ESPN predicts mediocre future for Browns in future power rankings

In a recently published three-year power ranking article, ESPN has the Cleveland Browns tied for 17th with the New York Giants.  

Both teams received a 79.2 out of 100 ranking, which according to them, is on the fence between average (70) and very good (80). 

Cleveland Browns:

Overall Roster: 85.0 (11th in NFL)

Quarterback: 79.0 (14th in NFL)

Coaching: 79.3 (20th in NFL)

Draft: 65.7 (29th in NFL)

Front Office: 81,3 (12th in NFL)

While you can still get into some pretty good colleges with that average, don’t expect to hear back from Harvard. So why is a team that has a top-rated running back, top-10 offensive and defensive lines, and a top-10 secondary projected so low? 

Reason for concern: Deshaun Watson

The folks over at ESPN absolutely hate Deshaun Watson.

"“When you give a contract to a player like the one Cleveland gave Watson, the return on investment has to be significant. Like MVP-caliber significant. But in six games last season, Watson had a 38.3 QBR, completed 58.2% of his passes and averaged 6.5 yards per attempt.” "

- Louis Riddick, ESPN

Did Watson have a rough 2022 return? Absolutely, but that was expected after a 700+ day break between live game snaps.  

No one in their right mind expected Deshaun to come in week13 and dominate like he did before his suspension, that just wasn’t going to happen. 

Watson did progressively get more comfortable under center as he took more reps, which is certainly a sign that he is moving in the right direction. 

Reason for concern:  WR Corps

The Cleveland Browns are sitting at a humbling No. 22 on Pro Football Focus’ receiving corp rankings, which is not the ideal spot for a team that dished out big bucks for their ‘franchise quarterback’ last season. 

Amari Cooper was traded to Cleveland in 2022 to fill the void of Jarvis Landry, who signed with his hometown team in New Orleans. 

Last season Cooper saw career high numbers when he caught 78 passes for 1,160 yards (14.9 AVG) and nine touchdowns.

Donovan Peoples-Jones also had a career season in 2022, catching 61 passes for 839 yards (13.8 AVG) and 3 touchdowns.

This offseason the Browns brought in receivers Elijah Moore and Marquise Goodwin, though Goodwin will miss the beginning of training camp due to newly discovered blood clots. Moore was selected in the second round in 2021 by the New York Jets and enters his third season with 80 career receptions, 984 career receiving yards (12.3 AVG), and six total touchdowns. 

Marquis Goodwin will begin training camp on Cleveland’s non-football injury illness list after blood clots were discovered in his legs and lungs last week. 

Goodwin, who is entering his 10th year in the league, had his third-most receiving yards in 2022. Last season he caught 27 passes totaling 387 receiving yards (14.3 AVG) and four touchdowns.  

This spring the Browns selected Cedric Tillman out of Tennessee in the third round of the draft. 

Cleveland’s receiver corp headed into training camp also includes David Bell, Daylen Baldwin, Michael Woods II, Mike Harley Jr, Jakeem Grant, and Anthony Schwartz.  

Cleveland also received some praise, due to their ability to create a roster that has the potential to be top in the league, but mostly boils down to Watson.  

Reason for hope:

"“Cleveland has built a strong all-around roster, and its front office graded out well in this survey. Plus, coach Kevin Stefanski has shown an ability to be a steadying presence, while new coordinator Jim Schwartz should get the defense in shape. If quarterback Deshaun Watson  can recapture his pre-2021 form, the ceiling could be much higher for this team than we realize.”"

- Dan Graziano

The first article I ever wrote for Dawg Pound Daily was about how Deshaun Watson’s six-game return numbers should be seen as a sign of hope because the similarities they have with his rookie year.

Stat to know:

"Denzel Ward is a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, but he didn't look like it in 2022. He allowed 1.7 yards per coverage snap allowed, per NFL Next Gen Stats, which was the fifth-worst among all outside corners with at least 300 coverage snaps."

- Seth Walder

Hopefully, Watson does achieve the level of play he once saw, and Cleveland can prove ESPN and every other outlet wrong, but until this team can prove they are for real on the field, these 'rankings' will continue to come out.