2024 NFL Season Preview: Cleveland Browns

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Cleveland Browns (Last Year: 11-6)



Season Summary:
The Browns went through a myriad of quarterbacks last year in the wake of Deshaun Watson’s injury before settling on Joe Flacco. Things were promising until a blowout defeat in the opening round of the playoffs. Watson will be back next season, but he didn’t exactly look great prior to his injury last year.



2024 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
QB Jameis Winston, QB Tyler Huntley, RB Nyheim Hines, RB D’Onta Foreman, WR Jerry Jeudy, OT Hakeem Adeniji, DT Quinton Jefferson, LB Jordan Hicks, LB Devin Bush, CB Tony Brown.
Draft Picks:
DT Michael Hall, G Zak Zinter. Browns Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
QB Joe Flacco, RB Kareem Hunt, TE Harrison Bryant, C Nick Harris, DT Shelby Harris, DT Jordan Elliott, LB Anthony Walker, LB Sione Takitaki, S Duron Harmon.

2024 Cleveland Browns Offense:
Any prediction involving the Browns finishing 11-6 and reaching the playoffs last year would have involved the assumption that Deshaun Watson rebounded to 2020 form. That, however, was not even close to what transpired. Watson played just six games because of injuries, giving way to a slew of pedestrian quarterbacks before Joe Flacco took the reins and led the team on a late-season charge.

Flacco is no longer on Cleveland’s roster, so he won’t be able to bail out the team if Watson gets hurt again. The interception-prone Jameis Winston is the backup, so the Browns will need Watson to not only stay healthy, but to perform like he did four years ago. There’s a chance that version of Watson is gone forever, though the Browns made sure to acquire another weapon for him. Already possessing the talented Amari Cooper and David Njoku, Cleveland made a trade for Jerry Jeudy in an attempt to give Watson an explosive second downfield threat. Jeudy is talented, but is a knucklehead who constantly makes mistakes and tends to give up on occasion. There’s a good chance that he’ll continue to be a frustrating option in Cleveland, especially if Watson doesn’t revert to 2020 form.

It’ll also help Watson if Nick Chubb can fully recover from his injury. Quite possibly the best pure runner in the NFL, Chubb was lost in Week 2 last year with a devastating knee injury. Unfortunately for Cleveland, it’s unlikely that Chubb will be able to play to start the year. Players often attempt to return too early from torn ACLs, and it usually ends up costing them with another injury. The Browns would be wise to repeat what the Jets did with Breece Hall; the Jets severely limited Hall until the midpoint of the season, which is when they unshackled him. Perhaps Chubb can dominate down the stretch like Hall did for New York, but his injury was much worse. In the meantime, Jerome Ford will draw more starts. Ford did a decent job filling in for Chubb last season.

Chubb and Ford will have the services of an excellent blocking unit. The entire offensive line returns intact, and as a bonus, Jack Conklin will be back from injury after playing just one game this past season. Conklin is a terrific right tackle, so he’ll be needed if left tackle Jedrick Wills doesn’t bounce back from a down season.

The interior group is led by Wyatt Teller, who has developed into one of the better guards in the NFL. Joel Bitonio is also an excellent player at the position, while center Ethan Pocic happens to be a solid blocker.



2024 Cleveland Browns Defense:
The Browns were able to finish with an 11-6 record last year despite their quarterbacking woes, thanks to their incredible defense. Cleveland’s stop unit was ranked at the very top of the chart in EPA.

The strength of Cleveland’s defense was the pass rush. The Browns were first versus aerial attacks and eighth in pressure rate. Myles Garrett was obviously greatly responsible for this. Garrett is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL now that Aaron Donald has retired. Garrett recorded 14 sacks last year, while his bookend, Za’Darius Smith, chipped in with five sacks, a number that’s not indicative of how well he performed.

The Browns were able to generate plenty of pressure from the edge, but they didn’t get much heat on opposing quarterbacks from the interior of the defensive line. This is why they spent their initial draft choice on defensive tackle Michael Hall. The Ohio State product has plenty of talent, but fell out of first-round consideration because of serious character issues. If he can remain clean, he could become a nice complement to Garrett. He’ll form a trio at the position with Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris. Both are fairly known players who have performed very well in the past, but have declined recently because of age. Tomlinson and Harris are now 30 and 32, respectively, so Hall has a chance to claim a starting job.

Cleveland also has great play from the secondary. Denzel Ward is one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL, while Greg Newsome is a gifted slot corner. There’s a hole across from Ward, which was occupied by Martin Emerson last year. The Browns didn’t address this area, so they’ll be hoping Emerson, a third-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, will improve.

Another reason Cleveland was so stellar against the pass was the addition of Juan Thornhill last offseason. Formerly of the Chiefs, Thornhill thrived with his new team. He and Grant Delpit were an excellent safety duo.

As for the linebacking corps, the Browns made a couple of changes because they lost the talented, but oft-injured Anthony Walker to free agency. They signed Devin Bush and Jordan Hicks to pair with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Neither player projects well, though Owusu-Koramoah has been an excellent player for the Browns since he was chosen in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.



2024 Cleveland Browns Schedule and Intangibles:
Long-time kicker Phil Dawson hasn’t been on the team since 2012, yet the Browns may have finally replaced him. Dustin Hopkins was excellent last year, going 33-of-36, including a perfect 8-of-8 from beyond 50.

Corey Bojorquez finished 12th in terms of net punting average last year. He did a great job of pinning the opposition inside the 20.

Cleveland has to deal with the AFC North, as well as the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Eagles. There are some easy opponents as well, but not too many of them.



2024 Cleveland Browns Rookies:
Go here for the Browns Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.



2024 Cleveland Browns Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks		Offensive Line		Secondary
Running Backs		Defensive Line		Special Teams
Receivers		Linebackers		Coaching