3 things that must change for the Cleveland Browns to contend in 2021
By Sam Penix
1. The offense must be more explosive
The receivers and tight ends playing better is so important not just financially, but because the team’s Super Bowl hopes are riding on their shoulders, especially those of Odell Beckham Jr. Nick Chubb is the best runner in the league, and Kareem Hunt is the NFL’s best backup.
They’re still running backs, and no team can win it all without a great passing attack. The Browns have the quarterback, the offensive line, and the play-caller to make that happen. Now, they need the targets to live up to their contracts.
What happened in the playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs was downright embarrassing. The defense is typically blamed for the loss, but the Chiefs scored 22 points. When that happens, you should win. The Browns offense put up just 17, and even if you count the touchdown taken off the board by a blown call, that’s still only 23, which is not enough to beat Kansas City 70% of the time.
The Chiefs didn’t respect Cleveland’s passing game one bit, despite knowing full well that Mayfield was on a league-best tear. They sat in Cover-1 press-man all game long (with a defense that is nothing to write home about) and stacked the box against Nick Chubb, knowing the Browns receivers weren’t capable of creating separation.
Adding Beckham and Schwartz fixes that problem. Is it wise to count on a raw 20-year-old rookie and a player who hasn’t produced since 2016? Probably not, but that is the position this team is now in. Landry and Hooper need to step up in a big way and the passing attack as a whole needs to stretch the field more and use more of the available grass than they did last year.
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Since entering the NFL, Baker Mayfield is statistically the best deep passer in the league. Maybe the Browns should throw deep more. Just an idea.