3 Moves Cleveland Browns should have made in 2021 offseason

2. Cleveland Browns should have prioritized speed on offense

Andrew Berry was in a tough spot this offseason. He knew the Cleveland Browns defense was a mess and needed to be revamped. That’s why their offseason moves both in free agency and the 2021 NFL Draft centered around that side of the ball.

On the other hand, he also understood that the offense was just as much at fault in their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. As bad as the defense was in 2020, they were able to hold the Chiefs to 22. Sure, they gave up a huge fourth-down late in the game and couldn’t stop Chad Henne but the truth is, anytime Kansas City is held to 22, you have to win the game.

Cleveland couldn’t do that and the reason was simply that they couldn’t threaten the Chiefs downfield. They could do whatever they wanted on the ground with Nick Chubb destroying them but Kansas City was content to let Cleveland run the clock out for them — which is what happened.

What Kansas City didn’t want was for the Browns to score quickly, and they didn’t. What they did was run off 8:17 seconds late in the game to pull it within five. One clock-killing run after another helped the Chiefs milk the win.

Now heading into 2021, the Browns only addition to get deep speed was rookie third-round pick Anthony Schwartz who is a work in progress. Sure, they’re also hoping for more from Odell Beckham, Jr. as he returns from his torn ACL but it’s not as if he’s been 100 percent reliable.

Rather than counting solely on Beckham and a developmental rookie, Cleveland should have kicked the tires on one of the deep threats available. Will Fuller and Corey Davis were available veterans and there were also some younger options such as John Ross who wouldn’t have been a starter but he could still offer more in 2021 than Schwartz likely will as a rookie.

Any of these moves would have truly helped the offense.