Cleveland Browns: Aggressively early look at 53-man 2021 roster
By Greg Newland
Specialists
Don’t look for any major shake-ups when it comes to special teams this year. Jamie Gillan will do the punting and place kick holding, while Cody Parkey will do the placekicking and be the kickoff specialist. Tenured long-snapper Charley Hughlett will remain in his same position as well.
Both Gilan and Parkey are coming off shaky ends to the season. After bombing the ball in 2020, Gilan struggled much of last year and never really hit a rhythm. Long, line-drive
punts are dangerous in the NFL and the team gave up a lot of return yards as well.
Parkey’s biggest struggle continues to be extra points. He seemed to be automatic when it came to field goals, but he missed far too many extra points in 2020. Expect a guy like Matthew McCrane to make it through training camp to at least propose a challenge, but he won’t make it to the regular-season roster.
The final prediction is two quarterbacks, four running backs, four tight ends, six wide receivers, nine offensive linemen, 8 defensive linemen, seven linebackers, nine secondary players, and three specialists as the Browns start their quest for the 2021 Super Bowl.
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There will be many tough challenges ahead, but 2021 looks to be a season for the record books.