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Off-season report card: Cleveland Browns

by Chris Burke Posted: Thu Jun. 4, 2015

With the majority of the NFL's transaction action behind us, Chris Burke and Doug Farrar hand out grades for each team's off-season.

Chief among the Browns' goals this off-season were 1) figuring out their quarterback situation, 2) adding a few playmakers on offense and 3) stiffening up a defense that finished dead last against the run in 2014.

Go ahead and check off No. 3 for the time being. Cleveland picked up wholly underrated defensive tackle Randy Starks early in free agency, then further addressed their porous front by drafting 339-pound behemoth Danny Shelton. Those are two big steps in the right direction.

• SI.com's NFL off-season report cards | KING: Off-season Power Rankings

As for the whole issue of becoming more dangerous on offense, well ... the Browns tried. Leading the charge was a two-year, $12.5 million deal for wide receiver Dwayne Bowe—a potential bargain if Bowe's lack of production over the last three seasons (including a scoreless 2014) turn out to be Alex Smith-induced. Odds are, some combination of the Chiefs' overall issues in the passing game and Bowe's declining skills led to the letdown.

Cleveland is still going to ask Bowe to be its No. 1 threat, with fellow new arrival Brian Hartline handling the gig opposite him as Andrew Hawkins mans the slot. Is that enough to anchor the passing game?

“It doesn't matter if they're No. 1 or No. 2 as long as everyone is contributing,” said Bowe after signing his deal. “They just want to win. That's something the organization definitely needs now is winning, and they're putting in the right pieces to make that happen.”

The wide receivers' success, obviously, relies on what Cleveland can piece together at quarterback. Johnny Manziel attended the club's recent OTAs following a rehab stint, but veteran Josh McCown is penciled in as the starter coming off a horrendous 2014 stint with the Bucs. Neither option is all that appealing three months away from the season opener.

The Browns' most high-profile pickup came back in mid-March when they signed ex-Packers cornerback Tramon Williams for $21 million over three years. Williams's age (32) did not keep Cleveland from throwing cash his way, and he and Joe Haden together could be problematic for opposing offenses. That pairing relieves any pressure on Justin Gilbert to take a massive leap in his second year.

It has been a long, uphill climb for Cleveland, which has not finished above .500 since 2007 and has not reached the postseason since 2002. While the tweaks ought to be helpful, the finished product is still a while away.

GRADE: B–

Best acquisition: Danny Shelton, DT

The Browns surrendered 141.6 rushing yards per game last season, allowing 12 of their 16 opponents to top the century mark on the ground (and three teams to go for 200-plus yards). They were mentioned as a possible landing spot for coveted free agent Ndamukong Suh, if for no other reason than that he seemed the quickest way back to respectability along the line.

Instead, Cleveland scored Starks and Shelton, two likely starters for far less than the price of one Suh. Shelton is powerful enough to handle run-stuffing duties, but GM Ray Farmer recently said the hulking Washington product might be a three-down guy.

“He’s gone against elite competition and played well,” coach Mike Pettine told the team's website. “I think he’s an example of you believe the tape more than you believe the stopwatch or tape measure.”

Facing an AFC North slate in which Le'Veon Bell, a Jeremy Hill/Gio Bernard tandem and the resurgent Justin Forsett are all capable of dominating between the tackles, the Browns had to fortify themselves at the point of attack. After Ahtyba Rubin left for Seattle following a disappointing, injury-plagued year, none of the remaining interior options stood out as obvious upgrades.

Shelton is, or at least he should be.

Biggest loss: Jordan Cameron, TE

Cameron caught all of 24 balls in 2014 and missed more than a quarter of the season because of a concussion. So the Browns may not feel his absence as badly in 2015 as they did last season, when they were counting on Cameron as a go-to weapon.

Nevertheless, a healthy Cameron would have been right there with Bowe—and probably a step ahead of him—as the team's toughest coverage assignment had he opted to re-sign. The Browns are counting on Rob Housler to step into Cameron's vacated role. Housler spent last year as an afterthought in Arizona, finishing with just nine receptions.

Even in a perfect world, Housler will be hard-pressed to challenge the 80 catches, 917 yards and seven touchdowns Cameron delivered back in 2013. Until Housler proves himself a bit as a pass catcher, defenses will not adjust to his presence on the field the way they did when Cameron was cooking.

Underrated draft pick: Ibraheim Campbell, S, Northwestern (round 4, pick No. 115)

Amid all the discussion of this draft's thin safety class, players like Campbell slipped under the radar. He was a 45-game, four-year starter at Northwestern and has the skills to be a versatile contributor at the next level.

There may not be a ton of playing time available for Campbell early, what with Tashaun Gipson and Donte Whitner locked into the starting lineup. But Campbell can drop down and cover running backs or tight ends, so the Browns could have space for him on passing downs. At worst, he'll be a missile on special teams with the potential to develop into far more.

