There are a lot of expectations for the Cleveland Browns heading into the 2021 season, yet the sportsbooks don’t seem to fully buy it.
According to DraftKings, Cleveland has an over-under win total of nine and a half games. Last season the Browns finished with 11 wins with a worse defense than heading into the new season.
General manager Andrew Berry focused the majority of the offseason on defense, something Cleveland desperately needed to upgrade if they wanted to contend for a title in 2021. The additions of John Johnson III, Troy Hill, Malik Jackson, Anthony Walker, and Takk McKinley are already a major upgrade. Free-agent EDGE rusher
Jadaveon Clowney is rumored to sign with the Browns on Wednesday to be paired with Myles Garrett.
A year ago the Browns won 11 games and heading into the 2021 season, with a significantly better roster, are set with an over-under of nine and a half games, one and a half games below last season’s results.
Colin Cowherd said on The Herd Tuesday that he believed the Browns had the third-best roster in the NFL, behind only the Buccaneers and Chiefs, but oddsmakers don’t believe that quarterback Baker Mayfield could win big games.
"I'd make an argument Cleveland has the third best roster in the NFL."
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 13, 2021
Should the Browns win total be over 9.5 wins? @ColinCowherd wonders: pic.twitter.com/1zn0Lhtq5v
You can think what you want about Mayfield, but the fact of the matter is that he took a huge step forward last year and there are no signs of him having any regressions this season, especially having the same head coach and offensive coordinator for the first time in his young career.
Looking ahead to next season, Mayfield and company get to take on the Bengals twice, the Raiders, Texans, Bears, Cardinals, Lions, and Broncos all at home. Their road schedule is slightly harder, but the home schedule has at least six wins just based on the teams listed.
The Ravens lead the way for the AFC North with an over-under of 11 games. Pittsburgh, who Cleveland knocked out of the playoffs last season, is set at eight and a half games. The Bengals round out the division at six and a half games.
Other teams that are currently listed with an over-under of nine and a half games are the Cowboys, Colts, Titans, Chargers, Patriots, and Seahawks. On paper, Cleveland has a significantly better roster than all of those teams, yet has the same over-under win total.
The Browns have positioned themselves to be a top contender in the AFC and NFL this upcoming season, now you can add this over-under total to things that will add to the chip on their shoulders.
If you are into betting, you might want to (responsibly) go put money on the over on that bet. You can thank me later.