One thumb way up, another way down

As we all know, the Browns have done well in the free-agent market this offseason. How well, however, depends on your perspective.

New General Manager Andrew Berry addressed both sides of the football with 13 new faces with several more waiting to be selected in the annual National Football League college draft late next month.

Offensively, there is no logical argument raised that can criticize Berry’s seven moves. Not with the likes of offensive tackle Jack Conklin, tight end Austin Hooper, fullback Andy Janovich and backup quarterback Case Keenum.

Unlike his predecessor, Berry understands the importance of an offensive line. Once he plugs the two other holes in that line through the lottery and, perhaps, another free-agent move or trade, the 2020 Browns should have few problems scoring.

Baker Mayfield, who will operate the offense with his third offensive coordinator in three seasons, won’t have to take the frightful battering he absorbed last season behind a terrible line.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski proved last season as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator that he knows how to maximize highly skilled talent and protect his quarterback. Failure to do so last season with the Browns cost Freddie Kitchens his job.

Working with the talents of running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. and tight ends Austin Hooper and David Njoku, Mayfield should once again be able to make the kinds of plays that enabled him to set the NFL rookie record for touchdown passes in 2018.

The defense, as constituted right now, is an entirely different matter. Unless Berry makes at least two or three significant moves, the Cleveland offense this season will have to routinely outscore opponents in order to win games.

Last season’s mediocre defense, hampered by a mistake-prone offense, looks good compared to what’s on board currently. New defensive coordinator Joe Woods should lobby Berry daily to give him some talent with which to work.

Berry gutted the linebackers room and picked up B. J. Goodson and Andrew Sendejo, who are not nearly as good as Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert. The only newcomers who should be impactful are safety Karl Joseph and tackle Andrew Billings.

The pass rush is, quite simply, Myles Garrett. Period. He is the club’s lone threat to get up close and personal with opposing quarterbacks. Olivier Vernon needs to stay healthy – he has failed to do so the last two seasons – to be a factor.

Billings is the key to improving a run defense that has been perennially awful for way too long. Wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes Sheldon Richardson’s new partner at tackle with the overrated Larry Ogunjobi losing snaps.

So it’s one huge thumb up for what Berry has accomplished for the offense thus far and one gigantic thumb down on the other side of the football. Once he gets his new offensive left tackle in the draft, it’s likely he will shop heavily for defensive help.

He needs at least one edge rusher, a pair of linebackers, another safety and depth throughout the defense, especially on the line, with speed and quickness the main attributes.

Berry classifies his style as aggressive. On the field, aggression is the hallmark of a good defense. Time for the general manager to apply that aspect of the game to his defense in an effort to make the 2020 Browns a more well rounded football team.

Post Indy Combine thoughts . . .

Now that the next wave of college football players has been probed in just about every conceivable manner and variety on the road to the National Football League, it’s ready, set go for front offices and coaches.

Soon, it will be open season on free agents. That time of the year when many of the 32 teams will overpay for talent, mostly those who must come close to breaking the bank in order to attract them to their otherwise unattractive franchises.

And then comes the annual college draft, an event that has become a three-day carnival with every team ostensibly well prepared to shape the future. And this year, the lottery is regarded as extremely deep.

The Browns, who have major problems throughout the defense and along the line on offense, enter with a brand new front office, which looks a lot like the one responsible for the two worst years in club history.

Well maybe not brand new because Andrew Berry and Paul DePodesta, two of the culprits responsible for the 1-31 record in 2016 and 2017, will be in charge of reshaping this franchise in their image.

Berry, the new general manager, will make all final calls with regard to player personnel, and DePodesta, his silent partner whose role as chief strategy officer is to, well, strategize, maintains he is not a football man and will refrain from helping with selections. We’ll see.

Berry labels his style as aggressive. “It means a couple of things,” he told the media during his introductory news conference. “”From a macro perspective, it means being deliberate of attacking every avenue of player acquisition. The second choice is being aggressive in terms of retaining our core.

“Tangibly, it can mean a couple of different things. Do I trademark, engaging with teams consistently throughout the calendar year? In the free-agent market, it means being opportunistic, It may not mean on the first day we’re really heavy spenders every year. But if we identify players who fill a need, fit the offensive or defensive profile on the field and off the field, we’re not going to be afraid to strike.”

Doesn’t sound any different – other than sounding like the Harvard educated man he is – than the strategy of the other 31 teams. All teams profile the kind of players they want in terms of size of players at specific positions and approach to the game.

With a new coach and coaching staff, a new philosophy, a new practically everything post-purge from last season’s disappointment, it’s anyone’s guess as to what the new Browns will look like.

Jumping past free agency, during which I don’t see the Browns making any major acquisitions, it’s the draft that most likely will offer a glimpse into what direction this team heads.

The Browns draft 10^th in the first round this season. Maybe. They have three options: Trade up, trade down or stay put and take the best player on their board at the time.

We don’t know exactly what draft philosophy Berry brings back after spending last year under Howie Roseman in Philadelphia. When he and Sashi Brown controlled the 2016-17 drafts, they trended heavily toward trading down.

If he is not satisfied with seven selections, he can easily trade down and stockpile draft capital, which would not surprise. But quantity does not necessarily equal quality. The aforementioned two drafts yielded an unwieldy 24 players. Only three remain now that Joe Schobert and Rashard Higgins have opted for free agency.

The Browns have indicated want to re-sign Higgins, but there is little chance he re-ups unless the open market proves fruitless. After the way he was treated by his head coach last season, is it any wonder Higgins has thrust his middle digit at the Browns and rightly so.

The defense, with the exception of cornerback, needs help all over the place. Outside of Myles Garrett, there is no pass rush. And the run defense annually tickles the bottom of the stats sheet.

Linebacker is even worse. Unless no one is willing to pay Schobert the kind of money he seeks and he returns, linebackers should shoot to the top of the most-wanted list along with offensive linemen.

One at the linebackers room without Schobert and Kirksey is all it takes to discover just how terrible it is. Remaining are 2019 draftees Mack Wilson, who played well after replacing the injured Christian Kirksey last season, and Sione Takitaki, whose best fit is on special teams.

After that, you’ll find Tae Davis, Jermaine Grace, Willie Harvey and Montrel Meander, whose best chances of making the 2020 squad are slim at best. That’s how bad it is.

Berry has a lot of work to do to put this team back together again. He needs at least one safety, a couple of defensive linemen, at least two linebackers, depth at wide receiver and extensive help along the OL.

He got off to a good start with the release of tight end Demetrius Harris, linebacker Adarius Taylor, defensive back T.J. Carrie and guard Eric Kush.  On deck should be  safety Morgan Burnett, offensive tackles Chris Hubbard and Greg Robinson, Kirksey, safety Damarious Randall and defensive end Olivier Vernon.

Free agency and the draft should help replace most of them,, hopefully for the better. Several players stood out at the combine, most notably Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons, Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and wideouts Henry Ruggs III (Alabama) and CeeDee Lamb (Oklahoma).

The only one worthy of trading up for is Simmons, but it looks as though he won’t make it past the New York Giants at four. If Berry stays put at 10, he has the pick of the litter of a strong offensive tackle class. If he’s there, I’d take Wirfs. You can’t go wrong with an OT from Iowa.

The Browns this season need to become younger, faster, quicker and smarter. The latter attribute should be provided by the new coaching staff because last season’s staff was vacant in that department, particularly at the top.

It has been way too long since the Browns played smart football with a roster that brandished speed and quickness.

Berry and his men now have the opportunity to change all that and create a winning culture in Berea that is decades overdue. Based on his previous stint with the Browns, I’m not sanguine he can do it.