Browns Midseason Awards: Myles Garrett leading the charge as MVP

After eight games, the Cleveland Browns are sitting at 5-3. While they'd surely like to have a better record than this, they have to be happy considering some of the adversity they've faced this season.

Injuries to some of their best players — including Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson — have impacted the first half of the year but they've managed to stay afloat and in the AFC North race.

With that being said, let's take a quick look at the roster and hand out some midseason awards for the Browns as they prepare for a second-half run.

Browns Rookie of the Year: Dawand Jones, OT

Injuries have been an issue for the Browns offensive line this season and while Jedrick Wills was the latest to go down, they actually lost Jack Conklin much earlier than that.

Conklin was lost for the season in Week 1 which meant Cleveland would be turning to former Ohio State star Dawand Jones right away — and he didn't disappoint. Drafted in the fourth round, Jones is a mammoth at 6-foot-8 and 374 pounds. He was also a preseason star who carried his success into the regular season.

Week after week, he held his own both as a run blocker as well as in pass protection. Having said that, his ability to keep the quarterback from feeling pressure on his side is what helps him stand apart.

Jones has also been dealing with injuries as of late and Cleveland is unsure if he will be on the field against Baltimore in Week 10. If not, that's a huge loss for a team that needs to try and make ground against the Ravens.

Even with him being banged up, Jones is easily the top rookie on this team. Next up would have to be Cameron Mitchell, a fifth-round pick who has been great in coverage. Unfortunately, he too has been lost to injury but was playing well before that.

Browns Coach of the Year: Jim Schwartz, Defensive Coordinator

Joe Woods spent three seasons coaching the Cleveland defense and while he helped them make the playoffs in 2020, things started to fall apart for him after that. The Browns struggled mightily in his final two years and wound up being one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. They also struggled in coverage — due in large part to his insistence on playing zone — and had no one other than Myles Garrett who could rush the passer.

That's why they decided to move on this offseason and he was replaced by Jim Schwartz. A long-time coach, Schwartz actually began his NFL career in Cleveland under Bill Belichick back in 1993. He's spent much of his career as a defensive coordinator but was a head coach with the Detroit Lions from 2009 through 2013. He returned to the defensive side of the ball after that and wound up winning a Super Bowl in 2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He was thrilled to be back in Cleveland and so far has been a huge success. The Browns defense is currently first in the NFL in stopping the pass and sixth in rushing defense. Those numbers are vastly improved upon what we saw in 2022 and that is why he's the Coach of the Year award at midseason.

For those who think this is an easy choice, the Browns actually have another new coach who deserves praise as well. Bubba Ventrone took over as Special Teams Coach and that unit has also been vastly improved, thanks in large part to Dustin Hopkins.

Kevin Stefanski has taken a lot of heat from fans but he did a good job this year when replacing his outgoing coordinators, and the results speak for themselves.

Browns Most Improved Player: Grant Delpit, Safety

We can't give Jim Schwartz enough credit for the work he's done this season. His ability to put players in a position to succeed has been evident — and it makes it hard to figure out who deserves the honor of Most Improved Player.

There are two candidates — Grant Delpit and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah leading the way. JOK has been vastly improved thanks in large part to the added bulk on the defensive line. After eight games, he has 14 tackles for a loss or no gain which is tied for first in the NFL.

As good as he's been, however, Delpit edges him out. The fourth-year safety is playing out of his mind in 2023 and PFF has him ranked in the top 10 at his position. Known for his hard hits, Delpit has moved around like a chess piece this year for Schwartz and has been a stud.

With Juan Thornhill taking the deep zone duties, Delpit has been able to attack the ball and leads the team with 53 tackles while adding a forced fumble and a pick. And while his ability to stop the ball carrier is his calling card, he's also been stellar in coverage and held George Kittle to just one reception for one yard in Week 5.

Browns Offensive Player of the Year: Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver

There were those who said Amari Cooper wasn't a true WR1 and they were practically begging the Browns to go out and sign DeAndre Hopkins. While Hopkins would have been a solid addition due to his experience working with Deshaun Watson, he would have been more of a luxury addition rather than a necessity. That's because Cooper is every bit the No. 1 wideout the Browns need.

He proved that in 2022 when he had 78 receptions for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns. He did this while playing with Jacoby Brissett for 11 games then Watson for six. This season, however, the quarterback situation has been much more problematic.

Watson started out slow but when he finally got on track in Week 3, he went down with a shoulder injury. He finally seems healthy again and Cooper benefited with 139 yards in Week 9 as well as his second touchdown of the year, but he was still producing even with P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson filling in.

Cooper, who scored each of his touchdowns with Watson throwing to him, has 35 receptions for 617 yards and two touchdowns in eight games.

At this pace, he would finish the year with 74 catches for 1,311 yards and 4 touchdowns (that should improve with Watson back). Those numbers are impressive for anyone, let alone a player who has had to deal with uncertainty under center as well as an offense that lost the best running back in the NFL in Week 2.

That's why Cooper is the winner of the Browns Offensive Player of the Year at this point.

Browns MVP and Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett, EDGE

It's hard to find any player on this roster as dominant as Myles Garrett is right now.

The former No. 1 overall pick in 2017, Garrett already set the Browns franchise record for the most sacks in a single season when he racked up 16 in 2021. He tied that number in 2022 and in the process, became the all-time leader in team history — and did so at just 27 years old.

As impressive as he was during his first six years in the league, Garrett has been even more dominant in 2023. With Jim Schwartz controlling the defensive game plan, the secondary is doing a better job sticking with their guys which is giving the defensive line more time to attack the quarterback.

On top of that, there are better players around Garrett including Dalvin Tomlinson, Za'Darius Smith, Maurice Hurst, and Ogbo Okoronkwo. Just to highlight the success this team is having under Schwartz, the second-most sacks on the team in 2022 belonged to Taven Bryan who had just three. Tomlinson had that many in their win over Arizona.

The improvement in coaching as well as the added talent has forced defenses to turn their attention elsewhere, rather than constantly triple-teaming Garrett. That's resulted in him posting 25 tackles, 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two batted passes, and a blocked field goal in the first eight games of the year.

Not only does that make him the Defensive Player of the Year for the Browns, but he's also been the team MVP. He's been doing all he can to keep his team in the game throughout their offensive struggles and deserves the praise for doing so.

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