Cleveland Browns: 4 players who need to have more production

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Oct 21, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns tight end Austin Hooper (81) pushes Denver Broncos inside linebacker Micah Kiser (43) away as he runs the ball for a first down against the Denver Broncos during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1 – Austin Hooper, TE

One of the biggest surprises to me was when the Cleveland Browns brought in Austin Hooper in the 2020 offseason. It was just a name that wasn’t on anybody’s radar, then boom, Hooper is coming to the Browns.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like the signing, just didn’t expect it. In Hooper’s last season with the Atlanta Falcons, he had 75 catches, 787 yards, and six touchdowns. What’s crazy now, in nearly a season and a half with the Browns, he hasn’t totaled that.

In 20 total games (he missed 3 games in 2020), Hooper has a whopping 60 catches for 578 yards and five touchdowns. The guy is a fantastic blocker and does a lot of good things, but for $8 million a year, people just expect more production. Remember, Hooper was the highest-paid tight end (for about 24 hours) in 2020 and still is in the top-10 in the NFL.

Unfortunately, Hooper’s contract is not the most team-friendly. Not only does he hold cap space in 2024 which is a void year, but the dead money in 2022 is also over $11 million. Andrew Berry must have thought this was an extremely safe signing to structure this way.

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While it doesn’t look like Hooper is going anywhere soon, you would certainly like to see some more production from him in the very near future. He has a ton of talent and feels like a piece that should be a perfect fit. There is still time and I think by the end Hooper could really show his worth.

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