As is often the case in sports, the areas of concern have taken front and center for the Cleveland Browns this offseason. The majority of the focus has been on the return to health of Deshaun Watson and Nick Chubb with Amari Cooper's sudden absence also grabbing headlines.
What gets lost in the noise is just how good the roster in Cleveland is right now.
General manager Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski have built a team with very few holes — which is why they were both extended recently. It's also why Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus believes they're one of five teams being overlooked.
McGuinness praised the Browns depth saying Cleveland "has everything in place" to make a run.
"Headlined by Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and an edge defender who has earned a 90.0-plus pass-rush grade in each of the past five seasons, the Browns' roster was good enough to make the playoffs with a 38-year-old Joe Flacco at quarterback down the stretch in 2023. If Deshaun Watson can even be a top-16 quarterback in the NFL in 2024, the Browns will make some noise." — Gordon McGuinness, PFF
The key points he makes in his assessment of the team revolve around their quarterback situation. While it's true Joe Flacco won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2023, he was also a 38-year-old who hadn't made an impact in the league in years. Fans upset at his departure seem to forget how much Stefanski has helped the quarterbacks he coached.
Jacoby Brissett, Baker Mayfield, and now Flacco have all taken their game to another level under Stefanski. While the coach should get some credit for this, it's also a testament to the roster around them. They don't always have to do the heavy lifting and in 2023 especially, we saw a game manager can win thanks to the team's dominant defense led by NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett.
McGuinness also says Watson playing at a "middle of the pack" level as a top-16 quarterback would be enough for them to make some noise. Again, he's spot on with this assessment.
Even in 2023 with Watson playing inconsistent football, the Browns won five of the six games he started. Looking ahead to this season, that should be the case again as they not only return all their key defenders but should also have Nick Chubb back, hopefully, sooner than originally expected.
The Browns are being overlooked right now, but it won't be that way for long.
