2022 Cleveland Browns Season Review (past NFL drafts review)

Well we are glad the 2022 NFL season is over. It's February, which means anyone alive reading this would understand the Browns are not playing another game until the new NFL season starts. This is the time of year where we watch other teams compete for a Super Bowl Title. Super Bowl 57 features the Chiefs (4 appearances) and Eagles (3 appearances). I have to ask, are the Browns closer to competing with these two teams? Or closer to having a top 10 pick in the NFL draft? The 2022 Cleveland Browns season review will explain how we got here, and expectation was once again not met of competing in the playoffs.

The new league year starts in March, and for the Browns to put themselves in position to compete against teams with Quarterbacks such as Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow etc, the Browns decided to let Baker Mayfield walk in Free Agency and trade for former Houston Texans Quarterback Deshaun Watson. We know almost a year later the effects of the trade had on the NFL. Unfortunately I can answer simply by saying that is the price it takes to acquire such a talent to come to Cleveland. Just as the Cavaliers did by trading for star Guard Donovan Mitchell. Fast forward through what seemed to be the longest offseason in franchise history, Watson's inevitable suspension of 4-6 games projection turned out to be 6 games as ruled by a 3rd party to handle these types on instances. Of course, Rodger Goodell still had the last say by extending the 6 games suspension to 11 games. We know now that the season is over, the 11 games suspension ended the 2022 Browns season before the season began. Watson still got 1st team reps in preseason, Coach Kevin Stefanski not taking preseason as serious as teams like the Chiefs (playing starters) and Eagles (joint practices), and Jacoby Brissett exceeding expectations as a bridge Quarterback ultimately lead to the Browns 7-10 season. By the time Watson was eligible to play, the Browns were conducting a passing camp for Watson, while opponents were still playing for playoffs spots. This raised many question towards the front office, because many of us believe coach Stefanski can lead the Browns to playoffs wins. However, the undesired word "analytics" is starting to grow fans impatient.

Matt and I discuss this topic often on the podcast. We shouldn't grade draft picks, coaches, or front office after one season. Browns GM Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski will enter their 4th season together, and "Chief Strategy Officer" Paul DePodesta entering his 8th season in the Browns front office. So reviewing the Browns 2022 NFL season will be a time to look back on offseason moves and draft picks by the current front office. Note, the Browns best players Nick Cubb, David Njoku, Kareem Hunt, Myles Garrett, Joel Bitonio were drafted prior to the current front office. Spoiler: Not one draft pick has made the pro bowl in the Berry/Stefanski era

2020 NFL Draft (better player available behind drafted)

Round 1 pick 10: Jedrick Wills OT (Tristan Wirfs)

-Wills career started with a lot of great potential as a top 10 pick, but has regressed the following 3 seasons on the team

-Wirfs came off a 1st team all-pro season who played for the B1G 10

Round 2 pick 44: Grant Delpit S (Antoine Winfield Jr)

-Delpit sidelined his entire rookie season with an achillies injury, but has emerged as a great run-stopper and finished tied for 3rd with 4 INTs in the NFL 2022 season. Has been a big contributor to the Browns defense, but also on the other end of blown coverages leaving WRs wide open. I trust new DC Jim Schwartz will have Delpit in good hands heading into the 2023 NFL Season.

-Winfield Jr all-rookie team and pro bowl appreance. Son of Antoine Winfield who played at Ohio State had a successful NFL career

Round 3 pick 88: Jordan Elliot DT

-Average DT but isn't consistent enough to be a starter as the Browns were one of the worst Run Defense teams in the league 2022

Round 3 pick 97: Jacob Phillips LB

-Undersized LB that can't stay on the field. Loves the game and plays hard

Round 4 pick 115: Harrison Bryant TE

-Stefanski loves using multiple TEs on plays instead of the two best offense players on the field at the same time (Chubb/Hunt)

Round 5 pick 160: Nick Harris C

-Harris was set to start the 2022 NFL as starter then tore his ACL on the first play of the preseason Replacement Ethan Pocic had PFF 2nd best graded Center before he was put on IR late in the season

Round 6 pick 187: Donovan Peoples-Jones WR

-DPJ solidified WR 2 had a career season in 2022 but had a few TD drops in key moments of games

2021 NFL Draft (better player available behind drafted)

Round 1 pick 26: Greg Newsome II CB (Eric Stokes/Asante Samuel Jr)

-Drafted to compliment recently contract extended Denzel Ward. Promising rookie campaign, but did you know Newsome has yet to record a single INT since being drafted? (More on Newsome later)

-Stokes and Samuel Jr are well-respected CBs in the league

Round 2 pick 52: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah LB

-2020 Butkus Award winner was the steal of the draft for GM Andrew Berry. JOK of course fell into the second round with a rumored heart condition. Lead by a fantastic rookie campaign, injuries have kept him off the field. Browns hope to use his undersized LB style to prevent further injuries of the future

Round 3 pick 91: Anthony Schwartz WR (Amon-Ra St. Brown/Jaelon Darden)

