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How Browns offensive players graded for the 2019 season

Updated Dec 31, 2019; Posted Dec 31, 2019
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By Scott Patsko, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Every team in the NFL uses Pro Football Focus data in some capacity, so it makes sense to see what PFF analysts have to say about how the Browns performed in 2019.

PFF explains its grading process on its website. Here are two key points: 1. PFF isn’t grading overall talent, just performance on the field; 2. PFF grades each player on each play, noting that “Even watching a game closely can result in something of a mental highlight reel on a player – remembering the few good and bad plays and making an overall judgment based on the balance of those – but it can be the other 40 snaps in the game that are being ignored that held the true key to his performance.”

As for what the numbers mean, PFF has explained its grades this way: 100-90 elite; 89-85 Pro Bowler; 84-70 starter; 69-60 backup; 59-0 replaceable.

Keep in mind that offensive and defensive grades take into account every aspect of a player’s responsibilities. For example, Nick Chubb’s offensive grade includes not only rushing, but receiving and blocking as well.


Here are PFF’s offensive grades for the Browns in 2019:

TEAM GRADES (with league rank)

Offense: 71.5 (20th)

Passing: 71.8 (17th)

Pass blocking: 71.9 (17th)

Receiving: 71.3 (18th)

Rushing: 88.8 (1st)

Run blocking: 51.7 (27th)


QUARTERBACK

Baker Mayfield: 73.5

Had a completion percentage of 59.4, and an adjusted completion percentage of 69.5, 27th among starting QBs.

Garrett Gilbert: 48.9

Took eight total snaps, with three being game-ending kneel-downs.


WIDE RECEIVER

Jarvis Landry: 78.2

Had the top receiving grade (80.0) among the team’s wide receivers.

Odell Beckham Jr.: 68.7

Had the lowest receiving grade of his career (69.4), and a team-high seven drops.

Damion Ratley: 62.9

Caught 12 of 22 targets and did not have a drop.

KhaDarel Hodge: 54.3

Caught four of 10 targets over nine games.

Rashard Higgins: 53.6

Caught four of 10 targets over seven games.

Taywan Taylor: 52.5

Played in three games and was targeted once.


RUNNING BACK

Nick Chubb: 88.6

Had the team’s highest offensive grade, and the top running grade (90.3) in the NFL. Was second in the league with 66 avoided tackles.

Kareem Hunt: 76.8

Had 34 total avoided tackles and the top receiving grade (83.5) on the team.

D’Ernest Johnson: 56.6

Had four carries and six catches in 43 offensive snaps.

Dontrell Hilliard: 54.3

Had 12 catches, 13 carries and two touchdowns.


OFFENSIVE LINE

Joel Bitonio: 74.2

Had the team’s top pass-blocking grade (86.0) and second-best run blocking grade (65.0).

JC Tretter: 72.0

Was second in pass blocking (85.5) and third in run blocking (64.3).

Kendall Lamm: 69.2

Allowed two QB pressures in 43 pass-blocking snaps over three games.

Greg Robinson: 66.9

Gave up 26 QB pressures (four sacks) and had a team-high 11 penalties.

Wyatt Teller: 56.7

Gave up 16 QB pressures in 11 games and had a run-blocking grade of 48.2.

Justin McCray: 50.9

Had the top run-blocking grade among the linemen (65.0) and the lowest pass-blocking grade (41.7).

Chris Hubbard: 50.6

Gave up a team-high 38 QB pressures and six sacks, and had eight penalties.

Eric Kush: 45.4

Gave up 19 QB pressures in seven games and had a run-blocking grade of 46.8.


TIGHT END

Stephen Carlson: 60.9

Caught six passes over five games and had a 52.2 run-blocking grade.

Ricky Seals-Jones: 57.1

Caught 14 passes (four TDs) and had a run-blocking grade of 45.8.

Pharaoh Brown: 54.7

Played in eight games and had a run-blocking grade of 61.3.

David Njoku: 50.2

Played in four games and had five catches.

Demetrius Harris: 45.0

Led the tight ends with 15 catches, and gave up five QB pressures as a pass blocking, with five penalties.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/12...019-season.html

Justin McCray to RG seems sensible.

--Chubb and Hunt leading us to being ranked first overall despite the OL being ranked 27th in run blocking.

I think that Higgins and Njoku had low grades because they hardly played.

[quote]
Nick Chubb: 88.6

Had the team’s highest offensive grade, and the top running grade (90.3) in the NFL. Was second in the league with 66 avoided tackles.

That tight end group is ugly.

As best as I can tell:

2018 PFF grade for Njoku was 66.3 and Higgins' grade was 68.2.

Our OL sucked in run blocking. It was amazing when we tried to run down at the opposing goal line, and saw play after play after play just blown up, and our high end RBs being buried in the backfield.

