Random questions

Many questions still on the table with regard to the 2021 Browns will have to go unanswered until the money games commence Sept. 12 in Kansas City. Gonna take a stab here, anyway.

In no particular order . . . 

Like how improved will the almost totally revamped defense be? And can Baker Mayfield sustain his outstanding second-half performance last season? 

How much of a difference will Jadeveon Clowney and Takkarist McKinley make in the pass rush? And can Denzel Ward stay healthy enough to play a full season? Ditto for Wyatt Teller and No. 1 draft pick Greg Newsome II.

Who will be the No. 3 wide receiver? And how long will it take rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to fit in and become the key to the defense?

How healthy, really, are Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit? How important is it that JC Tretter plays in every game?

Who will be the club's placekicker? And why is no one concerned with Jamie Gillan's dropoff last season?

At what point do the rumors Odell Beckham Jr. will be traded die down? And will Jedrick Wills Jr. finally learn how to run block?

How much will the defense miss Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon? And what are the odds Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt compile more than 2,700 total yards from scrimmage and score 30 touchdowns? 

Okay, that's enough for now. Now the not-asked-for answers.

There is no question the defense will be better this season, if for no other reason it can't be any worse than last season's abomination. Not with solid newcomers like John Johnson III, Troy Hill, Anthony Walker, Andrew Billings, Malik Jackson and rookies Newsome and JOK.

There is no reason Mayfield can't play as well as he did in the second half last season, if not better. For the first time since joining the Browns,  he'll play for the same head coach and coordinator for the second straight season.

As for Clowney and McKinley, cross your fingers and hope the somewhat brittle and very inconsistent Clowney can play all 17 games and McKinley finally wakes up and figures out how to be a quarterback disturber. By the way, add Clowney to that small group who have problems avoiding injuries. Ward and Teller are extremely valuable assets, but not when in street clothes on game day.

As for the No. 3 wide receiver -- look for head coach Kevin Stefanski to employ three wides more often this season -- it should be Rashard Higgins over KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was terrific filling in when Beckham went down in game seven. Look for Mayfield to lobby for him if it's close.

Not to be concerned about JOK. He'll fit in just fine. His athleticism and feel for the game will more than nullify, or at least neutralize, any rookie mistakes along the way.

Hard to say just how ready Williams and Delpit are after sitting out the entire 2020 season with major injuries. We'll find out soon enough in about 10 days. 

Meanwhile, it is imperative for Tretter to take real good care of himself. He has started every game (65) since joining the club in 2017. He is the linchpin of that unit. They cannot afford to lose him. If he goes down, smallish Nick Harris will replace him and that's a huge problem. The barely 6-0 Harris was plugged in for two games last season as a rookie when Teller went down and looked awful.

Cody Parkey was all right last season in his second stint with the Browns, but he doesn't  have the big leg this club needs. He never attempted a 50-yard field goal. He'll compete in camp with Chase McLaughlin, who has become an NFL nomad at the tender age of 25. He is not the answer. 

Gillan, on the other hand, will compete with himself because the club obviously was satisfied with his performance last season despite significant drops in a few areas. He needs to help the defense with field position this season by dropping more punts inside the 20.

With the glut of wide receivers on the roster, it is only natural Beckham will be the subject of trade rumors. They won't die down despite denials by the front office. I'm not an oddsmaker, but I'll take a stab at 50-50 he'll still be with the club for the season opener. 

As for Wills, if he works as hard this season at improving in the run game as he did last season with pass protection, sure, he'll be fine with that aspect of the offense and become the well-rounded tackle the club had expected.

Damn right the Browns will miss Richardson and Vernon. Their absence causes last season's strongest unit on that side of the football to become the weakest this season. Be prepared for terrible run defense.

Odds-making again here with Chubb and Hunt. Providing they stay healthy, 2,700 yards might be a bit conservative, which would make them odds-on favorites to reach that figure. Easily. Last season, they combined for 2,362 yards from scrimmage and 23 touchdowns. And Chubb missed four games with an MCL injury.