The Browns also used a late pick on Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, once a projected first-round talent who shredded his knee just before the Rose Bowl. Should he ever regain his pre-injury form, that selection could go down as one of the bigger steals in franchise history.

Looming question for training camp: How will offensive coordinator John DeFilipo share the wealth in the backfield?

En route to a surprising 7–4 start, Cleveland discovered part of its future at running back. Third-round pick Terrance West and undrafted signee Isaiah Crowell combined for 1,280 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns to send anticipated starter Ben Tate to the sidelines. They'll be joined this year by another third-round selection, Duke Johnson.

Already, Johnson has opened some eyes.

“There was one of the runs in the team period that unless we were playing flag football that would have been a 40- or 50-yard chunk,” coach Mike Pettine said after a recent OTA practice, via Ohio.com. “He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s probably a typical rookie where he is right now. I think we’ve all seen what he can bring—the explosiveness and how we can turn a handoff or a short pass into a significant gain with a back like that.”

How many touches will be available for Johnson, and at whose expense? Of the Browns' combined 751 rushing attempts and receptions last season, 339 came via either West or Crowell—a 45% usage rate. The offense ran the ball 477 times overall, sixth most in the league, so that number does not figure to climb much, if at all.

Johnson's best shot at early playing time should come through the passing game. He caught 38 passes last season at Miami, averaging 11.1 yards per catch; West and Crowell combined for 20 grabs, and West finished at a measly 5.8 yards per catch.

DeFilipo and Pettine could go to a revolving door for carries. That's more or less how Cleveland played it last season: Crowell had nine games with double-digit rushing attempts to West's eight.

The good news for the Browns is they have talent to spare. Now they just have to get everyone on the field.

Link

Good read. Thanks for posting.

Defensive Line and Offensive line A+++++++++++++
Rest of team F-

Hey "Text"! There are other positions besides DL and OL~!
And, it would have been nice if you had gotten us a QB or an actual WR!

Who should he have gotten?

pee wee herman? would be a improvement over mCcown lmao.

As this promising thread tumbles downhill into the realm of absurbity...

I do hope that Duke gets a lot of reps this preseason. He's beginning to wear on me. Little early to start saying he'll take someone's job, like West or Crow's, but heck the opportunity to the thought is beginning to warm up.

He could be the final answer as returner too if Travis still cannot demonstrate will/production/hope. All to be seen. I liked the article.

Bro you don't think our secondary is atleast a B?

guess it depends on how pissed gipson is and if a 32 year old CB will be re-energized coming off a season in which he allowed 10 touchdown passes, according to ProFootballFocus.com, and saw opposing quarterbacks record a 106.5 passer rating against him. right?

Alas, the ignore does not work for quotes.

Don't accept the bait, it only encourages the negativity around here.

Your ignored. That's all that really matters.
I actually peeked...LOL......

Pretty fair assessment just some points.
Cameron: Nevertheless, a healthy Cameron would have been right there with Bowe

but that there was exactly the problem, Cameron's health - lets see where the new guy fits. He's been in an offense that doesn't utilize their TEs - I'm curious hopefully he has decent hands. I am positive in his sleep he can exceed the production of Cameron last season.
McCown, will he be competent or a bum?
Sometimes things are simple.
jmho

"a potential bargain if Bowe's lack of production over the last three seasons (including a scoreless 2014) turn out to be Alex Smith-induced."

I feel about Cameron the same as I feel about Bradford,they are an upgrade at their positions for us but what good is it if they are always hurt? With our luck it would happen.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Ill take less upfront to get more later any day of the week.

and yet he threw 18 tds. couldnt be the recievers holding him back right?

it would have been nice if you had gotten us a QB or an actual WR!

From what we all read, Farmer tried to trade for Sam Bradford and Marcus Mariota. Said trades just didn't work out. I'm not sure who else he could have realistically acquired for us? I certainly feel the frustration as I'm no McCown fan either, I'm just not sure what was a realistic option for this team. We offered a 1st round pick for Bradford, and we offered two 1st round picks for Marcus Mariota. At least SOME attempt was made at fixing the situation.

As for WR, I agree with you. I REALLY wanted Jaelen Strong in the 2nd or 3rd round of the draft, or even Maxx Williams. I do think that Dwayne Bowe, Brian Hartline and Andrew Hawkins can be a solid trio if the running game is working, but with only Taylor Gabriel as our quality depth, things could get ugly in a hurry if we have an injury early on.

Swapped Brian Hoyer for Josh McCown - In my own personal opinion this has potential to be a lateral move if our running game is working and the defense is generating stops, turnovers and more opportunities for the offense. I certainly understand this being a HUGE question mark though for fans and media writers.

Swapped Josh Gordon for Dwayne Bowe - Due to the suspension obviously. In terms of talent, this is a big down grade because Bowe is on the back slide of his career. Bowe might be a better locker room presence though. Overall, this move is a downgrade.

