3 overhyped players Browns fans need to pump the breaks on

It's hard to find a more loyal fan base in the NFL than the Cleveland Browns. Those in the Dawg Pound have been through a lot of suffering yet they continue to hold out hope that the next year will be better.

Thankfully, it finally feels as though "better" is coming. Even with the two losing seasons in 2021 and 2022, they've been much more competitive during the past three years than they were in any other three-year stretch since their return in 1999.

With that being the case, their loyalty and desire for a winning team have them expecting a bit much from some players. While we at DPD agree these moves were all excellent, we might want to think about recent history and pump the brakes — at least until we see these three possibly overhyped players take the field in the orange and brown.

3. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, EDGE

In 2022, many of us were guilty of praising Chase Winovich as a steal. Cleveland added him in a trade with the New England Patriots and we expected him to be an excellent pass-rusher off the bench.

What we ignored was the fact that Bill Belichick doesn't give away good players for guys the opposing team doesn't want. Still, we believed Andrew Berry outsmarted him by getting Winovich in exchange for Mack Wilson. By the end of the season, Wilson was a solid rotational piece for the Pats and even had more sacks than Winovich (1.5 compared to just 1.0).

As fate would have it, Winovich signed with the Houston Texans to replace Ogbo Okoronkwo, who the Browns added in free agency.

Okoronkwo is an ascending talent and had 5.0 sacks in 2022. However, he's been in the NFL for four seasons and had just 4.5 sacks in his first three years.

Again, he's an ascending player and the move should pay off. But we should learn from history and not anoint him before seeing him play in Cleveland.