The Cleveland Browns have had a very busy offseason, adding the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Kareem Hunt, Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson to bolster both sides of the ball and vault themselves into Super Bowl talk.
Yes. The Browns. Those Browns.
And you know what? You can see why. They have a bright young star of a quarterback in Baker Mayfield, a dynamic receiving corps led by Beckham and Jarvis Landry and a terrific backfield headlined by Nick Chubb (and Hunt when he returns from his eight-game suspension).
But, of course, the game is not played on paper, and Cleveland certainly has a lot to prove before we can truly say that the Browns are Super Bowl contenders, especially in a deep AFC that includes the New England Patriots.
So, here are three X-factors for Cleveland heading into 2019.
3. Will Duke Johnson Stick Around?
When the Browns signed Hunt earlier this offseason, it looked like fellow running back Duke Johnson was on his way out, as he fell to third on the depth chart behind Chubb and Hunt.
But the thing is, Hunt will miss the first half of the season due to his suspension, meaning that Johnson should at least have a significant role for 50 percent of the season.
The question is, will he stick around?
Johnson has asked the Browns for a trade, but Cleveland is yet to cave in. The talk has died down recently, so perhaps Johnson is becoming more at peace with the idea of remaining with the Browns in 2019.
The 25-year-old is sort of like James White in that he is actually more of a receiver than he is a rusher, so I see no reason why he can't co-exist with both Chubb and Hunt.
2. David Njoku
We all talk about Beckham and Landry as Mayfield's top targets in the passing game, but we have neglected to mention third-year tight end David Njoku, who actually had a terrific sophomore year by hauling in 56 receptions for 639 yards and four touchdowns.
Now, with Beckham in the fold, Njoku's targets may take a dip, but he will likely still be a crucial part of the Browns' offense and and could actually being the straw that stirs the drink in the Browns' offense.
Just imagine how lethal Cleveland's aerial attack will be if Njoku is able to maintain—or possibly even improve upon—his level of play from 2018?
This kid has a chance to be one of the best tight ends in football, and he can take what is already a really good Browns offense and take it to a level that most other teams in the NFL will not be able to reach.
1. How Much Better will the Defense be?
Here is the biggest drawback for the Browns: they ranked 30th in the NFL in total defense and 21st in scoring defense this past season.
Now, to be fair, the Kansas City Chiefs did win 12 games and make it all the way to the AFC Championship Game in spite of being ranked 31st in the league in defense in 2018, but their defense ultimately betrayed them in that AFC Championship Game against the Patriots.
While the NFL is now an offensive league, defense is still paramount to winning Super Bowls, and while Cleveland has made some improvements on that side of the ball this offseason, there are still a lot of question marks.
If the Browns want to dethrone the Pats, they need to be significantly better defensively than they were in 2018.
This means that guys like Vernon and Richardson are going to need to be better than they were individually this past season.
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