-Schwartz has become disliked by fans after multiple bad performances during games. As fast as any NFL player in college, being questioned about route running and dropping passes over his career. He is human after-all though

-St. Brown has emerged as one of the best WRs in the NFL. Browns eventually sign Darden to kick/punt return. Something the Browns had hoped Schwartz could at least do

Round 4 pick110: James Hudson OL

-Hudson should eventually move into a starting OL role with the Browns. Fantastic in the jumbo formation lined up as a FB in front of Chubb

Round 4 pick 132: Tommy Togiai DT

-Togiai coming out of The Ohio State doesn't see much playing time, but has struggled when his number is called

Round 5 pick 153: Tony Fields II LB

-Fields has shown flashes especially single handedly beating the Texans stepping up for injured starting LBs, but has also been involved in costly penalties on special teams. Decent depth LB in the NFL

Round 5 pick 169: Richard LeCounte S

-LeCounte had a great preseason his rookie year coming of a All-SEC season at Georgia, but is no longer on the team

Round 6 pick 211: Demetric Felton RB (Kalil Herbert/Caleb Huntley)

-Some say Felton is out there somewhere still running in pre-snap motion. Disaster on special teams fielding punts and kick returns

-Herbert has done a great job at times stepping up for injured David Montgomery. Caleb Huntley ran for 56 yards and a TD against the Browns in 2022

2022 NFL Draft (better player available behind drafted)

*Of course it is too early to look at the 2022 draft selections, but 2022 is important, because the trade of Deshaun Watson to the Browns will show what teams got out of the trade for future readers to look back on* Remember the Browns O'dell Beckham Jr trade from the New York Giants? The Browns pick for NYG was used for DT Dexter Lawrence

Round 1: It's true or false? to say the Browns have used their round 1 pick to "draft" Deshaun Watson

Round 1 pick 13: Eagles from Cleveland via Houston: Jordan Davis DT

-Browns could really use a star DT to help DE Myles Garrett

Round 2 pick 44: Houston via Cleveland: John Metchie III WR (George Pickens)

-Unfortunately Metchie sat out his entire 2022 rookie season after being diagnosed with Acute promyelocytic leukemia

-Staying in the second round the Browns could have drafted a talent like George Pickens to compliment Amari Cooper, and DPJ

Round 3 pick 68: From Houston: Martin Emerson CB

-Browns needed a big CB to oppose WRs like Chase, Higgins, Pickens in the AFC North. Emerson had a great preseason and got better as the 2022 season went on. Back to Greg Newsome II, the cost of drafting Emerson moved Newsome into the slot CB role, where he struggled and was outspoken about being uncomfortable playing nickel.

Round 3 pick 78: Alex Wright DE

-Unless the Browns sign a big name DE, Wright is the projected started headed into 2023. He stepped in for a roller coaster Jadeveon Clowney in 2022

Round 3 pick 99: 2020 Resolution JC-2A selection: David Bell WR

-Many fans expected Bell (Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year)to immediately replace Jarvis Landry as the Browns dependable slot WR, but there was not many times the offense called his number. Remember, coach loves using 3 TEs instead of his best players. 24 rec for 214 yds

Round 4 pick 108: from Houston: Perrion Winfrey DT

-Disciplined by the team several times during the season, the famous video "I'm a dawg now tho, I'm a Dawg" raised expectations of Winfrey in 2022. Here is to a fresh start in 2023

Round 4 pick 124: from Philadelphia via Houston: Cade York K

-York had very highs, as he was drafted in the FOURTH round. Beat Baker Mayfield and the Panthers on opening day for the Browns first opening day win since 2005. Then went straight into lows followed by a missed XP vs Jets which was part of the Jets miraculous comeback win in the Browns home opener week 2. Missed a game winning FG vs Chargers to lose, and finished 31st among NFL kickers in 2022. C'mon he's a rookie leave him alone

Round 5 pick 156: from Baltimore via Minnesota: Jerome Ford RB

-Excited as I was for the Browns making this pick knowing the season Ford had at the University of Cincinnati, this pick all but showed the eventual departure of home-town star Kareem Hunt. When for was not injured, he was fantastic on Kick Return duty. I wish coach used him more towards the end of the season so we had more going into 2023 season. Ford will be Chubb's backup next season

Round 6 pick 202: from Dallas: Michael Woods II WR

-I feel like Woods name was called more than David Bell in 2022. Built some good chemistry with Watson late in the 2022 season (DPJ was also a 6th round pick)

