5 indicators of a successful season for the Browns in 2022

No. 3 big indicator: Offensive line returns to form

Cleveland’s offensive line has been the strength of this team over the past several years, but last season was a real test as the line struggled a lot mainly due to key players being sidetracked with various injuries.

This season they’ve got a couple of those players healthy again including Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin. These players along with their teammates will need to rise up to lead this offense once again.

The line was poor in keeping their quarterback upright a year ago. Some of that fault belongs to quarterback Baker Mayfield who seemed to regress in making quick decisions and would find himself in trouble in the backfield because of that. The linemen can only protect their quarterback for so long.

With Watson joining the club and a couple of other veteran backups like Jacoby Brissett on the team now, hopefully, both quarterback and linemen can be on the same page in protection and quicker play. Future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas has even gotten into the act of helping his former team by giving the current group of linemen a few pointers while at training camp.

The offensive line has been elite at times in helping the team’s excellent run game succeed in the past. With the number of injuries on the line from a year ago, they had a hard time maintaining that type of consistency and the run game struggled at key moments.

With Wills and Conklin back and a renewed focus on getting better, I think the offensive line will be a big indicator of the Browns success we see this year.