4 biggest Cleveland Browns busts halfway through the 2023 season

With five wins, the Cleveland Browns would currently be the final team in the playoffs if the season ended today. That’s a huge feat considering they were without Deshaun Watson for roughly half of their games thus far. Even with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker struggling to replace him, Cleveland found a way to win more often than not.

A lot of the praise for this goes to the defense where they’ve had several players exceed expectations. On offense, it’s been a different story. While some players have done their part, there are also a few who have let the team down. Let’s dive into this now with these four busts from the first half of the season.

4. Marquise Goodwin, Wide Receiver

After two years of trying to get Anthony Schwartz to figure it out at the pro level, the Browns decided to go in a different direction. This year, they brought in Marquise Goodwin, a former Olympic athlete known for his blazing speed. Goodwin has been in the NFL since 2013 and averages 16 yards per catch and the Browns hoped that speed would open things up for their offense.

Even at the age of 32, he was effective for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 with 387 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 14.3 yards per grab. After signing with Cleveland, he was slowed by blood clots in his legs and lungs which kept him sidelined during the preseason. He was ready by Week 1, however, and has appeared in all eight games.

Unfortunately, he’s been a non-factor during that time. Goodwin enters Week 10 with just 10 yards on three receptions. He’s added 33 yards on four catches but the production overall has been a problem. Not to mention he and the quarterback have failed to connect on eight of 11 targets thus far.