3 things we should see from the Cleveland Browns in 2023
By John Suchan
1. Deshaun Watson will get the Browns back to playoffs
Having Deshaun Watson as the leader of the offense alone will spell more success for this team, and should lead to a playoff berth. While Watson had six games this season and went 3-3 in those starts, you have to remember that he’d been sitting out of the NFL for two years.
Giving Watson another offseason to work with his new teammates along with bringing in a player or two to help the offense through free agency or trade will all be helpful in the pursuit of the playoff berth. Watson’s ability to be creative in the backfield by either passing or running the ball, along with his ability to extend plays will all be big advantages to the Browns in this next season.
In Watson’s career, he made it to the playoffs in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He earned his lone playoff victory in 2019 when he helped beat the Buffalo Bills 22-19. In the following playoff game, Watson faced the Kansas City Chiefs in a game where the Texans took a big lead early, however, the Chiefs stormed back to win and went on to win the Super Bowl that year.
We know Watson has the talent to make his team an instant contender. He’s surrounded by some excellent talent too with Nick Chubb running the ball and wide receiver Amari Cooper catching passes. The team also has a coach in Kevin Stefanski who is now going to be entering his fourth season and that in itself is a positive since they finally have some stability at the top.
There will be an ever-present pressure on Watson to win every game moving forward and it’s magnified because of the outrageous guaranteed contract that the Browns gave him. That’s not going away any time soon, but it will also give Watson the time to get things right in Cleveland. It’ll start with this season when we should see the Browns get to the playoffs.
