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Daniel Oyefusi
BEREA, Ohio — After a 2024 season during which the Cleveland Browns‘ offense ranked final in scoring and shuffled by 4 completely different beginning quarterbacks, the unit has been vastly reshaped prior to now a number of months.
Throughout that point, Cleveland fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and changed him with Tommy Rees, employed a brand new offensive line coach in Mike Bloomgren and used 5 of its seven draft picks on offense. And most notably, Cleveland added 4 new quarterbacks — Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders — to the place room this offseason.
The Browns’ new-look offense is starting to take form with the workforce beginning organized workforce actions this week, and Cleveland’s four-way quarterback competitors hovers over the complete unit with the beginning of the NFL season lower than 100 days away.
“It is Day 2 for us, so I feel all people understands the place they’re alleged to be and once they’re alleged to be there,” coach Kevin Stefanski mentioned after observe Wednesday. “There’s a little bit little bit of directing visitors if you’ve received two drills occurring at one time, however they’ve executed a very nice job. The gamers and coaches [are] ensuring that we’re practising in a protected approach. We’re getting attractiveness for our guys to be taught from on each side of the ball and never asking greater than we have to of the fellows bodily.”
Here is a take a look at the place every place group stands within the Browns’ offense.
Quarterback
Wednesday’s observe supplied the primary take a look at a attainable pecking order within the Browns’ quarterback competitors. In the course of the roughly 80-minute session, it was veterans Flacco and Pickett who break up the first-team reps in workforce drills. Gabriel and Sanders usually adopted the 2, conducting work with backups and third-stringers. In an try to maximise observe reps for every participant, the rookies at one level carried out 7-on-7 drills on a separate area from the veterans.
Flacco, who’s coming into his 18th NFL season, is probably the most skilled of the group. He additionally has familiarity with Stefanski’s offense after spending the latter portion of the 2023 season with the Browns and serving to make them the playoffs. However the Browns’ decision-makers have mentioned each quarterback added to the room shall be anticipated to compete, they usually assume extremely of every passer. Common supervisor Andrew Berry mentioned the workforce sought out Pickett, a 2020 first-round decide, as a commerce goal within the first wave of free company. In the course of the draft cycle, the workforce was impressed with Gabriel, which led to the Browns choosing him within the third spherical. And whereas Gabriel was already on board, Cleveland on Day 3 noticed the choice of Sanders within the fifth spherical as a attainable steal given his expertise.
After Wednesday’s observe, Stefanski once more downplayed the importance of the observe rep order and mentioned it will proceed to vary over the course of the offseason exercise program.
“We’re mixing it up each single day,” Stefanski mentioned. “In order that’s why I inform you to not learn a lot into it, although you guys do not take heed to me. However we’re simply attempting to get guys publicity to completely different ideas, these sorts of issues. So, it varies by walkthrough. It will possibly fluctuate by drill. It isn’t one thing that we’re actually — we’re not leaning into or anxious concerning the order at this second.”
Working again
With franchise nice Nick Chubb (6,843 speeding yards and 51 whole TDs over seven seasons) unlikely to return to Cleveland, the Browns’ backfield will look drastically completely different in 2025. Cleveland drafted a pair of operating backs in Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson whose contrasting types might kind a 1-2 punch for years to come back. Judkins was a bodily downhill runner who amassed 3,785 speeding yards and 44 TDs throughout his time at Ole Miss and Ohio State, whereas Sampson (1,491 speeding yards and 22 TDs in 2024) was extra of a big-play menace at Tennessee.
The 2 rookies be a part of Jerome Ford (565 yards and three TDs in 2024), who has stuffed in because the lead again over the previous two seasons whereas Chubb was sidelined to harm. With the Browns rating twenty ninth in speeding yards final season, there are many carries up for grabs in Cleveland’s backfield.
“I feel that is the blueprint of the league, the easiest way it really works with operating backs,” Sampson mentioned throughout rookie minicamp. “It is a lengthy season, so that you need as many individuals as you’ll be able to to go in there and break up reps and do good for the workforce. That retains all people recent. You see all of it throughout the league, and I feel we now have a possibility to try this right here.”
Large receiver
The Browns enter OTAs with an inexperienced huge receiver room, save for Jerry Jeudy, who broke out with a Professional Bowl marketing campaign in 2024 with a career-high 1,229 receiving yards whereas scoring 4 touchdowns. Elijah Moore, who ranked second on the workforce in catches final season (61), signed with the Buffalo Payments in April. Cleveland had signed huge receiver Diontae Johnson two days earlier than, however the veteran move catcher has not posted a 1,000-yard season since 2021, when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s additionally coming off a 12 months during which he frolicked with three completely different groups and was launched twice.
At his finest, Johnson is among the finest route runners within the NFL. Since coming into the league in 2019, Johnson ranks first in ESPN’s open rating, which assesses the probability {that a} receiver would be capable of full a catch if he had been focused. The Browns covet sturdy route runners and he might fill a much-needed void reverse Jeudy. Younger move catchers comparable to third-year participant Cedric Tillman and second-year wideout Jamari Thrash will obtain alternatives to carve out bigger roles, however the two have a mixed 53 profession catches. Johnson and Jeudy are the one huge receivers on the roster who’ve caught not less than 50 passes in a season.
“His route-running capability, his capability to separate, drop his weight out and in of routes, it is particular,” Pickett mentioned of Johnson, whom he performed with in Pittsburgh. “So, I am excited to get again on the market with him.”
Tight finish
Getting into his ninth season in Cleveland, David Njoku is trying to bounce again after accidents restricted him to 11 video games a 12 months after his lone Professional Bowl marketing campaign in 2023. The Browns might look to run extra two-tight-end units in 2025 and have the personnel to take action after drafting former Bowling Inexperienced standout Harold Fannin Jr. within the third spherical after main all FBS move catchers in receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555) in 2024.
Berry known as Fannin, the Mid-American Convention Offensive Participant of the Yr, the “queen on the chessboard” due to his capability to line up at a number of positions on the sphere.
“He is a extremely good ball-in-hand participant, can separate as a move catcher regardless of being a little bit bit undersized,” Berry mentioned. “He is actually a great motion type blocker, and he matches completely by way of what Kevin and Tommy wish to do philosophically on the offense.”
Offensive line
Regardless of on-field struggles and accidents that derailed the offensive line in 2024, the Browns opted in opposition to main modifications to the place group. Left guard Joel Bitonio introduced his return for his twelfth NFL season, and the workforce agreed with proper sort out Jack Conklin to a reworked contract that can maintain him in Cleveland for the 2025 season. Middle Ethan Pocic and proper guard Wyatt Teller additionally return for one more 12 months with the workforce, and former 2023 fourth-round decide Dawand Jones, who took over at left sort out earlier than a season-ending leg harm after which arthroscopic knee surgical procedure within the offseason, was again at observe Wednesday.
The Browns additionally added skilled depth in Cornelius Lucas and Teven Jenkins, who began seven and 14 video games final season, respectively.
After the 2024 season, a number of Browns offensive linemen advocated for a return to Stefanski’s operating scheme, which the workforce diverted from in an try to construct an offensive system round quarterback Deshaun Watson. With extra familiarity in Stefanski’s scheme and higher well being, the Browns’ hope is that they are going to get extra constant play from a unit that has been the anchor of the offense for a number of years.