I think that Higgins and Njoku had low grades because they hardly played.

Our OL sucked in run blocking. It was amazing when we tried to run down at the opposing goal line, and saw play after play after play just blown up, and our high end RBs being buried in the backfield.

.....just a mess, very hard to gauge where this unit actually is.

[quote=Versatile Dog]3 of those avoided tackles, or was it 4, were on what may have been his best play of the year. It was his 1st of 3 TDs against the Ravens in game #4. Everyone remembers the 88-yd run where he kicked in the afterburners. But that play were he left 4 prone Ravens in his wake was my favorite.

Nick Chubb pops in our 2020 fantasy football projections release

By Jeff Ratcliffe
Apr 1, 2020

Entering last season, the Cleveland Browns were one of the “it” teams in fantasy football. The excitement of Baker Mayfield’s impressive rookie season, along with the offseason addition of Odell Beckham Jr., gave the Browns mouthwatering fantasy appeal. But things didn’t quite work out in 2019. The good news is that Freddie Kitchens is out and new head coach Kevin Stefanski should breath some new life into Cleveland’s offense. Let’s take a look at what the first batch of 2020 fantasy football projections have to say about the Cleveland offense.

The fantasy hype machine pushed Mayfield’s ADP through the roof last season, with him ultimately settling in as the No. 4 signal caller off the board in the late-fifth round. He ended up finishing 19th in what was a colossal bust of a season for essentially any Browns player not named Nick Chubb. But there’s a new dawn on the horizon with Stefanski at the helm.

The regime change should help the overall state of the Cleveland offense, but our projections aren’t especially optimistic for a dramatic rebound. Mayfield’s numbers come in very similarly to last year’s totals and position him 20th at the position. This is one instance where our fantasy football projections and fantasy football rankings are very much aligned, as Mayfield is 18th in our rankings. Given the data, it’s likely Mayfield is going just a tick too early at his current ADP of QB15.

Like Mayfield, Beckham provided a negative return on investment last season. The veteran wideout finished a disappointing 25th among wide receivers in fantasy scoring after being drafted as the No. 6 player at the position. While our numbers do suggest improvement for Beckham’s stock this season, he still only comes in as a front-end WR2. Of course, we should note that projections present the midpoint of a wide range of outcomes. Given Beckham’s proven high ceiling, there is some merit to drafting him ahead of this spot. His current ADP in the early third-round is a more than appropriate place to look to get shares of him.

We may have exaggerated things a bit by saying last year was a bust for everyone except Chubb, because Jarvis Landry did manage yet another solid season of production with 83 catches for 1,174 yards and six scores. He actually finished the year as WR12 in PPR scoring. While our numbers aren’t as favorable for him in 2020, it’s important to remember what we get with Landry for fantasy purposes. His ceiling is nowhere near as high as Beckham’s, but his floor is significantly higher. Landry has at least 80 catches in all six of his NFL seasons, but he’s also never topped double-digit scores. Essentially he’s a high-floor, low-ceiling WR2 who should continue provide safe fantasy production.

There is one additional mouth to feed in the passing game, as the Browns signed Austin Hooper in free agency. Hooper has topped 70 catches in each of the last two seasons, but he’s going from an Atlanta offense that we have projected second in passing attempts (617) to Cleveland, which we have ninth in passing attempts (571). While that isn’t necessarily a dramatic drop off, it is a little less meat on the bone. That, plus having to compete with Landry, Beckham and David Njoku for target shares, depresses Hooper’s value. He’s looking like more of a fringe-TE1 option.

The aforementioned Chubb has been one of the most productive running backs in the league over the last two seasons with a hearty 5.1 yards per carry and 16 rushing scores during that span. The projections like Chubb to continue those ways with an average of 5.0 yards per carry and nine rushing scores. Only Derrick Henry projects out with more rushing yards on the season.

Of course, the challenge with Chubb in PPR or half-PPR formats is his involvement in the passing game. It’s yet to be determined if Kareem Hunt will be suspended for the January incident when he was pulled over and found to have marijuana in the car, but our current numbers have him in for the full season. As we saw last year, Hunt projects to be heavily involved in the passing game, which leaves Chubb to average just 1.8 catches per game. Still, Chubb’s prowess in the run game positions him well for RB1 production. Hunt slides in as a risk/reward RB3.


https://www.pff.com/news/fantasy-footbal...ections-release

They and their skill sets were neglected. Amazed me how good our backs were despite some of the offense we saw, or lack thereof. The TE stats and the tackles' explain a lot. We (FK!) did not learn from our mistakes.

Curious as to whether some of these stats might have ended stronger with an experienced OC and game planner(s).