Which positions are the deepest for the Cleveland Browns as they enter the 2021 season?
General manager Andrew Berry has one decided advantage over John Dorsey, his predecessor with the Cleveland Browns. While Dorsey and Berry both have proven to be great talent evaluators and excellent closers in free agency, Berry has proven to be much better at seeing the big picture.
Dorsey, who is excellent in several areas as a GM, simply didn’t build enough depth. He had a bad habit of cutting or trading former starters who were beaten out and that led to problems. This happened on the defensive line when he cut Carl Nassib one year and traded Emmanuel Ogbah the next.
He also failed to address the offensive line which led to the majority of their problems on offense in 2019 as Baker Mayfield never had time to throw the ball.
So far, Berry has seemed to fix both those problems as well as many more. With that being the case, we look at which four positions are the deepest for the Browns heading into the 2021 season.
4. Quarterback
Baker Mayfield asserted himself as one of the better young quarterbacks in the NFL last season. He turned a corner around Week 7 and from Week 13 on, he was one of the best in the entire league.
He did absolutely everything asked of him and for the first time in his career, he will be playing in the same season for the second year in a row. That means No. 6 should take yet another step forward.
And if something were to happen to Mayfield, Cleveland could turn to Case Keenum who is one of the better backups in the game. Keenum was undrafted out of Houston back in 2012 and his best season came in 2017 when he led the Minnesota Vikings to an 11-3 record and the NFC Championship Game.
That year, his quarterback coach was Kevin Stefanski and their familiarity is why Keenum is the No. 2 quarterback in Cleveland. No one ever wants to turn to the second quarterback but if the Browns had to, Keenum would be more than capable of treading water until their star returns.
3. Tight End
In 2020 free agency, Cleveland landed a big fish in Austin Hooper. The former Atlanta Falcons tight end was the best at his position to hit the open market and he was paid as such. His final season with the Falcons saw him gain 787 yards on 75 receptions.
With him joining the team, Cleveland suddenly looked stacked with Hooper and former first-round pick David Njoku on the roster. And with new head coach Kevin Stefanski being fond of the two tight end sets, there was no worry about them both getting enough snaps.
If that wasn’t enough, the Browns also went out and drafted Harrison Bryant in the fourth round, adding the 2019 John Mackey Award winner to the roster.
Entering 2021, all of their tight ends are hoping to do better than the previous season. Hooper was the best in the passing game with 46 receptions for 435 yards and four touchdowns and then Bryant came in with 238 yards and three touchdowns.
Njoku was third with 213 yards and two touchdowns but he oftentimes looked to be one of the more athletic pass-catchers on the team — not just among tight ends either. He also improved as a blocker but for whatever reason, saw less time than expected.
Even with that being the case, all three of their top players are more than capable of starting in the NFL, making them three deep at the position and can even turn to Stephen Carlson if needed for snaps.
2. Defensive End
When John Dorsey let Carl Nassib go in 2018, the former third-round pick found a home wiht the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spent the next two seasons there as a part-time starter and had 63 tackles and 12.5 sacks. He joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 and while his numbers went down last year, he still showed that he could have been a great reserve for the Browns.
The following season, he traded away Emmanuel Ogbah and while Eric Murray was a solid piece in their secondary, Ogbah still showed that he could get it done. He had 32 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2019 and could have helped the Browns as Olivier Vernon dealt with injuries and Myles Garrett was suspended. Ogbah has since joined the Dolphins and broke out in 2020 with 42 tackles and nine sacks.
Thankfully, Andrew Berry knows that two starting-caliber defensive ends aren’t enough anymore. That’s why he went into free agency this year determined to get more depth in this area — and he accomplished that.
Cleveland picked up Jadeveon Clowney and Takk McKinley which gives them three first-round picks at defensive ends with two of them being the No. 1 overall selection in their respective class (Clowney in 2014 and Garrett in 2017).
There’s also Porter Gustin, Joe Jackson, and Curtis Weaver. This is a very deep unit now, which is what any defense needs to be succesful.
1. Running Back
This one is probably the easiest to recognize. Cleveland was third in the NFL in rushing last season with 2,374 yards and fifth with 21 rushing touchdowns. They did this with Nick Chubb running for 1,067 yards and 12 touchdowns despite missing four games and Kareem Hunt going for 841 yards and six more touchdowns.
Hunt also proved to be a great receiver out of the backfield with 304 yards and five touchdowns on 38 receptions. Chubb, who was second in the NFL in yardage in 2019, is one of the best in the business and it can be argued that Hunt is also a top-10 back and he has a 2017 NFL Rushing Title as proof of his ability to stack up against anyone.
We could really stop there and call this the deepest position on the roster. No other team could say they could have two different players win the rushing title — which both of these guys could do if the team decided to just feed them the way other elite backs get the rock. But we don’t have to stop there because Cleveland does have two more backs who are capable.
First is D’Ernest Johnson who was a star in the short-lived AAF and found a role as the Browns third running back and kick returner. He didn’t get a lot of opportunities but made the most of the ones he had, including a 95-yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4.
His spot might not be safe, however, since they took Demetric Felton in the sixth round. Felton played both wide receiver and running back and his ability as a receiver could really help him find a role in this offense.