5 priorities for John Dorsey's offseason: Browns Monday takeaways
By Dan Labbe, cleveland.com | Posted February 04, 2019 at 10:29 AM | Updated February 04, 2019 at 10:36 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Super Bowl is over. That means the offseason is officially upon us.
The Browns are finally not the center of the NFL Draft universe. That’s a good thing. They still have plenty of picks, though. They also have a bunch of money to spend.
Expectations are high for 2019 and, while winning the offseason is often fool’s gold, having a strong offseason can set a team up for a strong regular season.
GM John Dorsey got his quarterback last year in Baker Mayfield. Here are five priorities for Dorsey this offseason.
1. Joe Schobert followed up his Pro Bowl season by getting better in 2018.
One of former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ and former linebackers coach Blake Williams’ best moves here was looking at Schobert, an outside linebacker throughout college and during his rookie season, and deciding he’s a MIKE.
Schobert should have made the Pro Bowl this year, too. He was better this year than last year. He still made a ton of tackles. He also made impact plays all over the field. He was getting into the backfield. He was forcing turnovers. He was strong in coverage. He quarterbacked the Browns’ defense. And you noticed when he was out with that hamstring injury.
Schobert is a former fourth-round pick who has had to prove himself at every level and he’s proven that he deserves a new contract.
2. Extend Damarious Randall
The Browns traded for Randall last offseason and picked up his fifth-year option. Trading for a player at the tail end of a rookie contract and making a decision on his long-term future after getting a look at him is textbook in modern NFL team-building.
The Browns moved Randall to his natural position and he immediately became a key piece in changing the culture. He's shown himself to be a piece of the future.
3. Find the future at left tackle
The interior of the line is in great shape. Chris Hubbard got better as the season moved along on the right side. Who could have guessed that Greg Robinson is what the line needed on the left side to really stabilize?
Robinson, a former No. 2 overall pick, was a late signing and missed a chunk of training camp after suffering a concussion. The entire left tackle situation was handled poorly leading up to the season, with Joel Bitonio getting moved to left tackle days after former offensive line coach Bob Wylie declared him “Plan Z.” That changed less than a week before the opener when undrafted rookie Desmond Harrison took over.
Robinson is a free agent. The Browns would be wise to bring back the 26-year-old and see if he has turned his career around. They would also be wise to bring in competition, either via the draft or with an affordable free agent.
4. I’ll just keep harping on this point. Make the pass rush better.
Give Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi help.
The Browns were never able to get a consistent pass rush opposite of Garrett. Emmanuel Ogbah, who injured his ankle early in the season, was unable to deliver the 1-2 punch the Browns were hoping for. This is an important year for him.
There are multiple ways to attack this. Adding Chris Smith in free agency last year was big. He was the team’s best part-time pass rusher. Trying to find another player like Smith will help.
This is also an area worth investing some of that draft capital.
Then there's simply player development. Chad Thomas was inactive for the week’s final eight games. That can’t happen again in 2019. Can you get something out of Anthony Zettel or Brian Price?
However, you do it, find pass rushers.
5. Keep building the wide receiver room
The Browns have the pieces in place to continue building an effective wide receiving corps around Mayfield. The Browns don’t have to sign a big-name free agent or use their first-round pick on a receiver, but it wouldn’t hurt to make an investment in the position.
You have an effective slot receiver in Jarvis Landry. If they bring back Rashard Higgins -- and they should -- they keep a reliable target for Mayfield. Antonio Callaway is a work in progress, but the talent is there. Breshad Perriman is that speedy deep threat, but the sample size isn’t very big.
This is the time to take some chances. The Chiefs had weapons everywhere but still signed Sammy Watkins. The Rams traded a first-round pick for Brandin Cooks. The Patriots traded for Josh Gordon.
Adding difference makers at wide receiver is never a bad thing.
Good post Stabbs. And I agree with all the points. Here is my .02
Point 1 - Joe Schobert is about a core of a piece of the defense as core gets. Dan mentioned that Joe is strong in coverage, I will take it on step further. I think he is elite. The only proof you need is to review how to RBs and TEs terrorized us in his absence.
Point 2 - The presence of Damarious Randall at free safety set the tone for the back of the defense. Everyone returned to their natural positions. Look at how Jabrill flourished as a strong safety. Another strong corner would be great for 2019, but acquiring Randall last offseason was a major win for this franchise.
Point 3 - The LT position. Face it folks, we were flat out spoiled for 10 years. Having a first ballot Hall of Famer anchor the blind side was an absolute luxury. I don't know if Sashi and Co. arrogantly ignored the possibility that Joe's career could end the way it did, but we were wholly unprepared for it when it came to pass.
The Browns would be completely foolish to allow LT Greg Robinson to walk after the progress he showed last season. Foolish and Browns are two words I no longer put in the same sentence. I am sure Dorsey can bank on Robinson's path of continued improvement. By extending him now may be a bargain in later years. Dan is absolutely spot on to say that Greg's development was slowed due to no training camp.
Harrison was just a raw rookie that had missed a year of football, but showed promise.
So, no - we don't NEED to spend #17 on a LT.
Point 4 - I had heard that the NFL is trending away from the big "beefer" run stuffing DTs in favor of the quicker, more athletic ones. Then who was #71 in white last Sunday I saw make a couple of key stops? Truth is, If we go for a run stuffer like Dexter Lawrence or a penetrating DT like a Christian Wilkins or a Dre'Mont Jones - we cannot go wrong. Either you have improve the interior rush or you have taken steps to remedy the Achilles heel of the defense last year. I say that is a "win-win" for the Browns.
Point 5 - Productive WRs are ALWAYS a QB's best friend. We have gone from a laughing stocks of smurfs and never weres to a strong group this city can be proud of. All those mentioned above hold significant promise for the future. The one name not mentioned that I really want to keep my eye on is Derrick Willies. He was part of Baker's "Bench Bunch" from training camp. When given his chance - he stepped up and delivered a HUGE catch and run in the OT victory against the Rats. We could always upgrade via FA or the draft - but this group is light years ahead of where they were just a couple of seasons ago.
I can't believe the "Joe Schobert sucks" crowd still exists. People that can't see how much of an impact he makes on this defense are absolutely ignorant to how the game works. Behind Garrett, he's probably the most important piece on this defense.
He's just got those natural instincts of where the play is going and if he had more meanness he would be a potential All-Pro every year.