Dawg Pound: Cleveland Browns Season Preview

The Browns, coming off of one of their best seasons in the 21st century, are one of the AFC’s most polarizing teams. With a suffocating defense, all eyes will be on Deshaun Watson.

Heading into 2024, the Cleveland Browns have a clear identity. They want to win with a ferocious defense that plays physical, complemented by an offense that gets the ball to guys in space and lets them use their speed. With the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the Browns look to have another elite year on that side of the ball.

The 2023 Browns defense ranked 1st in EPA/play and 2nd in DVOA, being led by the aforementioned DPOY, Myles Garrett. Garrett swarmed opposing QBs off the edge with Zadarius Smith opposite him. In the secondary is Denzel Ward, along with Greg Newsome and Martin Emerson. The Linebacker core is reinforced by Jordan Hicks and Devin Bush joining one of the NFL’s premier young LBs in Jeremiah Owusu-Karamoah. All signs point to the unit being dominant once again, even in a tough division with plenty of offensive firepower.

download 1 — CLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 19: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns is introduced before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

On offense, the questions lie almost exclusively with Deshaun Watson. If he can return to form and be the Watson we saw in 2019 and 2020, the Browns are contenders. If it’s the Watson we’ve seen since, injury-prone and inconsistent, then the future is unclear. Last season, Cleveland won 11 games with a QB carousel of Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, PJ Walker and Joe Flacco.

In terms of weapons, the Browns have a fairly solid group. With the ever consistent Amari Cooper at Wide Receiver, the Browns added Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos. They hope to unlock the potential that he flashed as a Biletnikoff winner at Alabama. At Tight End is David Njoku, who came on strong with Flacco in the tail end of 2023, and is one of the fastest TEs in the league. Out of the backfield is Nick Chubb, coming off of an ACL tear in Week One against Pittsburgh. The Offensive Line ranked 4th in Pass Block Win Rate and looks to give Watson plenty of time to find his array of weapons in 2024.

At the end of the day, Cleveland is still a fairly young team with vets like Cooper and Watson mixed in. Even Garrett is still 28 years old entering year 8. The Browns have a lot of money tied into their signal caller, and pray that he can become the guy they paid for. If he can, you very well may see the Browns playing deep into January.

Schedule

The Browns play 8 games against 2023 playoff teams, including 4 against division rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore. 5 of these come at home, including a Week 15 matchup against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.

@ Cowboys- L

@ Jaguars- W

Vs Giants- W

@ Raiders- W

@ Commanders- W

@ Eagles- L

Vs Bengals- W

Vs Ravens- L

Vs Chargers- W

@ Saints- W

Vs Steelers- W

Vs Chiefs- L

@ Bengals- L

Vs Dolphins- L

@ Ravens- L

Final Record: 9-8 (3rd in AFC North)

Key Additions:

WR Jerry Jeudy, QB Jameis Winston, LB Jordan Hicks, DT Mike Hall Jr

2023 Metrics

Offense

28th DVOA

28th PFF Grade

28th EPA/Play

10th Points

29th Passing EPA

19th Rushing EPA

4th Pass Block Win Rate

26th Run Block Win Rate

Defense

2nd DVOA

6th PFF Grade

1st EPA/Play

13th Points

1st Passing EPA

12th Rushing EPA

2nd Pass Rush Win Rate

1st Run Stop Win Rate

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