on offense was to Nick Chubb in the matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. He was sent to the injury reserve and is expected to come back after the bye week.

Despite Chubb being injured, the Browns have still ranked near the top of the league in rushing offense. However, when Chubb returns, the dynamic duo of Chubb and Kareem Hunt will likely be able to reclaim their title of best running back room in the league and propel the Browns back to the top of the league in rushing yards.

This injury will take some of the weight of the offense off of the shoulders of Baker Mayfield. The Browns will be able to return to an even more run dominant offense. The second major injury that the Browns suffered was Austin Hooper. Hooper was diagnosed with appendicitis and required surgery to get his appendix removed. He also is expected to return to action after the bye week.

Hooper was a major signing for the Browns during the offseason as the team gave him a hefty contract to give Mayfield yet another pro-bowl caliber talent to pass to. With him returning, Mayfield will have a reliable target to lean on and Browns fans could be seeing more tight-end heavy sets.

The final major injury that the Browns suffered on the offensive end came in their Week 7 matchup. In this game, Odell Beckham, Jr. suffered a knee injury that will keep him sidelined for the season. Beckham was one of the top targeted receivers on the team while he was healthy and continues an unfortunate streak of injuries for OBJ that has prevented him from showing his true potential in Cleveland.

Cleveland’s offense was pitiful against a below-average Raiders defense only scoring only 6 points. The passing game struggled with Mayfield completing less than 50 percent of his passes. In his defense, a fair amount of these incompletions came from dropped passes. A couple of notable drops that changed the trajectory of the game came from Jarvis Landry and David Njoku.

Landry’s biggest drop came on a potential touchdown that would have cut the Raider lead to a much more manageable amount. Njoku’s drop came in the final Browns drive in the game in which killed any shot the Browns had of coming back and winning the game.

While these could have been flukes and Beckham has had his own issues with drops during his time with the Browns, without him on the roster, the wide receiver core is the weakest it has been in the past two seasons.

It’s clear that with the Browns having one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NFL, they must capitalize and take advantage of these opportunities. If they are to do this or make any noise in the playoffs, the offense must make adjustments to these injuries.

I predict the Browns will be the most run-heavy offense in the league and rely as much as they can on the duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Jarvis Landry will prove that his drops against the Raiders are just flukes and will fill Beckham Jr.’s role as the primary receiver.

Lastly, Austin Hooper will reclaim his spot as the team’s primary tight end and will prove a much more reliable target than Njoku.