Nick Chubb capped a tremendous season by finishing atop our Browns player rankings. (USA Today)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
My annual end-of-season Browns player rankings have evolved over the years, er, decades.
I started out giving letter grades like a schoolteacher.
Then one day Al “Bubba” Baker pulled me aside and asked me to step into a room adjacent to the locker room.
Al was about 6-6 and 260 pounds in those days and he could probably chew my head in three gulps. He was also one of the nicest players off the field, always polite and respectful, but on this day he was very upset with my grade of B-minus for his year’s work.
“B-minus?” he screamed at me. “What the hell is the minus for?”
I stammered through my explanation, that while he led the Browns in sacks with 7.5, I felt a player of his immense experience and exceptional skill-set should have reached double figures, and if he would have, his grade would have been much higher.
“You had the highest grade of all the D-linemen,” I said firmly.
After a few minutes of simmering down, Baker shook my hand and said, “I don’t agree, but I guess that’s fair.”
That was the last time I gave letter grades.
When we got to the expansion era, I started ranking the players from 1 to 53. The problem with this was the kicker and punter kept falling in the top five because the roster was so thin. When the long snapper finished in the top 20 one year, I decided to pare down the rankings to the top 40.
Still, with so much turnover at the bottom of the roster, it got harder deciding between a gunner on the punt team and a backup guard for that coveted 40th spot.
So now I’ve limited this year’s rankings down to the top 20 players from the 2019 season.
As usual, my rankings are my own. They are based on contributions, roles, opportunities and production. There are no algorithms involved, no formula to crunch a final number, no meticulous film study. They are based on what I saw during the games.
You will differ with the order, no doubt. Fine. You have your rankings. These are mine.
1. Running back Nick Chubb
His 1,494 rushing yards were second in the NFL and fourth in franchise history, surpassed only by Jim Brown, who was limited to 12- and 14-game seasons. Still, his 5.01-yard rushing average was third among backs with at least 200 carries. And his selfless attitude earned him the team’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award and reminded everyone what a throwback professional football player looks like.
2. Defensive end Myles Garrett
He was on his way to clobbering the franchise sack record with 10 in 10 games until he lost control and clobbered Mason Rudolph in the head with his helmet. Without him, the defense had eight sacks over the last six games and went 2-4.
3. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry
Running his consecutive games-played streak to 96, he had career highs in receiving yards (1,174) and yards per catch (14.1) despite playing through a nagging hip/lower back injury. He was the only one who could consistently come down with Baker Mayfield’s high fastballs.
4. Linebacker Joe Schobert
Led team with 133 tackles (10th in NFL) and was only the second linebacker to lead the Browns in interceptions (four) in 30-plus seasons. He also led the team and was 28th in the NFL with 1,169 snaps (defense and special teams).
5. Running back Kareem Hunt
His numbers were skewed by the fact he joined the team after an eight-game suspension and Chubb was chugging along with the NFL rushing lead. He added instant energy to the offense and displayed the same selflessness as Chubb.
6. Left guard Joel Bitonio
Other than a rough day against the Rams’ Aaron Donald (who hasn’t had that?) and a couple of unfortunate plays against New England, he was his usual dependable self.
7. Center JC Tretter
What I like about him in addition to being a warrior who plays through all kinds of ailments is he was called for only three penalties in 1,115 snaps.
8. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
The fact he played in 16 games for the first time in three years was perhaps his greatest achievement. His 1,035 receiving yards on 74 catches were offset by a measly four touchdowns and a career-low catch percentage of 55.6. All the drama distracted the team and fatigued the fan base.
9. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson
First among D-linemen in tackles, pass rejections and forced fumbles, he didn’t miss a game for the fourth time in seven years, and didn’t miss an interview session.
10. Quarterback Baker Mayfield
His steep regression from his rookie year ranks as the biggest surprise of a most disappointing team season. So how did he crack the top 10? I do think owner Jimmy Haslam was on to something when he hinted the organization failed its quarterback more than the other way around. Too much chaos heaped on his shoulders.
11. Cornerback Denzel Ward
His fall-off from a Pro Bowl rookie season was less drastic than Mayfield’s sophomore slump, but it was a downer, too. He missed four games with a hamstring injury but recovered to record the only defensive touchdown of the season – a 61-yard Pick 6 againt Cincinnati.
12. Linebacker Mack Wilson
Turned in arguably the best season among the rookies – 81 tackles (second on defense), with a sack, interception, forced fumble and six passes defensed.
13. Place-kicker Austin Seibert
For the longest time, he only missed on PATs into the Dawg Pound. He finished with nine misses overall (five PATs and four field goals), but became the first Browns rookie to eclipse 100 points. Totally justified his fifth-round draft status.
14. Punter Jamie Gillan
The Scottish Hammer evolved from curiosity to a punting weapon (Bill Belichick’s word). His 41.6-yard net average is a Browns record.
15. Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi
In his third year, he seemed to plateau as a legit starting tackle but less than a dominant force.
16. Cornerback T.J. Carrie
Among defensive backs, he was second in tackles and third in snaps. He had an interception, but that’s only five in six NFL seasons.
17. Free safety Damarious Randall
He dropped 10 spots from last year’s rankings and could have fallen out of the top 20 entirely – on a better team. In the last month, he looked like he didn’t want to be out there.
18. Cornerback Greedy Williams
He relieved concerns about his tackling, but had his hands on only two balls all year. Really? Two passes defensed in 696 defensive snaps. And nine penalties.
19. Defensive end Chad Thomas
He came on in the second half of the season and had more sacks (four) than Olivier Vernon (3.5) in 35 fewer defensive snaps.
20. Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones
What if I told you he had as many touchdowns (four) as Beckham? And a better yards-per-catch average (16.4)? And his 63.6 percent catch rate led the team?
Notably unranked: Left tackle Greg Robinson, defensive end Olivier Vernon, right tackle Chris Hubbard, tight end David Njoku, wide receiver Rashard Higgins, running back Dontrell Hilliard.