Will The Cleveland Browns Make The NFL Playoffs This Year?

Will The Cleveland Browns Make The NFL Playoffs This Year? This is not a question that I’ve had to ask myself in some time. That being said The Browns had arguably the best offseason in terms of adding talent to a roster that was previously…well without talent of any team in the NFL, and they seem to have learned from past mistakes such as throwing a mid-round 1st round QB into the fire as a rookie. Here are the top 5 reasons that I think The Cleveland Browns will indeed make their first playoff appearance since 2002 this season.

Reason Number 1: The Browns Offense has gone from Backup QBs such as Deshone Kizer and Kevin Hogan leading the way as they acquired QB Tyrod Taylor via a trade with The Buffalo Bills, and drafted QB Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft with the intention of (finally) grooming the young QB for a year or two while the talented, and highly underrated Tyrod Taylor goes to work with (suddenly) one of the best offenses in the NFL, and a good defense as well.

If Tyrod plays to his capabilities as he’s done in the past with The Bills then perhaps Bayfield becomes trade bait down the line or simply remains the backup. The Browns have not had a QB of Tyrods Caliber since 2002. Over the past three seasons, Taylor has thrown for 51 TD passes and just 16 INTs while the revolving chair of previous Browns QBs during that time combined for 50 TD passes and 55 INTs.

Reason Number 2: The Browns Offense has completely changed at nearly every single position for the better. As previously mentioned the team

upgraded at QB. They also added Pro Bowl WR Jarvis Landry who the Dolphins strangely let walk after he averaged 100 catches and over 1,000 yards for the past 4 seasons with the Fins. They also signed All-Pro RB Carlos Hyde in free agency and drafted talented RB Nick Chubb in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, as well as ultra-talented WR Antonio Callaway in the 4th round. (More on the Brown’s draft class in a moment). Did I mention that WR Josh Gordon is finally back for The Browns!? Josh freaking Gordon aka Flash Gordon seems to finally have his head in the game rather than on a desk full of narcotics after undergoing rehab and playing in one game for The Browns last year. When his mind is completely focused he’s a top 3 NFL WR and player regardless of position. The Browns have gone from an offense that featured QB Deshone Kizer…yawn…WR Richard Higgins…yawn…and the ever-aging RB Duke Johnson who is way past his prime…yawn…now wake up! The Browns now have a good QB in Taylor and he has 2 (potentially 3) number one WRs to throw to in Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry and perhaps Callaway and he has RBs Carlos Hyde and Nick Chubb in the backfield…and TE David Njoki is back healthy! This new look Browns offense should be able to light up the scoreboard. (Especially against The Pittsburg Steelers who now have a garbage can playing defense.)

Reason Number 3: The Browns had an excellent Draft in 2018. I already talked about the notable offensive players they drafted but now let’s go defense. The Browns already had a pretty good defense with DE Myles Garret, DE Emmanuel Ogbah, and LB Joe Schobert as the big-name players returning this year. In the third round of the 2018 Draft, The Browns selected DE Chad Thomas who was able to generate constant pressure in college and should be able to do the same with ease in the NFL. The biggest weakness the Browns had last year was at the cornerback position, and I believe they have shored that up with their second first-round selection of

CB Denzel Ward who was an absolute ball hawk in college along with adding the veteran CB T.J. Carrie who is a good player as well in the offseason. The Browns still lack a great interior pass rush but should be able to generate tons of pressure of the edge to negate that. While not elite, This Browns defense should be very good. At the least Cleveland’s defense is much improved.

Reason Number 4: The Browns still have a top 10 NFL offensive line despite the retirement of Joe Thomas. The likes of Center J.C. Tretter, and Offensive tackles Chris Hubbard and Shon Coleman Should be able to keep Tyrod Taylor upright and open holes for RBs Carlos Hyde and Nick Chubb.

Reason Number 5: Another thing that I believe works in the favor of The Browns are the weaknesses of each team in their division. The Baltimore Ravens are more average on defense than they’ve been in a decade and will be even worse on offense unless QB Joe Flacco has a big comeback year or they insert rookie QB Lamar Jackson into their starting lineup. The Pittsburg Steelers still have a very talented offense at the skill positions but QB Ben Roethlisberger has been slightly above average (and highly overrated) for the past few years, and they now look pathetic on defense. Lastly, The Bengals are…The Bengals. As a proud Philadelphia Eagles fan, I look forward to seeing The Browns torch The Steelers twice this year.

Bold Prediction: The Cleveland Browns will make the playoffs as a wildcard team as they finish with a 10 and 6 record this season, and they win one playoff game. Hopefully, that win is over The ever-growing annoying Patriots as well.

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