5 crucial moves the Cleveland Browns have to make this offseason

3. Get faster at wide receiver

The Browns wide receivers are good, so please don’t take this the wrong way. Jarvis Landry continues to be a leader and fights through everything to suit up week after week. Rashard Higgins is also fantastic and has developed into a technician when it comes to running routes. The problem is, they aren’t threatening to take the top off a defense.

Never was this more evident than when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. Cleveland ended up losing by five and one of the main reasons was their inability to score quickly — especially after Patrick Mahomes went down with a concussion.

With the score sitting at 22-10, Cleveland needed to get the ball in the end zone in a hurry and get back to offense again. However, they took more than eight minutes to score on an 18-play drive. That kind of clock-killing is phenomenal when you’re wasting time away with a lead but when trailing, it actually helps the opponent drain the clock.

This is why it’s imperative they use this offseason to get a game-changer at wide receiver. As is the case with everything, there will be options for general manager Andrew Berry. He’s going to monitor Odell Beckham, Jr.‘s return from a torn ACL to see if he can be the same deep threat he was.

Berry will also have to figure out why Baker Mayfield seemed better after OBJ went down. Are they a poor fit or was it just bad timing where OBJ ent out before the light truly came on for Mayfield? Berry will need to answer that question before deciding how to approach the draft and free agency.

If he does decide he needs outside help, the draft has a few options but there’s also a solid fit in free agency. Corey Davis from the Titans could be an excellent option, but again, there’s a lot that goes into these decisions. The most important thing is finding a way to get more dangerous in the passing game.