Swapped Miles Austin for Brian Hartline - Upgrade. Hartline is younger and doesn't have all the injury history as baggage. Hartline also posted two 1,000 yard seasons in Miami, something a lot of people forget. This move is an upgrade.

Swapped Jordan Cameron for Rob Housler - Cameron spent a bunch of time injured last year, and honestly the only game he really made a big impact in was the second Pittsburgh game. While I don't think Housler will match his 2013 production, I think this CAN be a lateral move. Our bread and butter is going to be in the running game anyway.

Added Cameron Erving & Duke Johnson. Great move for depth and competition.

Swapped Ahtyba Rubin for Randy Starks & Danny Shelton - Major upgrade.

Swapped Buster Skrine for Tramon Williams - Possibly a lateral move. Skrine was scrappy and aggressive but man was he a penalty machine. Williams is getting older, but we also have K'Waun Williams, Justin Gilbert, Peirre Desir (spelling?) and that kid from Oregon we just drafted.

Added Nate Orchard & Xavier Cooper.

Plus we're getting John Hughes, Phil Taylor and Armonty Bryant back healthy.

I understand the B- rating, but I DO think this team looks MUCH better on paper going into 2015 as opposed to 2014.

It's just a question of whether or not we can get SOMEBODY to play quarterback.

So I certainly understand the B- rating.

I'd agree with the B or B- rating. We made some decent moves but the pickup of McCown still disturbs me. While he's doing and saying all the right things right now, I'm still dreading watching him play.

Not taking a WR til round 4 was a questionable move. While I like Irving, that spot would have been better suited to go receiver. (Agholor or Perriman)

Free agency was typical browns...sensible pickups and no real 5-star signing.

If we're able to get good QB play this year, we have a shot at playoffs. If not, we're a 5 or 6 win team.

It was mainly due to the fact that KC ran a 2 TE offense last year and a lot of the time only had 1 WR in the game. They also seriously lacked WR talent as Bowe was by far their best WR, these are the guys who started opposite Bowe: Donnie Avery (who missed much of the season), Frankie Hammond, Junior Hemingway, Albert Wilson, AJ Jenkins, and De'Anthony Thomas.

hey dawg66. eo thinks you need to get a little common sense!!!!

yea i thought it was well documented during the season that in the red zone, Alex Smith was damn near exclusively targeting TE's and RB's, and he's never had a consistent deep ball either.

Not to mention he's a timid creature. Watching him play is like watching Carson Palmer play after his torn ACL on steroids.

"Come on PB get a little common sense on that one"

now that was insulting. i thought dawg66 did pretty well eplaining how when you have poor WRs you have to change the game plan to get the most out of what you can.

now if you cannot figure out that simple fact......

Nice to get a decent draft grade for once. Usually I see the posters here handout A's & B's on past drafts while the press gave us low scores.

Seems to have flipped about here this year, interesting.

I checked Pro-Football-reference.com and Bowe was only thrown to for 8 plays in the red zone all season long, he was targeted 8 times and caught 5 of them. With Chase Daniels at QB he caught 2 of 2 and with Alex Smith at QB he caught 3 out the 6 passes intended for him and one of those 6 was batted down at the line by Terrance Knighton.

Alex Smith attempted 57 red zone passes all season and only targeted the WRs on 19 of those passes and some of those targets were to De'Anthony Thomas who at times lined up at WR and other times at RB.

Inside the 10 Smith attempted 24 passes and the WRs were only target 7 times.

I see this as an upgrade because I do not think Josh Gordon plays another down in the NFL. How long into this full year away from the game will it take for him to screw up again? If he already failed a test I would not be surprised.

If Bowe catches one pass, this is an upgrade. If Bowe disappears from the face of the Earth today, it is a lateral move.

thanks for the info.

Yes, thank you x2.

Like it or not, but Bowe is likely our best end zone threat at WR because with the condensed field, you need size and jump ability and I think Bowe still obviously has all those traits. He's always done well contending for jump balls.

Bowe caught 5 TDs the year before so I don't think the lack of TDs last year is a reflection on him, I think it was just the Chiefs playing up to their strengths in RB Jamal Charles, FB Anthony Sherman, and their TEs in Anthony Fasano (a great blocker) and Travis Kelce (who missed most of his rookie year due to injury) and the fact that that Smith isn't a strong down field thrower plus other then Bowe they didn't really have anyone at WR.

one would think in the red zone smiths arm wold not matter as much and if bowe was their best WR that would increase his targets in the red zone? just asking????

I can dig that response and point of view.

Well said.

j/c:

I posted this in another thread, but it fits better here:

Typical Versatile Dog he has to SPAM HATE...

That's completely unnecessary, Vambo.

Hopefully, a change of scenery and getting used to the defenseless receiver rules fix Bowe's middle of the field issues.