There might be reason for Browns fans to maybe scale back the expectations for the 2019 season a bit. After all, the team has not won a division title in 30 years and has a ton of volatile parts coming together. But there is no denying the abundance of high-end talent all over the Browns roster.
Fans who are more on the skeptical side will appreciate Pro Football Focus and their thoughts on the Browns overall roster. In PFF’s ranking of the 32 NFL rosters, Cleveland comes in at a seemingly low No. 18.
How could a team with Myles Garrett, Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr., Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Olivier Vernon, Damarious Randall, David Njoku, Joe Schobert and more be in the bottom half of the league rankings? I don’t buy it either, so I’ll let them explain…
The Browns’ glaring weakness was their inability to tackle last season. The team ended the 2018 campaign ranked dead last with a team tackling grade at 34.7, and they collectively missed a whopping 194 tackles over the course of the regular season — 23 more than the next-closest team. Now that they have all the pieces in place on defense, improving on this fundamental aspect is a must.
There are some nits to pick with their projections. PFF lists Austin Corbett, Greedy Williams, Genard Avery and Antonio Callaway as starters (in packages). They’re also taking just a one-year view on both Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert, both of whom played hurt and struggled as a result last seasons. Interestingly, they also do not factor in specialists, though that might not help the Browns with their ongoing kicking and special teams coverage woes.
It’s also fascinating that PFF ranks the Steelers in the top 10 when even most Pittsburgh fans will admit this is not close to their best team in recent years. New England tops the list, with the Arizona Cardinals bringing up the rear.
