The 2023 NFL Trade Deadline is just hours away now and the Cleveland Browns have to decide if they want to be buyers as they aim to make a second-half push for the playoffs.
On defense, they seem to be just fine. Jim Schwartz has helped turn this unit around and has somehow unlocked another level for Myles Garrett, who is playing out of his mind. As for their offense, that's been a different story.
Cleveland has several pieces but injuries and a lack of depth have been slowing them down. That's why it would make sense for them to add someone at the deadline but don't look for them to make a huge splash. Instead, they could look to one of these three under-the-radar targets to round out their offense.
D'Ernest Johnson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Undrafted out of South Florida in 2018, D'Ernest Johnson took advantage of the opportunity afforded to him by the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football. Cleveland liked what they saw out of Johnson during his time in the short-lived league and wound up signing him one month after the their season ended.
He then spent the next four years with the Cleveland Browns before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. In Jacksonville, he's buried on the depth chart behind Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby, which is why he could be available at the NFL Trade Deadline.
Johnson hasn't seen the ball much at all in 2023 and that was also the case in 2022 with the Browns. He was behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and wound up with just four rushing attempts for 17 yards.
The year before this, however, he rose to the occasion when given a shot. With Hunt missing time, he had 534 yards on 100 attempts with three touchdowns. In all, he had 738 yards for Cleveland during his tenure while averaging 5.2 yards per attempt.
With Chubb out for the year and Jerome Ford recently getting banged up, it might not be a bad idea to add someone who knows the offense and can contribute right away.
Kelvin Beachum, OT, Arizona Cardinals
For all the talk of Garett Bolles being on the radar, the Browns are unlikely to go after a big-name left tackle. It's true that Bolles would be an upgrade over Jedrick Wills but with the front office deciding to pick up Wills' fifth-year option, his contract is now fully guaranteed in 2024. That's why it would be tough for them to add Bolles, since they would have two highly-paid left tackles.
Before it's suggested to throw Wills in on a trade for Bolles, there's no way the Broncos look to replace their starter with Wills for similar pay. If they're stuck with a big salary, might as well keep the better player. Let's also be fair to Wills and point out he's shown improvement over the past few games he's played this season so Cleveland is going to cling to the hope that he can get it done before they over-pay.
With that being said, the Browns best option is probably to look for a veteran who can start but is currently on the bench. That leads us to Kelvin Beachum of the Arizona Cardinals.
Beachum is 34 years old, so he's on the back nine of his career but he has 147 starts under his belt — including 17 last season with Arizona. He played well for the Cards but has been replaced by D.J. Humphries and Paris Johnson. With experience as both a left and right tackle, Beachum can serve as the backup to Wills and Dawand Jones while also giving them someone to turn to should Wills either continue to deal with nagging injuries or simply take a turn in the wrong direction.
Hunter Renfrow, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
This offseason, the Browns really focused on improving the wide receiver position. They traded for Elijah Moore and then used their first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Cedric Tillman from Tennessee. They also hit free agency and brought in Marquise Goodwin, a 10th-year player with an Olympic background.
All these additions joined Amari Cooper who had more than 1,000 yards in 2022 and Donovan-Peoples Jones who was over 800 yards. There's also David Njoku at tight end, who can be a problem for opposing defenses in the passing game as well.
As we enter Week 9, Cleveland is still waiting to see this aerial attack take off. The easy excuse for this is the injury Deshaun Watson suffered, which is true. With Dorian Thompson-Robinson and then P.J. Walker taking over, the offense has been unable to pass the ball with any consistency.
Having said that, they weren't exactly lighting the world on fire with Watson. In his four appearances, he has 683 yards with four touchdowns and three picks while completing 61.7 percent of his attempts — which is his worst total outside of the 58.2 percent he had in 2022 for Cleveland.
It's obvious the Browns need to do something to help Watson out and while there have been calls for DeAndre Hopkins, they could also look to bring in another former target of his — Hunter Renfrow.
Renfrow and Watson played together for a couple of seasons at Clemson and even won a National Championship together in 2016. That year, Renfrow had 44 receptions for 495 yards and six touchdowns.
He was selected by the Raiders int he fifth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft and signed a two-year, $32 million extension in 2022 after going for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns on 103 receptions the prior season. Despite this, he's hardly seen the ball since signing the deal as he and Josh McDaniels (thank goodness Cleveland passed on that guy) aren't on the same page.
Seen as a player who could be on the move this year, Renfrow is a savvy slot receiver who could offer a great security blanket for Watson — and it helps that they already know how to work with one another.