Round 7 pick 223: from Detroit: Isiah Thomas DE

-Appeared in 10 games in 2022, and had 7 tackles and 1 fumble recovery

Round 7 pick 246: from Buffalo: Dawson Deaton OL

-Drafted for OL depth, but never appeared in any games in 2022

Position Analysis

-Coaches

I want to believe Kevin Stefanski is the right coach to take the Browns to the playoffs consistently and compete with the best teams in the AFC. One important fact about Stefanski's tenure as the Browns HC is he has always been able to get the best version of the Quaterback he is coaching. Starting with Baker Mayfield, his best season inarguably was 2020. Jacoby Brissett had his best career NFL season in 2022 under Stefanski. If Watson is able to have his career best season under Stefanski, he can be better than 2020 where he threw for 4,823 yards and 2018 when the Texans went 11-5. I don't think Watson has to throw for that many yards for Watson to have his "best" season. It is up to the coaching staff to have a full offseason quietly and efficiently with Watson to have success there next season. As far as play-calling, even Nick Sirianni was able to give up play-calling to focus on coaching the whole team which lead to a Superbowl appearance. The Browns should absolutely try a few plays in preason under Alex Van-Pelt to do whatever it takes to be successful on offense. Speaking of preseason, coach should play a few extra starters until they are fully ready for the NFL regular season when it counts.

-Offense

I wish the Browns could have every single player like Nick Chubb. Chubb finished 3rd in rushing yards behind Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry, but one of the most disappointing parts of the season was the use (or lack-of) hometown star Kareem Hunt. I understand there are so many plays that are called during a game, but having 3 Tight Ends on the field instead of getting the most out of the Browns two best offensive players in Chubb/Hunt was a complete letdown. Browns Drafted inevitable replacement for Hunt in Jerome Ford, who showed great flashes on special teams as a returner. I would have liked to see Ford have more playing time near the end of the season, especially in the freezing games running the ball, but Browns offense were busy conducting a passing camp for Watson instead of trying to win football games. We will have to wait until next season to see what the Browns have in Ford, but being under the wings on Running Backs coach Stump Mitchell, Ford is in good hands. After demanding a trade, settling down, and getting paid Browns emerging star Tight End David Njoku had a career season, as did believe it or not Amari Cooper who was stolen by the Cowboys for a 5th round pick. Donovan-Peoples Jones also had his best season as a Browns Wide Receiver. I would also like to see more from draft pick David Bell, who did not see much playing time. Expect him to be a reliable pass catcher in the Browns offense moving forward. Lastly on the offense, one of the best offensive lines in the NFL had one of the worst as a unit. Lets see what the Browns decide to do with Jed Wills 5th year option. Browns recently extended Jack Conklin who when healthy is a dependable asset to the offensive line. Wyatt Teller is in his prime, and lets not waste the remaining clock on Joel Bitonio's career before he retires.

-Defense

Myles Garrett broke the Browns single season sack record (16), but the rest of the Browns defensive line was horrible, giving up one of the worst rush defense performances all season, which Browns fired Joe Woods for after the season and hired Jim Schwartz. As I said on the Piece of Mind Podcast, that was a great hire and the Browns will definitely upgrade the interior defensive line to help Myles Garrett. Now, they will need to find another starting defensive end opposite Garrett, as Clowney was excused from the team after finding out through the season he didn't want to go in on certain plays and eventually was excused from the team late in the season. Browns brass will have to answer which is more important: Defensive Tackle or Defensive End? Whether that is in free agency or the draft. Browns drafted 2 defensive ends in 2022, so one of them will have to step up big next season as well. Browns Linebackers went through the injury bug, and was alarming how undersized that unit was going into the season and depth. Browns had to bring in a few linebackers from the streets including former SEC star Reggie Ragland, who stepped in immediately, because of his size. The secondary was very inconsistent as well, eventually Grant Delpit finished as the team leader in interceptions (4) tied for 3rd in the NFL and was great in the rush defense. Having players in the Browns secondary lead the team in tackles (also Delpit - 72) explains how bad the Browns defense was against the run. Denzel Ward received a big contract in the offseason, but continues the trend of playing great on the field, and hurt 3-4 games every season. Greg Newsome II was moved into the nickel after Browns drafted Martin Emerson. Newsome voiced his frustration after the season was over that he does not want to play nickle anymore, and I believe he does deserve to start as an outside cornerback. Newsome though, still without an interception in his career. Browns secondary looked great a few games, but also gave up many big plays where they end up pointing fingers at each other instead of taking accountability. Remember Coach Stefanski's quote of being "tough, smart, and accountable?"

-Special Teams

I can say right from the start of this that some fans believe the Browns should jump ship on kicker Cade York who was a 4th round draft pick. I don't see that happening for many reasons, but the most obvious reason goes back to Andrew Berry's evidence that he simply does not cut draft picks. I would not be surprised if the Browns bring in another "camp leg" but i'll be the first to say Cade York is the Browns Kicker for at least another full season. He hit the game winner against Carolina, and yes went down hill after that, losing the Chargers game, etc. However, one thing I have said all season was the Browns offensive line being pushed back many times through the season, Browns punter and holder Corey Bojorquez track record as a holder is not kind to kickers. The little things. Before DPJ single handedly saved Mike Priefer job as special teams coach, the Browns have not returned a punt since Travis Benjamin 121 games before that.

The Browns roster is far more talented than their record showed in 2022. It really is time for them to start being tough, smart, and accountable.