The Browns have been prolific in the off-season, with several key additions, but also some unexpected subtractions. The net summary is posted below.
On balance they added major players at quarterback, Slot receiver, tight end, plus three starters at defensive back. Major adds: QB Tyrod Taylor, RB Carlos Hyde, SR Jarvis Landry, TE Darren Fells, RT Chris Hubbard, CBs E.J. Gaines, DeMarius Randall, S T.J. Carrie. On the loss side, we lose Isaiah Crowell, LT Joe Thomas, DT Danny Shelton, CB Jason McCourty. The net add, depending on how you count, is probably at least four major upgrades.
Main takeaways:
a. Carlos Hyde may be a little better than Isaiah Crowell, but they are similar in talent level. Crowell's major problem with the Browns was Coach Jackson's play-calling. Maybe we should be sympathetic, as a lot of observers had the same issue. .
b. Tyrod Taylor is an enormous upgrade. It's not that Tyrod is so super, but DeShone Kizer had a horrific rookie year. He was too inexperienced for the job, and it made no sense to pass over Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan. But okay, what's done is done, and three quarterbacks' careers are in the dumper, but we now have a bona fide quarterback, two in fact, with career winning records. By contrast the career win totals for Kizer, Kessler and Hogan: zero. That's just crazy.
c. Jarvis Landry and Darren Fells help the receiving corps immensely. Last year's wide receiver group was beyond terrible. OC Todd Haley now at least has slot receivers (Landry and Duke Johnson) and but they can now at least field a team that doesn't make opposing defenses fall down laughing..
d. The secondary is significantly improved by adding E. J. Gaines, T. J. Carrie and DeMarius Randall, with Terrance Mitchell as another experienced player. The reason for giving away Jason McCourty is not clear, as most observers thought he played well in 2017.
e. Trading Danny Shelton for minimal value is also a bit of a head scratcher, but the Browns have several good defensive tackles, and Danny Shelton's lack of speed makes him best suited for Nose Tackle in a 3-4 defense, which the Browns no longer play. He's a good player, but will help New England more than he helped us.
f. The 2018 draft will add major players: 2 first round and 3 second round as now constituted. Those guys are normally starters, meaning that the Browns will probably add a net of 8 or 9 good players. That's a huge number, and the talent level might be upgraded to the point that they are actually competitive in 2018.
g. Trading away late round 2018 picks is almost a necessity because of the large number of incoming players. It's almost too many for the system to handle. For example, if you wind up cutting a good player in order to add a sixth round draft pick guy, that is a net negative. Better to trade that late round pick for a better 2019 pick. The exact number. Currently, the Browns have a net addition of about four players from Free Agency, and 9 draft picks are expected. The right number is subjective, but my guess is that reducing the number of 2018 draft picks to about 6 or 7 is probably better than staying with 9.
Off-Season Cleveland Browns Player Moves.
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