3 Browns players who really need to step up after the by week CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns are off to a 2-2 start, but that doesn’t change their high expectations for the season.
They hope to get their starting quarterback back before Week 6 against San Francisco and try to figure out a running game without Nick Chubb. For the Browns to get where they want to go, they will need a handful of players to step up and make a big impact over the final 13 games of the season. Here are three of them. Deshaun Watson Does the starting quarterback need to step up? What a new concept. We got a taste of what it might look like against the Titans in Week 3. Watson was effective and did a great job of mixing the simple things that Kevin Stefanski’s offense had with the aggressive runs that he craves. More Cleveland Browns coverage There are positive signs. His depth average is the second highest in his career for 2020, according to PFF.
He is on pace to complete 69 passes of 20 yards or more, matching his multiple seasons in Houston. Stefanski and Watson continue to work on the run game and how to best utilize him, but we’ve seen glimpses of his effectiveness on designed runs beyond what he can do by simply shuffling and saying it’s time to throw.
The Browns’ defense was certainly good enough to carry them, but this is a quarterback’s league, and when it comes time to go against the best, Watson will need to be closer to his Houston form than he is right now. The Titans game was a positive step. We’ll let Andrew Berry take it.
“I think Jed would be the first to tell you that he hasn’t played as consistently as he knows he can play and that he can play better, he’s going to play better,” Berry said in a press conference Wednesday. – He will definitely be an important part for us in the future. The Browns showed faith in Wills this offseason when they picked up his five-year option and guaranteed him $14.124 million in 2024. That’s a fair price for a starting left tackle, but Wills will still have to live up to the Browns’ high expectations. .
Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone could use a boost in his return game. John Kuntz, cleveland.com The Browns relied heavily on senior Jakeem Grant, who was coming back from a torn Achilles, and things were going well. It didn’t take long for him to establish himself as the team’s top returner after gaining momentum in training camp. Then, in his first chance in a Browns uniform, Grant tore his patellar tendon in the fourth preseason game in Kansas City, and the Browns were back to square one.
Jerome Ford is behind the running back because he has a key role in the running back rotation due to Nick Chubb’s season-ending injury. Pierre Strong Jr. gets his chance here. Donovan Peoples-Jones can put up points, but after a stellar game in Houston last year, he hasn’t shown much desire to make an impact there.
Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone likes the running back and wants it to be dynamic. So far, it hasn’t, and the Browns are still working to find an answer.
