For the second time in the three seasons so far under head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Cleveland Browns missed the NFL playoffs in 2022. They took a step back from an 8-9 finish in 2021 to 7-10 the year after. Whether Stefanski is on the hot seat or not, here are some of the areas where the Browns need to make major fixes to make louder noises in 2023.
3. That defense
Parting ways with Joe Woods and hiring Jim Schwartz are steps in the right direction for the Browns’ defense but there’s a long way to go before Cleveland becomes a force on that end of the field again. The good news for the Browns is that they were able to find a replacement for Woods early, giving Schwartz a long offseason to acclimate with his new team and lay the foundation of the system he will install. The Browns' defense has an explosive talent in Myles Garrett, whose patience with Cleveland's progress is getting tested more and more after every season.
Garrett still has a few years at least of being in prime form, but the Browns can't just afford to watch him do all by himself. Cleveland's defense surrendered 22.4 points per game in 2022, just good enough for 19th place overall in the league. The Browns consistently allowed opponents to clear third downs and convert on chances in the red zone. They were 18th in the NFL with a 39.53 percent success rate against third downs and 23rd in red-zone touchdowns given up. These are just some of the issues Schwartz is challenged to fix. The defensive interior needs to get addressed sooner than by the Browns. Not one player in that group got an overall grade on Pro Football Focus higher than 62.0, with three grading 41.6 or worse.
With Jadeveon Clowney unlikely to return, the Browns might be able to create a bigger financial leg space to find better talent in free agency to plug into their defensive line. The secondary also deserves plenty of attention since that was was largely responsible for a letdown pass defense in 2022. Although the Browns were fifth in the NFL with 196.2 passing yards allowed per game, it's also because opposing teams ran more against them. In any case, Cleveland's pass defense in the 2022 NFL season was ranked only 16th by Football Outsiders in terms of Pass DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average).
2. Fortify the offensive line
According to Spotrac, the Browns are top-10 in the league in offensive line spending. However, that investment did not return big dividends in the 2022 NFL season mainly because Cleveland struggled to protect its quarterbacks. The run game was great, as the Browns averaged 146.4 yards on the ground per game and 4.7 yards per rushing attempt. Per Pro Football Focus, the Browns were excellent in creating enough space for their running backs to squeeze out extra yardage, as evidenced by the fact that the team was No. 1 in Second Level Yards (1.45).
When it comes to run blocking, the Browns looked fine most of the time. It's a different story when they're trying to avoid their quarterback getting thrown to the ground. The Browns were 24th with an offensive sack rate of 7.53 percent. Cleveland did not pass the ball a lot, relatively speaking, but still allowed 44 sacks in 2022. Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller are anchors of the Browns' offensive line, though, the latter's pass blocking in 2022 left much to be desired.
Chris Hubbard is about to become a free agent, and perhaps the Browns can just let him go, even though his experience can be a valuable asset in the locker room for Cleveland. If the Browns want to improve their pass protection, they probably need to have Ethan Pocic back. After all, he was ranked in 2022 third in the league among centers by Pro Football Focus.
1. Find ways to unlock the real Deshaun Watson
Speaking of investments, the Browns have to start reaping the benefits of having a talented quarterback in Deshaun Watson. The Deshaun Watson everyone saw play in the 2022 NFL season was not even remotely close to the version football fans used to admire when he was still blowing opposing defenses out of the water.
Whether Watson's underperformance in his first season with the Browns was because of rust due to his being away from football for a long time, or the offensive line, or the lack of depth in his downfield weaponry, the Browns have to find ways to unlock the top form of the dual-threat quarterback.
In six starts with the Browns in 2022, Watson passed for 1,102 yards with seven touchdowns to go with five interceptions, while completing just 58.2 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 175 yards on 36 attempts for a solid 4.9 yards per carry.
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