The waiting is over. Training camp is finally upon us and with training camp come many storylines to track and follow. The intensity and effort will pick up today as the team will finally put on full pads, but until then, here are the 35 things we learned about the Cleveland Browns this week.
Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey wasn’t going to lie, and nobody was going to believe the lie anyway. He was asked when Freddie Kitchens had even been on his radar as a potential head coach before he was promoted to interim offensive coordinator in the middle of last season. Before that promotion, Kitchens had never even called a play in the NFL. He got promoted from running backs coach when the Browns turned over their staff during another disappointing season. By January, Kitchens was hired to be the Browns’ head coach.
The Cleveland Browns are the toast of the NFL after the additions of Odell Beckham Jr. and others. Poised to be the 2019 Offseason Hype Darling -- a title that historically tends to strangle the party wearing the inscribed sash -- the Browns have all the pieces in place on paper to be one of the most dynamic offenses this season.
The superstar receiver is headed to Cleveland, leaving behind a total rebuild in New York. Bill Barnwell dissects both sides of the deal.
Baker Mayfield broke the NFL rookie record with his 27th touchdown pass of the season Sunday during the Cleveland Browns' game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Browns have traded running back Carlos Hyde to the Jaguars, who remain without Leonard Fournette (hamstring). Cleveland is expected to turn to rookie Nick Chubb as its starter.
You can watch the tape, but once you do, there won't be any going back, coach. Baker Mayfield is QB1.
Baker Mayfield's regular season debut also marked the end of the Cleveland Browns' 19-game winless streak. The Browns defeated the Jets on "Thursday Night Football."
The Browns became convinced Baker Mayfield had the football IQ, arm talent and moxie to give them what they've long sought at QB: a winner.
Baker Mayfield vows it won't be difficult to leave the silliness in the past. "It's an easy decision to make," Mayfield said Friday, one day after the Cleveland Browns made him the first pick in the NFL draft. "It's a blessing to have the responsibility and be in this position. So for me, it's a simple choice to make the right decisions."In Mayfield's first appearance with his new team, the former Oklahoma quarterback discussed his leadership and said the transition from the Sooners' Air Raid offense to the NFL won't be too difficult.
The Browns were unlikely to give up the top pick, but even if they were willing, general manager John Dorsey told NFL Network's Steve Wyche this week they did not receive any legit offers for it.
The Browns do not have an easy situation on their hands, what with their decades-long inability to find a quarterback and the franchise coming off an 0-16 season. But in terms of this specific draft, Cleveland is set up really, really well to come away with two players who fit what the Browns need.
Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is entering his 28th season coaching in the NFL as an assistant, coordinator or head man. Over that time, Williams has worked with some impressive rookies -- Aaron Donald comes to mind -- but no one who made the transition as fast as 2017 No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett. "I've never had a chance to draft the first overall pick ever, but I've had some pretty high draft picks,'' said Williams, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "He's the one that has jumped out and fit in faster than any of the other ones, and I have had some really, really good ones. The reason that he moved up the depth chart was because of him and his teammates, not because of my evaluation.''
Investing in a bad quarterback can kill a franchise just as easily as not having one.
The Cleveland Browns are reportedly seriously considering selecting North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
It’s been a long few months, but the NFL Draft is right around the corner. In exactly one week, we’ll know who the first overall pick is, what the Patriots think of Jimmy Garoppolo, and who will play quarterback for the Browns (probably). There are an unfathomable amount of rumors and smokescreens flying around right now as teams look to deceive others with leaks, so it’s hard to pin down exactly what will happen. However, with just seven days until the action kicks off, we’ve cooked up 10 bold predictions for next week’s big event.
We move on to the second round of the SB Nation NFL writers’ mock draft, starting with the Cleveland Browns. If you haven’t been following along, the Browns got pass rusher Myles Garrett and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in the first round. With those two critical needs checked off, the Browns could fill a number of holes with their second-round picks. Chief among those needs is the secondary, where the Browns have cornerback Joe Haden and not much else. It doesn’t help that injuries have limited Haden to just 18 games in the last two seasons. There are a number of good cornerbacks, but the Browns could also use at least one starting safety. Chris Pokorny of Dawgs by Nature is back to make his third pick in our mock draft.
Browns coach Hue Jackson cherishes the No. 1 overall pick in the draft to the point that he says he wouldn't trade it, even to acquire help at quarterback.
It’s still not clear whether the Patriots plan to trade Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, but if they’re open to a deal, there’s at least one team out there that might be willing to meet their heavy demands: the Cleveland Browns. According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns are hoping to walk out of the first round with two players on April 29: Myles Garrett and Garoppolo. Landing that combination would be the Browns’ “Dream scenario,” Cabot reported.
How do you put together a mock draft before free agency even begins? It isn’t easy. But we love mock drafts. So this is my first attempt at putting together a mock for 2017. Don’t hold me to it. I love watching college football, always with an eye on what players can do in the NFL, so I am pretty up to date on the first-round players. But this is a draft much deeper than that.