We aren’t winning a Super Bowl this year.
We don’t know who our quarterback will be. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is out for the season. Nick Chubb is gone. We have the second hardest schedule in the league. It would be easy for Browns fans to chalk it up as just another failed season and give up on the team before the season even kicks off.
But this is a pivotal year for our franchise, and one that will prove that the future of this team is much brighter than the experts think. People are quick to forget that we made the playoffs in 2023, a year that saw us start four different quarterbacks (five if you count Jeff Driskel’s week 18). Dorian Thompson-Robinson, statistically one of the worst QBs in the history of the NFL, won a game that year thanks to our defense. That alone should give us hope.
Our defense is as good on paper as it was in 2023 – maybe even better.
With JOK out for the year, we need Carson Schwesinger to be great and he has looked incredible from what we’ve seen this offseason. Our defensive line figures to be more productive than ever with Maliek and Mason on the interior. Whether it’s McGuire or Wright that ends up starting opposite Myles, they’ll be consistently getting through with all the attention that the other three command. Some of our defensive backs (like Emerson) seemed to regress last season, but it’s still one of the most talented rooms in the league. We shouldn’t write them off after one bad year, and the improvements made across the rest of the defense will make their job significantly easier.
Our offense may be worse on paper than it was two seasons ago, but it is not a bad roster by any measure.
The offensive line is certainly getting older – and they’re certainly injury prone – but with Coach Bloomgren and improved depth (as well as the Jed Wills experiment finally expiring), I have total confidence that our trench game will take a dramatic step forward. From an emotional perspective, it hurts to lose Nick Chubb, but from a logical one, our RB room is likely miles ahead of last season with Judkins and Sampson leading the charge.
Our receiving core is also much better than people give it credit for. We all have complete faith in Jerry Jeudy, but Cedric Tillman showed during his last three games that he can be one of the most productive WR2s in the league. Diontae Johnson is only 28 and still has the talent to be a number one receiver in this league, and he can’t afford to have the same attitude problems he allegedly had last season. We were the only team to give him a chance – if he can’t put his head down and work, he’ll be out of the league by this time next year. Our depth isn’t amazing, but with Njoku/Fannin/Thrash/Bell all available to catch passes, we can survive injuries.
Of course, the biggest question mark is who our quarterback will be. Analysts and reporters have all made their guesses, but that’s all they are – guesses. Instead of trying to push a starter, we should be excited that the quarterback battle is happening. We have no reason to believe any of the QBs don’t have a real chance to win the starting job, and all this battle means is that we (and the team) can have full confidence in our eventual starter.
The best man will get the job.
We won’t be a great team this year, but we are in much better shape than people think. And the future of Cleveland looks bright.
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