Who will be the 2019 Cleveland Browns of 2020? Part 5 The Cleveland Browns
What constitutes being the 2019 Cleveland Browns of 2020?
Last year the Browns were underwhelming, to say the least. Baker Mayfield’s Sophmore slump, Odell was disappointing, the Myles Garrett incident and Freddie Kitchens being fired after 1 season. In the 2019 Preseason, the Browns were dubbed to win the AFC North, potentially the AFC and possibly the Superbowl. Will the Browns do it again this year? In this series, I’m going to look at 5 teams who have the potential to be the all style no substance team this year? Will the Browns do that again? This might seem like a bit of a joke but it’s true. The Browns could go 6–10 or even worse in 2020.
Sophomore Baker or just Baker?
Bakers 2020 stats
- Last year Baker came dead last in completion percentage from quarterbacks who had 500 pass attempts.
- Baker had the second-worst in Passer Rating in 2020
- He had the 2nd most picks only behind the notoriously turnover-prone Jamies Winston so second to the 30–30 king is not good, at all.
- In his 13 starts in his rookie season, Baker had 27 TDs. Adjusted for 16 starts that's 33 TDs ish. In his 16 starts in 2020 he had 22 TDs., that is a drop-off. A sincere drop off.
- However, Baker was sacked almost twice as much last year as he was in 2018.
Sophomore slumps are normal in Quarterbacks especially but I have a feeling that this isn’t the case with Mayfield. He has the traits of a bust. He talks in the media. A lot. He had a good team and didn’t perform. He didn’t live up to the hype. He threw too many picks, didn’t make enough plays and was generally disappointing.
Baker led the 22nd best offence in the league last year. This year is a make or break year for Mayfield. I think this is a Winston/Mariota situation. They are both now backups on different teams. That didn’t end well. Mayfield isn’t in a contract year but he could be traded or made the Backup. If we see another 6 win season out of Baker we could see Justin Fields in the Brown and Orange in 2021. I also think if the Broncos do this they could draft a quarterback in the first round too.
OBJ is going to ruffle some feathers
All offseason there were rumours about Odell being traded away all spring. Last year he was sub-par. Odell underperformed in every way.
- He had his lowest yards per game ever in a season.
- Least amount of TDs in a full season in 4.
- He had his lowest catching percentage.
Cleveland Browns OBJ is nothing like New York Giants OBJ. Not only was Odell not comparable to the elite receivers in the league, but he was also barely comparable to Jarvis Landry.
- Landry had 150 more yards.
- Landry had 2 more TDs
- Landry had 5% more catches
Whichever way you look at it Landry was better.
Bold Prediction. OBJ will not be on the Cleveland Browns a year today.
Nick Chubb has to carry the offence
Last year Nick Chubb was 6 yards off of 1500 yards. Nick Chubb was one of the only bright spots in a dark Browns team last year. Chubb had 1772 yards from scrimmage. Chubb is the best player on the Browns offence any way you look at it. Possibly even the best player on the Browns team. Is Nick Chubb the best running back in the league? No, probably not but he is one of the best and probably top 5 or 6. However, he as only had one elite season and the Browns were very reliant on him all year. Chubb still has a way to go but the future looks bright.
Defence, Defence, Defence.
On the Defensive Line, they have 2 great DEs in Myles Garrett (who had 10 sacks in 10 games) and Olivier Vernon (who was traded with OBJ from the Giants). Vernon had 3.5 sacks in 10 games. The defensive tackles are average though and on the whole, the D-Line is alright. The linebacker core is alright but there is no stars or elite players anywhere to be seen. There is no one who can be trusted to make a play. All the pass rush comes from the D-Line. Alright will not make the playoffs in the AFC
But in a defence of mediocrity, there are 2 bright spots in the secondary. Denzel Ward is a top 10 corner in the league. He was the 4th overall pick in 2018. Ward had 2 picks last year which was a down year from his rookie year when he had three. Grant Delpit was the Browns’ 2nd round pick. Delpit should have gone in the first round as he was the best safety in the draft my opinion but the Browns got him in the 2nd.
Why the Browns could flop
It's the Browns. It's easy for them to do this again. The Browns have a new head coach an GM. I wouldn't be surprised if something went wrong. Odell could throw a fit. Baker could be rubbish. Garrett could get himself suspended. Anything and everything could and probably will go wrong. Dear Browns fans. Do not get too attached to Baker. You might have Fields or even worse Trevor Lawrence in 2021.
