Cleveland Browns outlook for 2023: Jim Schwartz, Deshaun Watson, and a much-improving wide receiver room
A lot of things went wrong in 2022: the defensive line, excluding Myles Garrett, was a weakness, and Deshaun Watson performed well below his career average.
• What to expect from Deshaun Watson: During his tenure with the Texans, he performed well according to PFF’s stable metrics, suggesting he will probably find his best form in 2023.
• New receivers: Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman add more vigor to a team that needed a backup to Amari Cooper.
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After the team selected Baker Mayfield as the first overall pick in 2018, things started to turn around. The next two seasons saw a 1-31 record, bringing the team’s 10-year average to 4.6 wins annually. Over the next five seasons, Cleveland averaged 7.8 wins per season, winning 39 games during the regular season and defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the postseason.
Call the demolition and rebuilding process a success, but the Browns and their supporters are hoping for more. Selecting the first pick overall in consecutive seasons ought to produce a quarterback who transforms the franchise and
That’s a different story in Mayfield. In his third season, he scored 85.1 yards per game as the eighth-best quarterback in the NFL and recorded the ninth-most wins above replacement among quarterbacks, helping the team to its first postseason win in over 20 years. But the happy-ever-after tale would end there. The 2021 season was a complete bust, as the quarterback suffered a non-throwing shoulder injury and never recovered. This resulted in Mayfield’s departure and a blockbuster trade with the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson.
