It’s always hard playing in a division where the three other teams have all made the playoffs the previous year. This is the reality the Browns have to live with though, as they rebuild for the future and try to stay competitive in the AFC North. Luckily, with the fourth overall draft pick and two more picks within the first 40 overall, the Browns are in prime condition to continue to build in the draft.
Luckily the most important part of free agency of bringing back D’Qwell Jackson is over, and now they just have two starters hitting the open market. This means they can spend the next two months finding other players in free agency to improve a roster that already has a few stars like Joe Thomas and Joe Haden on it.
While we’ll only speculate on the unrestricted free agents the Browns might sign, it’s interesting to note that four of their starters from last year and two backups were acquired via trade. So this is a front office more than willing to deal with other teams to improve itself.
Primary Need: Quarterback
After a few seasons of less than impressive play by Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn (-27.6 combined in 2009), in 2010 the Browns turned to Jake Delhomme (-8.5) who was injured early in the season. Seneca Wallace (-2.6) then got the nod and at the end of the season Colt McCoy became the 16th starting QB for the Browns since 1999. In 2011, the Browns fully backed McCoy as the #1 QB and he started the first 13 games until a season ending concussion against Pittsburgh. While he performed fine when there was no pressure, he crumpled under the pressure completing just 46.4% of his passes for 4.3 yards per attempt, and was sacked 33 times. He had the fifth lowest overall PFF rating for a QB in 2011 (-19.0), which means the Browns could yet again be in the market for a quarterback.
Cleveland has been building a young offense, so chances are they won’t be bringing in one of the more experienced quarterbacks. While using their first draft pick on a quarterback is a real possibility, bringing in Matt Flynn also makes sense. Mike Holmgren has made a backup quarterback from Green Bay his franchise quarterback before like he did with Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle. New offensive coordinator Brad Childress also has experience brining in former Packer quarterbacks. Holmgren essentially installed the Packers offense (though Mike McCarthy has his own style of it) that has been so successful. Flynn’s PFF rating of +5.5 against the Lions was by far better than any single game we’ve seen out of a Browns quarterback these past four years.
Secondary Need: Defensive End
Last year, the Browns moved to a 4-3 defense which installed rookies Phil Taylor (-7.4) and Jabaal Sheard (+11.3) starters, as well as Jayme Mitchell who just had 74 snaps over the previous three seasons. Mitchell started the season fine with 10 stops and seven overall pressures in the first three games. His play then dropped off, tallying just 10 stops and eight overall pressures in the other 11 games he played. Mitchell finished with the lowest PFF grade on the entire Browns defense (-15.3). Backup defensive ends Brian Schaefering (+2.8) and Emmanuel Stephens (-1.7) played adequately, but were both better in run defense than pass rushing.
The Browns have veteran presences in their linebacker unit as well as in the secondary, but not as much in the defensive line. John Abraham of the Falcons might just be the man who could come in and help teach the young defensive linemen. While his snaps would likely be limited to passing downs, it would make a great pass rushing tandem with him and Sheard. Abraham had the fourth highest Pass Rushing Productivity of all defensive linemen in 2011 at 12.5. He would only be the solution for a few seasons at most as he is an older player. If he can make an impact as well as make the players around him better, it would be worth it.
Tertiary Need: Wide Receiver
The Browns drafted Greg Little (-12.4) last year to join Mohamed Massaquoi (-10.3) and Josh Cribbs (+4.0) in an underachieving receiving unit. Dropped passes plagued Little’s season, with a total of 14 in a nine week span. His 1.18 Yards Per Pass Route Run was near the bottom of the league for wide receivers. While Cleveland is unlikely to give up on Little so early, they might on Massaquoi who only caught 44.9% of passes thrown his way. He only eclipsed 50 yards once all season, and that was thanks to a 56 yard catch in Week 1.
Because the Browns want to groom Little as their slot receiver, they need someone who can excel out-wide, and that man could be Vincent Jackson (+5.0). He might be the top non-tagged free agent wide receiver for 2012 and is looking for major compensation. All of the Browns receivers averaged 12.6 yards per catch or less, while Jackson averaged 18.4 yards per catch. He would be the deep threat that Cleveland has been sorely lacking. Since coverage would be shifted towards him, it would also help open up everything else in the offense.
2012 Free Agent Tracker | PFF’s Top 50 Free Agents | QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG | C | CB | S | OLB | ILB | Interior DL | Edge Rushers
Follow Nathan on Twitter: @PFF_NateJahnke and check out our main Twitter feed too: @ProFootbalFocus
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.