2024 NFL Offseason Primer: Cleveland Browns

Logan Ulrich

February 27, 2024

Cleveland Browns

Projected Cap Space: -$8.9 million

Draft Picks: 7

2nd (No. 54)
3rd (No. 85)
5th (No. 135)
5th (No. 155, PHI)
6th (No. 205, HOU)
6th (No. 208, BAL)
7th (No. 228, ATL)

Notable Free Agents:

Top Three Needs

1 – Defensive Tackle

There weren’t many hires more impactful last season than Cleveland landing Jim Schwartz to coordinate the defense. The Browns finished as the No. 1 total defense in 2023 and Schwartz was named assistant coach of the year by the Associated Press. It was a perfect blend of scheme and talent, as a unit that underperformed in prior seasons finally had a coach who could put the individual talents on defense in a better position to succeed.

What would help take the Browns’ defense to another level, or at least sustain their performance again in 2024, is a true pass-rushing force at defensive tackle. Some of Schwartz’s best defenses in the past have featured a game-wrecker at defensive tackle who can collapse the pocket from the interior and flush the quarterback to the edge rushers. The Browns need to find their own version of Albert Haynesworth, Ndamukong Suh, Marcell Dareus or Fletcher Cox.

Cleveland has an outstanding nose tackle in Dalvin Tomlinson, who remains under contract. They got enough production from the rest of the room but there are several pending free agents to replace. Some of them could come back in rotational roles, but the Browns should be on the lookout to try and add an impact player here.

2 – Tackle

The Browns cleaned up at the NFL awards show, with DE Myles Garrett taking home Defensive Player of the Year, QB Joe Flacco winning Comeback Player of the Year and HC Kevin Stefanski earning Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career. Voters were impressed with how Stefanski and Flacco weathered a storm of injuries on offense. Flacco came off the couch midseason to steady the Browns to a playoff run, and Stefanski coached around having to turn to his fourth options at both quarterback and offensive tackle.

Unfortunately those issues at tackle could linger a little longer. Starting RT Jack Conklin tore his ACL in Week 1, his second major knee injury in the past three seasons. His replacement, 2023 fourth-rounder Dawand Jones, tore his MCL in December. The mammoth-sized Jones looked like a steal for the Browns, but it’s worth watching how well he recovers, as the rehab process can be extra tricky for players above a certain size. Jones is listed at 6-8 and 374 pounds. Starting LT Jedrick Wills tore his MCL and missed half the season, too, and he’s entering the final year of his contract without having cemented himself as worthy of a new deal.

With how well-reviewed this upcoming class of tackles is, the Browns could look to spend significant draft capital on a guy who could provide insurance for either side in case someone doesn’t recover fast enough or perform at an adequate level. It also fills a need down the road if Wills and Conklin aren’t in Cleveland’s long-term plans.

3 – Linebacker

Receiver is a popular need listed for the Browns, but as GM Andrew Berry pointed out, they already have two Pro Bowl pass catchers in WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku. They’ve also spent significant draft capital on the position the past few years, adding Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman and David Bell with Day 2 picks. Maybe the pattern continues, but my hunch is the switch at offensive coordinator from Alex Van Pelt to Ken Dorsey was done in part to help better maximize the pieces already on the roster.

That leaves linebacker and running back as the other two pressing needs to consider, and running back isn’t as big a need if they work out a pay cut with RB Nick Chubb like I expect them to. They can add an early Day 3 back to round out the room with Jerome Ford while Chubb recovers.

Linebacker will need a little more work with all the pending free agents in the room. The Browns return LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah but Walker, Takitaki and Phillips are all set for free agency. The bright side is none of them should be particularly hard to re-sign.

One Big Question

Is this just who Deshaun Watson is now?

For better or worse, the Browns are committed to Watson at quarterback thanks to the fully guaranteed contract they gave him as a part of the trade with the Texans. Through two years, it’s mostly been for worse. Watson has been limited to six games in each of the past two seasons. In 2022, he missed 11 games while suspended for sexual harassment. In 2023, he missed 11 games due to various injuries, including finally an injury to his throwing shoulder. In the six games he’s played each season, he’s looked like a shell of the quarterback the Browns thought they were getting.

It’s been so long since we’ve seen it that it might be worth a reminder of how good Watson was at his peak. He made three straight Pro Bowls from 2018-2020 and led the NFL in passing yards in 2020. He had two double-digit win seasons before the collapse of the Bill O’Brien Texans in 2020. At one point, Watson looked like the top rival for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes in the AFC.

That player might be gone forever. After playing at a top-ten level his first four seasons, Watson has been a bottom-ten quarterback the past two seasons. What it seems like he needs more than anything are reps to rediscover his groove but he keeps getting knocked off the field, and that’s not necessarily something that will improve with age given his play style and injury history.

If the pattern continues in 2024, the Browns will be in a tough spot. Contractually they’re tied to Watson for three more season and the cap ramifications of his deal will likely be felt even longer. But another rocky year from Watson and the case for the team cutting its losses and moving on becomes strong. Maybe too strong to ignore.

There’s a lot on the line for both sides this coming season.