Browns offensive takeaways for 2023: Ashley Bastock

admin | January 19, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

In light of an assistant coach shakeup, let’s take a look at the Browns offense in 2023.

Cleveland fired three key offensive assistants on Wednesday, including offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Alex Van Pelt, running back coach Stump Mitchell, and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney.

The moves come following Cleveland’s injury-plagued season, which saw the Browns finish in the middle of the pack in important categories: 16th overall on offense, 12th in running and 19th in throwing. Ideally, this type of shakeup will have the same impact as Cleveland’s defensive shakeup last year, propelling the Browns closer to the top of these rankings in 2024.

Of course, many variables contributed to the Browns offense’s troubles and successes this season, including injuries, role players rising up, and the deployment of four different quarterbacks.

Here are some major offensive takeaways from this season:

1. Everything is about Deshaun Watson

Joe Flacco was this season’s feel-good story in the NFL, and the Browns eventually won games with four different starting quarterbacks: However, Deshaun Watson remains the center of attention in Cleveland.

Watson’s final game was Week 10, his best win of the season, a 33-31 victory over the Ravens in Baltimore. Watson then underwent season-ending surgery for a fractured glenoid bone in his right throwing shoulder.

The Browns are entering the third year of his unprecedented, guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract, and everything, even those assistant moves, in my perspective, points to maximizing this offense with Watson as the starter.

The second half of the Baltimore game provided a peek of what it should have looked like. With a fracture in his shoulder and a high-ankle sprain, Watson went 14 for 14 for 134 yards and one touchdown throw for a 130.4 second-half rating, scoring 24 points in the second half.

However, due to his 11-game suspension in 2022 and subsequent injury in 2023, that is the only peek we’ve seen of the Watson offense at its peak.

However, the NFL is all about adaptation. And by changing assistant coaches, the Browns will be able to bring in new viewpoints and ideas in order to optimize Watson’s output in the future.

2. The Browns need more help at receiver

For me, this was the season’s plot. Yes, Amari Cooper was excellent, finishing with 1,250 yards on 72 catches and five touchdowns. David Njoku also had a stellar season, totaling 882 yards, 81 receptions, and six touchdowns.

However, no one else had a regular and significant impact on the passing game. For the majority of the preseason and regular season, the Browns were a receiver short, and in order to maximize Watson’s abilities, he will need to be surrounded by as many reliable weapons as possible.
In the offseason, I believe the Browns should be as proactive as they were in obtaining Cooper two years ago–and given how Andrew Berry operates, a trade for another high-profile pass catcher outside of free agency would not surprise me.

I would argue that it is the most essential move the team can make this offseason.

3. The tackle situation will be interesting to watch all offseason

The Browns cycled through five starting tackles this season after Jack Conklin, Jedrick Wills Jr., and Dawand Jones suffered season-ending knee injuries.

The question for me is, what will Cleveland do with three healthy starting tackles?

Because it is indisputable that Jones, an Ohio State rookie, had a breakout season. According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked 25th among qualified tackles with a 73.0 pass blocking grade. He allowed only three sacks and 12 pressures in 11 games before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Conklin, a former All-Pro, will start the second year of his four-year contract extension with the Browns, which he signed in 2022. Wills, this regime’s first first-round draft pick, saw his fifth-year option picked up by the Browns this year. According to Spotrac, his base salary will be $14.175 million in 2024.

But again, if all three are healthy, who do you choose to sit or start? Would Wills be a trade candidate if the Browns decide to go with Jones as their future left tackle?

It will be interesting to see how the position group develops in the next months.

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